Devialet Chat

I just remember it was posted around the same time, but I don't remember where I read it first either >_<

Posting here one of the Questions @thumb5 put to Devialet senior Expert team at the Oxford Audio event today. It may or may not be helpful in this case.

Quote:11) Is it possible to have a switch in Spark that selects "normal", "zero latency" or "time-coincident" for Phantom?

A: There is a Direct Optical Mode with very low latency, but no control over volume as the operating software is bypassed - the Phantom just plays what it gets in optical input.

Joachim showed me the following procedure to engage this mode:
1: launch Phantom app (not Spark)
2: restart Phantom (3 clicks)
3: pair Phantom with app
4: on app, tap ten times between “mute” and “night” icons
5: select Optical Direct mode
6: select channel (L/R/mix)
7: select max. output level 0dB/-12dB

[Disclaimer: since I'm not familiar with Phantom I can't guarantee this is exactly correct - please take care, and contact Devialet if in any doubt.]

(12-Jul-2018, 22:15)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ]Posting here one of the Questions @thumb5 put to Devialet senior Expert team at the Oxford Audio event today. It may or may not be helpful in this case.

Quote:11) Is it possible to have a switch in Spark that selects "normal", "zero latency" or "time-coincident" for Phantom?

A: There is a Direct Optical Mode with very low latency, but no control over volume as the operating software is bypassed - the Phantom just plays what it gets in optical input.

Joachim showed me the following procedure to engage this mode:
1: launch Phantom app (not Spark)
2: restart Phantom (3 clicks)
3: pair Phantom with app
4: on app, tap ten times between “mute” and “night” icons
5: select Optical Direct mode
6: select channel (L/R/mix)
7: select max. output level 0dB/-12dB

[Disclaimer: since I'm not familiar with Phantom I can't guarantee this is exactly correct - please take care, and contact Devialet if in any doubt.]

Thanks a lot! Just contacted Devialet to see if they will provide the software and firmware.

@ragwo, I got the impression this was part of the standard firmware, but was hidden unless/until you use this magic procedure to activate it.

(13-Jul-2018, 10:07)ragwo Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-Jul-2018, 22:15)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ]Posting here one of the Questions @thumb5 put to Devialet senior Expert team at the Oxford Audio event today. It may or may not be helpful in this case.

Quote:11) Is it possible to have a switch in Spark that selects "normal", "zero latency" or "time-coincident" for Phantom?

A: There is a Direct Optical Mode with very low latency, but no control over volume as the operating software is bypassed - the Phantom just plays what it gets in optical input.

Joachim showed me the following procedure to engage this mode:
1: launch Phantom app (not Spark)
2: restart Phantom (3 clicks)
3: pair Phantom with app
4: on app, tap ten times between “mute” and “night” icons
5: select Optical Direct mode
6: select channel (L/R/mix)
7: select max. output level 0dB/-12dB

[Disclaimer: since I'm not familiar with Phantom I can't guarantee this is exactly correct - please take care, and contact Devialet if in any doubt.]

Thanks a lot! Just contacted Devialet to see if they will provide the software and firmware.

The Phantom Remote Control software is available on the App Store. Only useful if you use iOS/OS X though.

(12-Jul-2018, 22:15)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ]Posting here one of the Questions @thumb5 put to Devialet senior Expert team at the Oxford Audio event today. It may or may not be helpful in this case.

Quote:11) Is it possible to have a switch in Spark that selects "normal", "zero latency" or "time-coincident" for Phantom?

A: There is a Direct Optical Mode with very low latency, but no control over volume as the operating software is bypassed - the Phantom just plays what it gets in optical input.

Joachim showed me the following procedure to engage this mode:
1: launch Phantom app (not Spark)
2: restart Phantom (3 clicks)
3: pair Phantom with app
4: on app, tap ten times between “mute” and “night” icons
5: select Optical Direct mode
6: select channel (L/R/mix)
7: select max. output level 0dB/-12dB

[Disclaimer: since I'm not familiar with Phantom I can't guarantee this is exactly correct - please take care, and contact Devialet if in any doubt.]

Thanks very much for this vital snippet of information. I am very interested in following the procedure.
However, caution dictates that I should ask if this is reversible?

(13-Jul-2018, 10:22)thumb5 Wrote: [ -> ]@ragwo, I got the impression this was part of the standard firmware, but was hidden unless/until you use this magic procedure to activate it.

Thanks a lot!
Devialet support has no knowledge of the low latency mode, or they're reluctant to share the trick. This is the answer I got when asking if I needed and special firmware and/or software to enable the low latency mode:
"I'm reaching back to you again to inform you there is no "Low Latency Mode" on Phantom. There is also no alternative display."
I have no idea of what display he's talking about, maybe it's a bad translation from French?

@ragwo - I'm not sure what to say! Maybe you have to utter the magic words "Direct Optical" (not necessarily in that order) to make it click?

(20-Jul-2018, 07:10)thumb5 Wrote: [ -> ]@ragwo - I'm not sure what to say!  Maybe you have to utter the magic words "Direct Optical" (not necessarily in that order) to make it click?

I've asked support if they could check again and linked to this thread. Hopefully I'll get an answer soon.

Following on from @thumb5 excellent OAC meeting questions and answers post, I attempted to follow the Direct Optical mode procedure.  However, I was unsuccessful with step 4 and beyond.

So, I submitted a request last week to seek clarification of the procedure and, many thanks to Mei (Customer Care) and Eric Gaillard (Integration professional), today I received that clarification.  Just as importantly, I also have the simple procedure to exit this mode.

Oops! I failed at step 4 either because of user error or rather user mis-interpretation.  

Never mind, I have now successfully setup a Phantom in Direct Optical mode. Hurrah! ?

Just in case there is anyone else who thinks like me, god help you, I’ve enhanced the original procedure.  Apologies to thumb5.

1: get the Phantom to emit its startup sound.  This might be achieved by pressing the back button 3 times or simply by switching on the Phantom.
2: launch Devialet Phantom Remote IOS app (not Spark)
3: pair Phantom with app
4: in app, tap ten times rapidly on a free space area (eg. between the “mute” and “night” icons).  If done correctly, a series of pop-up windows will appear as follows.
5: Option - select Optical Direct
6: Channel - select as appropriate (L/R/mix)
7: Volume - select as appropriate (0dB/-12dB/+12dB) nb - 0dB equals Phantom playing at 100% of its capacity without any audio compression
8: Optical - a success or failure message

To go back to normal mode, simply press the back button 3 times to execute a reset to factory settings.

Finally, I hope to use this weekend to test the differences between normal/Direct Optical mode, using REW to take measurements, with respect to frequency range and particularly delay/latency.