Azarien wrote on 2022-05-28, 13:34:

I'm looking for a box that would have an HDMI input, HDMI output and audio output, extracting the audio portion of HDMI signal. […]
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I'm looking for a box that would have an HDMI input, HDMI output and audio output, extracting the audio portion of HDMI signal.

I already tried one such device, but its compatibility was abysmal. It tried to do something "clever" instead of leaving the HDMI signal intact.
Out of three monitors, only one worked OK. One didn't work at all (black screen), and yet another one had a blurred image (as if some resolution downscaling/upscaling was taking place).
In all cases, EDID information was completely made up by the box, not what the monitor reports.

What I'm looking for is a box that would be transparent when it comes to video signal, complete with monitor's EDID data being intact.

I once installed one of these for a friend, https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B017B6WFP8 and it worked fine in their use case (settop box, TV and PCM audio out over S/PDIF to a soundbar, AFAICR). I did not test it for EDID passthrough . The source that was used was configurable enough that it did not matter .

That said, if the audio extraction part of your current device works properly, I would consider fixing the remaining issues by adding a decent quality HDMI splitter before the HDMI audio extractor. Then you could connect one side of the HDMI splitter directly to a monitor and the other side to the HDMI audio extractor.

Important considerations :

a) the HDMI splitter will typically provide the EDID from the monitor on one of its outputs to the source (though some splitters are configurable) and you want to connect your monitor to that one, in all likelihood .
b) the HDMI extractor may need to have an HDMI dummy plug connected (if no monitor is present on its output) in order to work
c) The EDID of the monitor you will be using can influence the audio format that the source will send (some sources allow override, others do not), so feeding the monitor's actual EDID to the source, whether through an HDMI splitter or an "EDID transparent extractor" may actually work against you .
d) a programmable EDID emulator/cloner can also be used if your source needs a specific EDID.

Can you share some more details about your use case(s) (source(s) used, monitor(s) you want to use, audio format wanted/expected from extractor, etc ) ?

I use this one, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XJITK7E and it works fine for my needs. I verified that it does send EDID. As a note, the HDMI signal out will still have audio so it's not stripping it but rather duplicating it to the audio outs, though maybe that's just common practice with these.

darry wrote on 2022-05-28, 17:34:

Can you share some more details about your use case(s) (source(s) used, monitor(s) you want to use, audio format wanted/expected from extractor, etc ) ?

The monitor is Dell 2001FP. It is 1600x1200 with DVI input (I do realize this is very unusual display for any HDMI source). There is a 2-to-1 DVI switch connected to it. The monitor also has an analog stereo soundbar attached (Dell AX510).
Now imagine all of it (monitor + switch + soundbar) times two.

Using the DVI switches and different cables I can display various types of signals (DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, and the monitors also have a VGA input) and quickly switch between source devices. This setup works for me very well but one thing I cannot currently consume is HDMI with embedded audio, so I could play on my Sega Mega Drive Mini, Nintendo Classic Mini NES or Nintendo Classic Mini SNES.
These consoles work very well (Sega) or acceptably (Nintendo) with 2001FP monitor but obviously I have no sound. The goal is to have sound redirected to monitor's soundbar.