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PLC networking
#1
Hi,

does anyone know of a USB (preferably compatible with a Pi USB port) bridge to PLC that works with Phantoms? Would be nice to just connect each Phantom to power and have network connection over PLC at the same time.
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Devialetless!
Roon, ROCK/Audiolense XO/Music on NAS/EtherRegen/RoPieee/USPCB/ISORegen/USPCB/Sound Devices USBPre2/Tannoy GOLD 8
250 Pro CI, MicroRendu(1.4), Mutec MC-3+USB
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#2
(27-Mar-2022, 16:52)ogs Wrote: Hi,

does anyone know of a USB (preferably compatible with a Pi USB port) bridge to PLC that works with Phantoms? Would be nice to just connect each Phantom to power and have network connection over PLC at the same time.


That will only work if you use a Dialog [mention]ogs [/mention]. Afaik PLC is only used to support the Phantom’s own mesh network (Phantom-to-Phantom and Dialog-to-Phantom).


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#3
Thanks. Yes I thought about Dialog, but I don't like it very much - too hot and I doubt it sounds good enough. Was hoping for ordinary PLC - possibly with RAAT... Smile
Better to use ethernet cables then.
*
Devialetless!
Roon, ROCK/Audiolense XO/Music on NAS/EtherRegen/RoPieee/USPCB/ISORegen/USPCB/Sound Devices USBPre2/Tannoy GOLD 8
250 Pro CI, MicroRendu(1.4), Mutec MC-3+USB
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#4
(27-Mar-2022, 19:31)ogs Wrote: Thanks. Yes I thought about Dialog, but I don't like it very much - too hot and I doubt it sounds good enough. Was hoping for ordinary PLC - possibly with RAAT... Smile
Better to use ethernet cables then.


It might also work with Arch, not quite sure. I can’t quite figure out from the online info whether it would fulfil the same function as a Dialog but it does at least support PLC.


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#5
(27-Mar-2022, 19:31)ogs Wrote: Thanks. Yes I thought about Dialog, but I don't like it very much - too hot and I doubt it sounds good enough. Was hoping for ordinary PLC - possibly with RAAT... Smile
Better to use ethernet cables then.


Just a reflection. If you’re really obsessing about sound quality then with the greatest respect I think PLC was a bit of a brain fart. PLC works by modulating a carrier that is generated to industrial quality by your utility and then degraded by you and all your neighbours. PLC is about flexibility and convenience, PLC and audiophile obsessiveness have absolutely nothing in common. If you really want to optimise SQ with Phantom then I would suggest that Optical Direct (maybe from an RPi as a streaming endpoint) is the best and possibly the only way to go.


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#6
(28-Mar-2022, 06:18)struts Wrote:
(27-Mar-2022, 19:31)ogs Wrote: Thanks. Yes I thought about Dialog, but I don't like it very much - too hot and I doubt it sounds good enough. Was hoping for ordinary PLC - possibly with RAAT... Smile
Better to use ethernet cables then.


Just a reflection.  If you’re really obsessing about sound quality then with the greatest respect I think PLC was a bit of a brain fart.  PLC works by modulating a carrier that is generated to  industrial quality by your utility and then degraded by you and all your neighbours.    PLC is about flexibility and convenience, PLC and audiophile obsessiveness have absolutely nothing in common.  If you really want to optimise SQ with Phantom then I would suggest that Optical Direct (maybe from an RPi as a streaming endpoint) is the best and possibly the only way to go.


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I beg to differ. 

As you can see from my signature, I have PLC in the path between my source and the DAC in the D220. 
I have failed to hear any difference as I would expect from a DAC properly designed from a PSU filtering perspective and a proper network delay variation handling. 

So I’m aware that it’s only on my system, with my ears and my brain, but my recommendation is to listen by yourself and decide accordingly. You might be pleasantly surprised… or not…

Jean-Marie
MacBook Air M2 -> RAAT/Air -> WiFi -> PLC -> Ethernet -> Devialet 220pro with Core Infinity (upgraded from 120) -> AperturA Armonia
France
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#7
(28-Mar-2022, 08:37)Jean-Marie Wrote: I beg to differ. 

As you can see from my signature, I have PLC in the path between my source and the DAC in the D220. 
I have failed to hear any difference as I would expect from a DAC properly designed from a PSU filtering perspective and a proper network delay variation handling. 

