Optical Direct for Reactors

[booshtukka]

Where do you find an optical splitter? Is there such a thing as a 5.1 splitter too? How do you control volume?

[njaiswal]

Where do you find an optical splitter? Is there such a thing as a 5.1 splitter too? How do you control volume?

So I have an Anthem D2V receiver that all of my sources plug into.  It has analog outputs that I use Portta analog to digital converters to convert to optical.  For the speakers that are far away from the Anthem i then use J-Tech digital optical extenders to extend the signal using ethernet cables.  

The Anthem receiver controls the volume.  

I'm trying to get a call with Devialet's custom install manager to discuss a better approach.  I'll post a summary of my conversation if it happens.

[booshtukka]

Probably a bit overkill for my two Reactors! I'm amazed there isn't a cheap box that does this.

[alandbush]

Probably a bit overkill for my two Reactors! I'm amazed there isn't a cheap box that does this.

I cannot vouch for any of the following items but they may do the job for you.

LiNKFOR hdmi de-embedder to 2 channel analogue

Neotek hdmi de embedder with volume

Tendak hdmi de-embedder to 6 channel analogue

Fugen hdmi de embedder with volume

And then convert the individual analogue signals as per njaiswal recommendation.

[booshtukka]

All much simpler. But still a shame we have to do digital -> analogue -> digital. Would be nice to have a box with 1 optical in and multiple optical outs. I guess this doesn't exist?

[alandbush]

All much simpler. But still a shame we have to do digital -> analogue -> digital. Would be nice to have a box with 1 optical in and multiple optical outs. I guess this doesn't exist?

Rare as hens teeth, but it can be done at a cost.

For example sonifex redbox

[booshtukka]

That box only appears to support coax SPDIF? And only separates stereo rather than 5.1 etc.

I'm surprised this doesn't exist. Though I guess it's because it's rare to have a device that expects a mono optical input.

[njaiswal]

That box only appears to support coax SPDIF? And only separates stereo rather than 5.1 etc.

I'm surprised this doesn't exist. Though I guess it's because it's rare to have a device that expects a mono optical input.

Tell me about it... the original Premiers have the ability to select which channel and in their new product they decide to eliminate it... I just have to shake my head at this point and roll with it.

[njaiswal]

How much lower is the latency? What’s the procedure?

Based on my testing, its worse than 60ms... :-(  I'm waiting to hear back from them on the actual measurement.  I'm also waiting to hear back on if I can post the procedure.  On the bright side, all of my reactors are stable now.  No audio issues, no random changing of volume, etc.

Confirmed from Devialet that the latency will be less than 1ms when put into optical direct mode.  The limitation with the reactor implementation is that there is no way to choose which channel the speaker will play from the optical stream.  So you need to split the L/R channels before the signal reaches the reactors.  Using a simple optical splitter will give you 2 reactors playing a stereo mix, not true L/R.  

Below is the procedure to turn on Custom Mode ("optical direct") on a reactor:

Reactor Custom Mode
* Mini-jack connection only (both Analog and Optical)
* Volume fixed to 100%
* Volume setting available on sensor buttons
* BT + Airplay disabled
* Hardware reset only (protected from Power cycling)


Step1: Factory Reset
— Plug-in your Reactor and wait for the LED light to turn white or green
— Long Press on the back button (10sec)
— LED should turn purple and produce a distinctive short sound
— After ~1mn LED will fade in White then turn solid Green

Step 2: Entering Custom mode
— Press simultaneously (+) and (-) top button for 10 seconds
— LED will blink White then turn Green again when you release
— Plug-in your mini-jack (optical or analog) to the back of Reactor within one minute
— LED will turn from Green to solid White
— Unplug Reactor for 10 seconds and plug it back
— That’s it! Reactor is ready in Custom Mode!

— You can check that the setup worked by pressing on the
Bluetooth logo on top of the speaker
—> The LED should not turn Blue

The instructions are straight from Devialet.  Enjoy!

Spoke Alexandre from Devialet Custom Installation and found that the reactor's latency in their "custom install mode" is hard coded at 190ms.  There is going to be an update that reduces it but he didn't know when it will be released.  So now i'm looking at a speaker management system that will allow me to delay the Phantom Premiers by 190ms so that I can align them with the reactors.  I am seriously annoyed right now...

[njaiswal]

Quick update. I ended up buying the Dante Optical adapters from a local installer as well as Dante analog input adapters. Using them I was able to achieve a significant improvement in sound quality over my old configuration as well as a very stable configuration. I'm going to convert all of my phantoms to use Dante going forward. It's surprisingly easy to setup and seems to be a well supported standard.