Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems DSP520 as a controller?

Does anyone know if and how you can make a DSP520 the controller in a Meridian setup. My friends G61RSL is in a (ventilated) cupboard and it would be good to use the IR on the DSP520 so that it can be the controller rather than the G61 so the cupboard door doesn't have to be open.

I've enabled the IR on the DSP520 ok (and can set the G61RSL to be non-controller ok) but I can't see how I set the DSP520 to be the controller.

Any ideas?

Isn't this a job for a G12 control eye connected to the G61?

Cheers

George

Yes, I'm sure that would work however I'm trying to avoid additional expenditure and thought that as the DSP520 had IR then that would make sense.

I think this IR allows control of an MS200 if located say internally on the speaker enclosure however not sure if this functionality extends to being a controller.

If it has IR and comms via SL like other DSP's then I expect it would work to route most MSR commands back to the processor. However the vMSR is designed exactly for this purpose and I would think is a better option as you will gets comms back from the processor. With just DSP as IR you will be guessing what you have pressed.

Thanks both.

I agree that the vMSR or G12 may offer richer functionality but both require more hardware. If my friend goes that route he will probably go for a more comprehensive control option such as RTI or AMX as there is other equipment that would benefit from better control both in this room and elsewhere in the house.

In the short term he is hoping to just use what he has and I also expected the DSP520 to be able to route most MSR commands back to the processor (via SpeakerLink). However I assume I need to set the speaker as the controller rather than the G61 (or does this just prevent duplicate commands from being received?)

When I enabled the IR on the DSP520 I was able to switch it on and off however it didn't seem to be routing commands back to the G61 etc.

Hi,

Try putting the system in standby, pointing the MSR+ at the DSP520 and then pressing the clear button.

This should (might?) setup the DSP as controller and the processor as not-controller.

Regards,
Carl

PS I assume that this DSP520 is setup as the MASTER and is connected into the MASTER bank on the G61RSL via SpeakerLink.

Hi Carl,

I tried putting system in standby and pointing MSR+ and pressing clear and this didn't seem to work.

I don't believe the DSP520 is set as MASTER, I think it might be the right speaker which is an M6. To be a controller, does the speaker also have to be a master?

In a non-SpeakerLink then absolutely as it is only the MASTER DSP that is connected back to the processor.

I presume this is still true with SpeakerLink, but it might just work provided the DSP with the IR enabled is connect to the MASTER bank of RJ45's on the processor.

This assumes that:
The processor will still handle return comms coming into any of the RJ45's in the MASTER bank of sockets.

Try it, though I prefer to setup systems with the centre DSP as the MASTER. (I'm assuming the DSP520 is being used a centre.)

Regards,
Carl

You are correct that the DSP520 is the centre. IIRC one of the M6 speakers were made MASTER as it is connected in a star (rather than daisy chain) configuration which means (I think?) that one of the Left or Right speakers have to be Master.

Is my thinking correct here? If so, not sure that cabling is in place to support daisy chain so if DSP520 does need to be connected to the master bank of SpeakerLink to allow it to be a controller then may have a bit of a challenge!

P.S. It did seem possible for the IR to be enabled on a non-master DSP (the 520 in this case).

Hi again,

No one mentioned daisy chaining, all the SpeakerLink DSP's can be star-wired back to the processor. It is just a question of which bank of RJ45's on the processor they are connected to.

The MASTER speaker (and possibly a SLAVE one with the IR enabled*) MUST be connect to the lower MASTER bank. Whilst the SLAVE DSP's (but not the one with the IR enabled*) can be connect to either the upper or lower bank.

* For the avoidance of doubt, I do not know if a SLAVE DSP with IR enabled will work. You will have to try it. It is more typical that the speaker with the IR set is also the MASTER.

You will have to try both setups and report back.

Regards,
Carl

The master DSP has to be routed back to the master SL socket of the processor. If you don't you won't get proper comms back and forth. Make the centre master and the M6's slaves. If 520 has IR then it should work ok.

More hardware? An IP232 device is peanuts and will enable full visual MSR command. IMHO a no-brainer.