16-Dec-2015, 19:46
(This post was last modified: 17-Dec-2015, 04:21 by MountainGuy.)
From another online site.
For those who may not have stable connection using the official setup or want to stream music in other ways beyond using Devialet's Spark software, here are THREE ways to get stereo audio from my laptop or audio source such as CD player without depending on Spark. Your mileage may vary and this is offered to help the Amazon community - if it does not work for you, please do not 'dislike' this as I am not official Devialet tech support. I am using these methods right now as I type.
For those who may still have problems with connecting two Phantoms reliably for a number of reasons , I found out from earlier experimentation and forum chat that AFTER you successfully set up the Dialog and Phantom per Devialet's instruction, you can DISCONNECT the Dialog from the router and wall plug, and DISCONNECT the Phantoms from the wall plug. (Before you do so, in the Spark software, first ENABLE both bluetooth and optical for the Phantoms.) When you plug in the power again to the Dialog and Phantoms, they will reestablish connection via wireless. Understanding that the Phantoms connect wireless with the Dialog and not my wireless router was a breakthrough my understanding. This setup does mean you can't use the Spark software to stream or control volume.
Simply bring the Dialog and Phantoms to to the room you want to set up in. Plug into the power receptacle. The Dialog and Phantoms reconnect without any intervention.
Now I have three ways to connect audio from my laptop which enables services such as Spotify or audio from my CDs without any router.
1. Bluetooth for stereo. For example, if I connect to a laptop via bluetooth, EVERY audio coming out of the laptop (or any bluetooth device) streams through the Phantoms. Audio quality is decent but not as good as Phantoms are capable of. This is incredibly convenient as any guest visiting can simply port their music through your Phantoms. I do believe that the Phantom on bluetooth trumps every other native bluetooth capable audio device available in the market.
You control volume via your bluetooth device OR the Devialet Phantom Remote.
2. Optical input. The remarkable thing is that you can connect three optical sources - one to each of the Phantoms, and one to the Dialog. The three will autoswitch to broadcast whichever optical source is active and produce stereo music. If you want better than bluetooth quality from your computer, you can simply connect from USB to Optical via a device such as the Turtle Beach Micro II USB Analog/Digital which is under $35 here on Amazon. There are other higher quality USB to Optical converters which may give you a higher quality results.
You control volume via your computer AND/OR the Devialet Phantom Remote.
3. Chromecast Audio. The $30 dongle ($55 for two) can simply stream optical into any of your Dialog or Phantom optical input. It is a rock solid connection from my room to the non-Apple wireless router so you don't need a Airport Express or Airport Extreme. I do find it interesting that Google has $30 device which can stream 96bit/24khz bitrate reliably.
Chromecast Audio has TWO other advantages:
1. Even if your Dialog/Phantom/Spark system works flawlessly, you still can't stream Spotify or Youtube and such. Chromecast optical can be input to your Dialog and you can cast all your web audio. (including Spotify using their web based player) You can control volume via Spark, Web based player (i.e. Youtube or Spotify) volume control AND/OR Devialet Phantom Remote.
2. If you intend to run Phantoms as mono into multiple rooms, Chromecast Audio allows you to bypass the need for any Dialog. For the price of one Dialog you can purchase 12 Chormecast Audio. Simply configure every Phantom as a solo unit and plug a Chromecast Audio into each Phantom. For under $30, you can stream reliably into multiple rooms via Chromecast Audio into you Phantoms. You control volume via the web based player. Spark and Devialet Pjantom Remote does not work in this scenario.
Finally, there is supposedly a 'beta' type software where Chromecast Audio can broadcast ALL the audio out of a computer. I do not have time to figure that out.
For those who may not have stable connection using the official setup or want to stream music in other ways beyond using Devialet's Spark software, here are THREE ways to get stereo audio from my laptop or audio source such as CD player without depending on Spark. Your mileage may vary and this is offered to help the Amazon community - if it does not work for you, please do not 'dislike' this as I am not official Devialet tech support. I am using these methods right now as I type.
For those who may still have problems with connecting two Phantoms reliably for a number of reasons , I found out from earlier experimentation and forum chat that AFTER you successfully set up the Dialog and Phantom per Devialet's instruction, you can DISCONNECT the Dialog from the router and wall plug, and DISCONNECT the Phantoms from the wall plug. (Before you do so, in the Spark software, first ENABLE both bluetooth and optical for the Phantoms.) When you plug in the power again to the Dialog and Phantoms, they will reestablish connection via wireless. Understanding that the Phantoms connect wireless with the Dialog and not my wireless router was a breakthrough my understanding. This setup does mean you can't use the Spark software to stream or control volume.
Simply bring the Dialog and Phantoms to to the room you want to set up in. Plug into the power receptacle. The Dialog and Phantoms reconnect without any intervention.
Now I have three ways to connect audio from my laptop which enables services such as Spotify or audio from my CDs without any router.
1. Bluetooth for stereo. For example, if I connect to a laptop via bluetooth, EVERY audio coming out of the laptop (or any bluetooth device) streams through the Phantoms. Audio quality is decent but not as good as Phantoms are capable of. This is incredibly convenient as any guest visiting can simply port their music through your Phantoms. I do believe that the Phantom on bluetooth trumps every other native bluetooth capable audio device available in the market.
You control volume via your bluetooth device OR the Devialet Phantom Remote.
2. Optical input. The remarkable thing is that you can connect three optical sources - one to each of the Phantoms, and one to the Dialog. The three will autoswitch to broadcast whichever optical source is active and produce stereo music. If you want better than bluetooth quality from your computer, you can simply connect from USB to Optical via a device such as the Turtle Beach Micro II USB Analog/Digital which is under $35 here on Amazon. There are other higher quality USB to Optical converters which may give you a higher quality results.
You control volume via your computer AND/OR the Devialet Phantom Remote.
3. Chromecast Audio. The $30 dongle ($55 for two) can simply stream optical into any of your Dialog or Phantom optical input. It is a rock solid connection from my room to the non-Apple wireless router so you don't need a Airport Express or Airport Extreme. I do find it interesting that Google has $30 device which can stream 96bit/24khz bitrate reliably.
Chromecast Audio has TWO other advantages:
1. Even if your Dialog/Phantom/Spark system works flawlessly, you still can't stream Spotify or Youtube and such. Chromecast optical can be input to your Dialog and you can cast all your web audio. (including Spotify using their web based player) You can control volume via Spark, Web based player (i.e. Youtube or Spotify) volume control AND/OR Devialet Phantom Remote.
2. If you intend to run Phantoms as mono into multiple rooms, Chromecast Audio allows you to bypass the need for any Dialog. For the price of one Dialog you can purchase 12 Chormecast Audio. Simply configure every Phantom as a solo unit and plug a Chromecast Audio into each Phantom. For under $30, you can stream reliably into multiple rooms via Chromecast Audio into you Phantoms. You control volume via the web based player. Spark and Devialet Pjantom Remote does not work in this scenario.
Finally, there is supposedly a 'beta' type software where Chromecast Audio can broadcast ALL the audio out of a computer. I do not have time to figure that out.
