[slinkelist] nascent slinkelist FAQ
Jay Pfaffman
pfaffman@relax.com
Wed, 19 Apr 2000 16:50:04 -0500
Q0: What is this?
I've composed a FAQ of some questions that come up on the
Slinkelist. The Nirvis FAQs are (rightly) directed primarily to
pre-purchase questions. Here are a few recurring questions that
I've noticed. In a few cases I've attributed answers to folks;
I've done so without asking since the info is in the slinkelist
archive on the web, but if you'd not like your name mentioned here,
I'll remove it from future postings. No one has asked me to do
this, but I asked David <aue@nirvis.com> and he said he wouldn't
mind. I'm just a satisfied customer who's avoiding writing a
Ph.D. proposal.
Comments, fixes, new questions, etc are welcome, though hopefully
I'll actually start writing a proposal soon. :-)
I appropriate, I'll post this on a web site and/or re-post it here
periodically.
Q1: How do I make my amp change inputs automatically?
Michael Holopainen <michael@laserle.fi>
1. In Options - Devices - Add : name it i.e.. MyAmp or whatever and
for device file -> ...Nirvis(slinke-program)-directory and somewhere
in it's sub directory is Device Files directory and it's sub directory
Sony and there ampsls.cde-file
...Nirvis\Device Files\Sony\ampsls.cde
( ampir.cde = AMP IR CODE
ampslr.cde = AMP S-Link Receive Code
ampsls.cde = AMP S-Link Send Code )
2. Now you have device in cdj called MyAmp (or something)
3. To control that device you need to edit ...Nirvis\CDJ\maps.txt
(it's good idea to move that file to another location AND tell cdj
it's new location in options-maps so you don't overwrite it when
upgrading cdj) you need to edit the file with notepad or some other
writing tool because cdj BETA does not yet allow you to edit the file
in cdj (you can view it). maps.txt works like:
cdrj:EVENT[EventDetail] {
ACTION[ActionDetail];
2ndAction;
3rd...;
}
ie. you press mute on your amp, that is an event, you can write
code(actions) that is performed when cdj detects that event.
(everything from sony-slink-devices is send to s-link, you can ask you
amp "What is your current volume setting" and it will reply)
ie. cdjr:using_player[CD1] {myamp:input[020200]} means that when event
= CD1 starts playing something cdj performs action = of sending
command "input[002200]" to device myamp. CD1 is identified in
Players, (device named)mp3 is integral player of cdj, in addition to
player you can create additional devices in Device Files and point to
then with given name. read the map.txt and ...Sony\ampsls.cde file
and figure out the syntax also ampsls.cde-file contains the input
source codes ie. VCR21100 finally the answer :
edit in maps.txt-file the following row :
cdjr:using_player[mp3] {}
to
cdjr:using_player[mp3] {myamp:input[######]}
myamp is the name you have given to your amp described in
Options-AddDevice-menu.
input[#####] is the command send to myamp (converted to binary code
according to Sony/ampsls.cde) = tells sony amp to switch audio source to
the proper input
HOW TO... ? Make cdj switch audio inputs in AMPs to current player
Q2: How to control speakers?
http://www.smarthome.com/8152.html
Xantech make a nice module for this but it's (gulp) $400 retail.
http://www.xantech.com/products/c_folder/pg20.pdf
Jay Pfaffman <pfaffman@relax.com>:
My solution has been to buy more amps. Those multi-speaker
switchers are usually more expensive than amps & don't allow you to
control the volume of different rooms independently.
Q3: Can anyone suggest a mixer?
See http://nirvis.com/mixers.htm -- If you've got money and or lots
of digital inputs, check out Nirvis's DXS. It's expensive, but
apparently cheaper than anything competing.
GBR gregroberts.com me@gregroberts.com:
I use an "Optimus Stereo Sound Mixer SSM-1250" from Radio Shack. $120
USD. 4 line stereo inputs (RCA jack), 3 mixable at once (one channel
is a switch between 3 and 4), VU meters. You have to adjust volumes
manually with sliders, but after one time setup over a year ago, I
have let mine sit in the closet (behind the gear), and has worked
perfectly without a hiccup. Although I'm sure this wouldn't suffice
for an audiophile, I find no noticable noise or distortion added to
the signal, and this is in an acoustically above average room.
