Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Guidance on G68 vs 271 + 3rd party processor

What exactly is it that you are waiting for someone to figure out? Dante is a commonly used protocol and there are plenty of devices that will work with the JBL over an IP based network to output a digital signal that Meridian DSPs will take. I looked around and you are looking at about 2k plus cabling for something to sit in between the JBL and a 271 if you want 24bit/48k digital from processor to speakers. Of course whether the added cost, box count and complexity is worth it is debateable. I suspect that nobody is doing it not because anything needs figuring out but because they don't think it is worth it overall. I came to this conclusion when I considered it a while back.

Hi,

Interesting comments on the Arcam and Dante system.

Just a comment (from an earlier post) that the G65 is a 6 channel unit (like the G68) so you'd need a 861.V6 for full 8 channel (7.1) playback from the UHD722.

For now, I'd be tempted just to investigate getting the power supply replaced on your G68 (Mr TechGuy can do that for you) and contemplating where to go next later on. If all you want is 7.1, then an 861 is the sensible way to go (A 271 will cost around £2k, which is a decent amount towards a 861).

Depending on what DSP5200 speakers you have (legacy, SpeakerLink, .2 or SE) a sensible upgrades might be to move up the chain to SE, but that's probably for another thread.

Brian

Easy there Marvin- your reply has a bit of an edge. I have obviously looked into this too. The prospect of multiple boxes and a mess of wires is not very attractive. I think we are in agreement that a better solution is lacking. Maybe we leave it there.

I was just trying to help. Yes lets leave it there but it is nice to know that this forum hasn't got any friendlier over the years.

The JBL Dante could be used without a 271, If you daisy chain comms to all your DSP speakers and type them as type 1.

You would need a Dante to SPDIF adapter such as the RDL for each pair of channels and the requisite network gear and software to set up the RDL's. You would only need to turn the speakers on and off and leave the volume at 87 and leave the volume via the JBL or leave the volume of the JBL at 0db and control the volume via the Master DSP. The JBL however uses the same firmware as the Arcam mentioned previously.

We have used Dante in the pro audio arena and it seems to be fairly reliable. All said, this would be a fairly easy DIY setup for someone with lots of legacy speakers as you could use traditional comms and the SPDIF input on the DSP's without a bunch of extra analog to digital conversion and no AC12/revivers or 271.

I am curious as to how the comms would work as I can't quite picture it. I have two 271s so getting rid of those along with the Arcam AV40 might get me closer to a Trinnov depending on how their Audio over IP plans pan out.

Trinnov is AES digital out on a db25. The JBL has Dante. The comms would be daisy chained from the master speaker so that all the other speakers would follow the master.

I have heard a rumour that it may not just be Ravenna/AES67 in the Audio over IP future of Trinnov and that Dante could be on the table as well. Will be interesting to see what they eventually come up with. Should also remove the 16 channel digital out limit as well.

So the comms would just be each speaker connected in sequence with two cables a comms in and comms out? Makes sense although it would need some planning as to see if it is an easier than a single comms to each speaker cabled up to a central point. Something else to consider I guess.