So I’m aware that it’s only on my system, with my ears and my brain, but my recommendation is to listen by yourself and decide accordingly. You might be pleasantly surprised… or not…

Jean-Marie

Hi @Jean-Marie,

Fully respect your opinion and your experiences but even ignoring SQ PLC would still not work in the way @ogs was envisaging.  The only units that can communicate directly with a Phantom via PLC are another Phantom or a Dialog/Arch.  

I believe you are using PLC as a IP bridge which is a different use case.  Neither your source (MacBook Pro) nor your endpoint (Devialet Expert) support PLC.
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#8
(28-Mar-2022, 08:50)struts Wrote:
(28-Mar-2022, 08:37)Jean-Marie Wrote: I beg to differ. 

As you can see from my signature, I have PLC in the path between my source and the DAC in the D220. 
I have failed to hear any difference as I would expect from a DAC properly designed from a PSU filtering perspective and a proper network delay variation handling. 

So I’m aware that it’s only on my system, with my ears and my brain, but my recommendation is to listen by yourself and decide accordingly. You might be pleasantly surprised… or not…

Jean-Marie

Hi @Jean-Marie,

Fully respect your opinion and your experiences but even ignoring SQ PLC would still not work in the way @ogs was envisaging.  The only units that can communicate directly with a Phantom via PLC are another Phantom or a Dialog/Arch.  

I believe you are using PLC as a IP bridge which is a different use case.  Neither your source (MacBook Pro) nor your endpoint (Devialet Expert) support PLC.

Hi @struts,

Yes you are correct that what @ogs is contemplating is not possible, at least to my knowledge.

I was reacting to the more general statement about PLC and Sound Quality.

By the way, this may be a little known fact, but the Expert is PLC capable and it's only a matter of firmware/software to be able to use PLC as a way to connect to the Expert. 

There are tons of capabilities of the Hardware that are not (yet I hope) fully enabled and leveraged by the software.

All the best,
Jean-Marie
MacBook Air M2 -> RAAT/Air -> WiFi -> PLC -> Ethernet -> Devialet 220pro with Core Infinity (upgraded from 120) -> AperturA Armonia
France
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#9
(28-Mar-2022, 13:07)Jean-Marie Wrote: By the way, this may be a little known fact, but the Expert is PLC capable and it's only a matter of firmware/software to be able to use PLC as a way to connect to the Expert. 

There are tons of capabilities of the Hardware that are not (yet I hope) fully enabled and leveraged by the software.

All the best,
Jean-Marie

Thanks, I had totally missed that!  I wonder whether Devialet will ever enable it?  Homeplug AV2 turns 10 years old this year and as I understand it nobody jumped in the driving seat when the Homeplug Alliance quietly dissolved back in 2016 so it doesn't look like we'll ever see an AV3.  Afaik Devialet was the only audio vendor that picked it up (although there must have been others?) Unfortunately the longer the PLC implementation in the Expert goes unexploited the more it looks like it was stillborn.  Shame.   Sad
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#10
Hi All.... could someone explain to me exactly what PLC is with respect to it being used with Phantoms? I'm currently going back and forth with Devialet Customer Care about audio dropouts which started with the two Phantom I Premier 103dB I bought refurbished from Devialet a week ago. They required a firmware update as soon as I plugged them in. The audio dropouts occur every few minutes now on all my Phantoms regardless if hard wired (ethernet and optical) or used wirelessly (I've two Reactor 900 and two Premier 103dB). They've now asked me to set each Phantom to PLC vs Auto in the app. Perhaps they are going through a process of elimination to find the problem? The dropouts never occurred with my other Phantoms over two years of use (duo Phantom Reactors in stereo), but ever since a recent firmware upgrade to the Phantom Premiers the problem started both when used in stereo or separate mono for all four Phantoms. I can't recall if the upgrade to the app occurred at the same time as the firmware upgrade for the Premiers.

Sorry if I'm hijacking the thread, but this is a network issue as far as I can see.
2 Channel Power / Signal Path: APC H15 → Mistral Audio W-3900 → Custom Roon Server → Silent Angel Bonn N8 → Silent Angel Forester F1 → miniDSP SHD Studio → Mutec MC-3+ USB → Devialet Phantom I 108dB

Headphone iFi Audio iDSD Signature → Grado GS1000i
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