Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming SpeakerLink-to-AES Resolution

Can anyone state what output resolutions are possible via a SpeakerLink-to-AES link, as discussed in the SpeakerLink used as Digital Out thread?

SpeakerLink supports upto 96/24, however, if you're feeding non-Meridian equipment then you need to check that, if present, MHR can be disabled on the source device.

Regards,
Carl

I was aware of that but hoping for direct experience with the output to a non-Meridian device. Does it down-sample a 24/96 source?

And of course many sources from copyrighted media will automatically be forced to downsample if MHR is switched off, no?

Does what down sample? This thread is about SpeakerLink not about any specific source device. However, I can say that Sooloos devices do not use MHR even at 96K however they always downsample to 96K (or 48K if x1 is selected) when playing 192K FLACs.

Regards,
Carl

OK. Let me reword my question.

If I connect a SpeakerLink output to an AES input on an external, non-Meridian device (DAC, DSP, etc.), what can I expect on that output if my source is:

A. CD or other 16/44.1 source?
B. BD/PCM or other 24/96 source?

I do not ask about 24/192 sources since I know that my 861 will downsample them to 24/96 anyway and I also know that with the 2x setting my low bitrate sources are upsampled for internal processing.

As no-one has jumped in, I'm going to try.

Best to talk about specific devices:

- Sooloos doesn't use MHR so it will output unencrypted 24/96 if you allow it to upsample.
- The 808.3 and 818 are a bit more unclear, and someone who has actually done it will have to jump in. The manuals say they can apply "optional MHR" to high-speed output. But at the same time input which is already encoded in MHR (i.e. from an HD621 run in stereo - covering your BD/DVD question) will have to stay in MHR if it is going to stay high-speed.

So if you switch MHR off on an 808.3/818 then high-speed signals fed in with MHR will be down sampled on output, but high-speed signals fed in without MHR will not be down sampled on output, if I understand correctly.

Can't think of another source device which has an SL output. There is no DVD/BD player with SL output, nor does the HD621 have it.

Is that the sort of thing you mean?

Thanks.

Good. I am hoping this means that the 861 output from the Sooloos' input to it will remain unencrypted.

That's what I feared. I use the HD621 for my HD MCH sources and the necessity for having MHR (or is it MHHR?) on would mean that the 861's SL output from them would be downsampled. I would have to resort to a modified player with 3xSPDIF to maintain HD unencrypted through such a setup.

Yes. Although not completely definitive, it gives me useful input.

Using the SpeakerLink to AES cable from my Control:10 to NON Meridian DAC I get up to a 24 bit 96kHz signal. When using the 2x setting all outputs from Control:10 are either 88.2kHz or 96kHz (16 or 24 bit). With the 1x setting all outputs are either 44.1 or 48 kHz (16 or 24 bit). In other words, yes the output is full resolution with no downsampling with the 2x setting.