Gary L. Hunt glh@srv.net:
I bought a Rolls MX-28 3-channel mixer from Synthony Music
(www.synthony.com) for $80. You'll have to be your own judge
if the specs are good enough for you, but it works fine for me--
just plugged in my 3 changers and turned it on. (Even though
it's from a company that makes mostly pro audio equipment,
its inputs and outputs are unbalanced. I don't think the previous
posting was really referring to "balanced line" signals, since
consumer audio equipment does not support these, and the
signal levels used in such systems are not the same as consumer
audio gear.)
Jay Pfaffman <pfaffman@relax.com>:
I built a passive mixer using the circuit on the Nirvis web site.
I managed to find a board with 3 pairs of RCA jacks (I built a
two-input mixer). I didn't even solder anything, though I did
have to wrap it very well to make the connections reliable. It
works well enough. It's ugly, but mounted inside a closet, so I
don't care. Sometimes I wish I had a mixer, but I'm at a loss to
explain why.
Q4: Should I upgrade my slinke to 2.3?
I have no idea, but would like to know myself.
Q5: Which Changer should I get?
Colby says:
If you can get the CX300 and CX220 for the same price, I'd choose the CX300.
1. Same size
2. Higher capacity
3. *Seems* a little quieter
4. The daisy chaining appears to acutally work - that is you can feed audio
from another changer through it w/o problems
Older master controller changers such as the CX270 and CX90ES definitely did
cause problems and we didn't recommend them for new purchases. The CX300 and
CX350 seem to be much more well behaved in this respect, and so I wouldn't
hesitate to use them (and in fact I do personally use them).
Q6: Why can't I upload track titles?
Jay Pfaffman <pfaffman@relax.com>:
Your changer probably doesn't support it. Only the CX240 (is that
right? I really don't know) supports track titling Sony seems to
think it's unimportant as more recent models don't do that.
Q7: Where is a good place to buy Sony changers and what should they cost?
See http://nirvis.com/buysony.htm
Jay Pfaffman <pfaffman@relax.com>:
I bought my last one from http://www.cameraworld.com/ for $249, but it
doesn't look like they're selling them any more, but they could still
be worth a look. http://www.jandr.com/ has them listed, but you have
to call for a price. It seems that Sony won't let retailers list
prices below a certain point. I've seen demo units for as low as
$225. The Sony outlet centers could be a good source if there is one
close to you.
Q7: Where can I get TOSlink cables for a reasonable price?
Jay Pfaffman <pfaffman@relax.com>:
I don't know. I think I've seen a message saying that you can find
them for < US$10 each (I've seen them in stores for $40), but I don't
know where that was now. If you've got a source, please let me
know & I'll include it.
Q8: CDDB lookups return "CDDB Server Error. Request limit exceeded on
all available servers." What gives?
Jay Pfaffman <pfaffman@relax.com>: CDDB limits how many lookups you
can do in a 24 hour period to keep people from harvesting their
database. They pretty much have the market cornered and they
don't want to give that up. Try again tomorrow. If your ISP has
a proxy server you might reconfigure CDJ to use it to get another
200 today.
Historical note: When CDDB was bought by Escient and started
putting restrictions (must put CDDB icon up when doing lookups?)
on its use, there was an outcry by some claiming that it was
unfair for CDDB to put these restrictions on stuff which they
didn't create in the first place. http://www.freedb.org/ is a
free CDDB clone. You can point CDJ to freedb.freedb.org to use
it. It currently has about 143,000 entries; CDDB has > 500,000
entries.
Q9: What kind of sound card should I buy with digital inputs and such?
Colby says:
I really recommend the REM Digi96 above all other cards. It's the only card
I know which allows asynchronous full duplex at 96kHz with access to the
full 32 bit data packet. It's also bus mastering PCI and you can use more
than one card (they make 24 channel versions as well).
http://www.rme-audio.com/english/index.htm
Michael Davis <mk_davis@swbell.net> suggests buying them from
http://www.sfb.net/
--
Jay Pfaffman pfaffman@relax.com
+1-615-343-1720 (office) +1-615-460-9299 (home)
http://relax.ltc.vanderbilt.edu/~pfaffman/