Hey, guys.
I caught Ray this morning in IM, and was so confused by our communication, I actually called him for clarification. OK, here's what he's thinking about:
He's looking at making modular volume control boxes. Each one would control one speaker PAIR. You could buy as many as you needed (up to 16) and string them together on a single speaker output.
He told me there were two ways to go with electronic volume control: 1.) Autotransformer 2.) Transformerless. I felt dumb, but didn't really know the difference, so I asked. Apparently an autotransformer is a single coil with multiple taps. Transformerless gives you different volume levels by adding in resistors. I asked what the benefits/detractions were. Apparently transformerless is cheaper BUT when you add subtract speaker loads, it can have a noticeable affect on the volume of the rest of the speaker modules wired in parallel. I spoke on behalf of all of us, and said we'd prefer the autotransformer route, as the change in volume level on the other modules would not be an acceptable byproduct. (Can I get and "Amen"?) Actually, what do you think about this? Would you rather save $4, but have annoying volume changes when you turned on/off speakers in other rooms?
Second issue we discussed was whether there should be a relay in the module to turn on/off individual rooms. Of course, this is partially a cost issue. I said that if we could set a volume control to zero, that would effectively turn off a room, and we'd like that. He then asked if there'd be an interest in having and A/B input on each module. I know what you're thinking, "Depends on how much it costs." So, I asked him. He said the end price differential would be approximately an additional $5 per module. I told him I thought most people would think it worth an extra 5 bucks a module to have the flexibility, but I'd ask. What do you think? Is it worth $5 to have A/B input flexibility?
I spoke to him about control and said that we'd want both IR and serial. He said that was easy. (Love these engineers.) I did ask about IP control. He said that some of his future products would be designed that way, but not this one.
On the issue of serial vs. USB. He said that he could supply a cable to convert from serial to USB for about $10, but he didn't want to make the boxes USB controlled directly. The reason is because USB is terrific for computer control, but he envisions these modules controlled by other types of devices (non PC) as well, and they would commuicate by regular ol' RS-232.
These modules are going to be about the size of a standard wall volume control. But, they're not designed for in-wall installation. Each module will be designed so that it can be bolted to an adjoining one so they're all daisy-chained together. The whole string of them can be mounted to your wiring wall. You'll be able to connect separate IR wires to each volume control for individual control, or you can address each one independently with serial commands. Each module will have a separate address (set at the factory).
He's hoping to have pricing information next week.
What do you guys think of all this? I told Ray I'd tell him your responses.
--David
I caught Ray this morning in IM, and was so confused by our communication, I actually called him for clarification. OK, here's what he's thinking about:
He's looking at making modular volume control boxes. Each one would control one speaker PAIR. You could buy as many as you needed (up to 16) and string them together on a single speaker output.
He told me there were two ways to go with electronic volume control: 1.) Autotransformer 2.) Transformerless. I felt dumb, but didn't really know the difference, so I asked. Apparently an autotransformer is a single coil with multiple taps. Transformerless gives you different volume levels by adding in resistors. I asked what the benefits/detractions were. Apparently transformerless is cheaper BUT when you add subtract speaker loads, it can have a noticeable affect on the volume of the rest of the speaker modules wired in parallel. I spoke on behalf of all of us, and said we'd prefer the autotransformer route, as the change in volume level on the other modules would not be an acceptable byproduct. (Can I get and "Amen"?) Actually, what do you think about this? Would you rather save $4, but have annoying volume changes when you turned on/off speakers in other rooms?
Second issue we discussed was whether there should be a relay in the module to turn on/off individual rooms. Of course, this is partially a cost issue. I said that if we could set a volume control to zero, that would effectively turn off a room, and we'd like that. He then asked if there'd be an interest in having and A/B input on each module. I know what you're thinking, "Depends on how much it costs." So, I asked him. He said the end price differential would be approximately an additional $5 per module. I told him I thought most people would think it worth an extra 5 bucks a module to have the flexibility, but I'd ask. What do you think? Is it worth $5 to have A/B input flexibility?
I spoke to him about control and said that we'd want both IR and serial. He said that was easy. (Love these engineers.) I did ask about IP control. He said that some of his future products would be designed that way, but not this one.
On the issue of serial vs. USB. He said that he could supply a cable to convert from serial to USB for about $10, but he didn't want to make the boxes USB controlled directly. The reason is because USB is terrific for computer control, but he envisions these modules controlled by other types of devices (non PC) as well, and they would commuicate by regular ol' RS-232.
These modules are going to be about the size of a standard wall volume control. But, they're not designed for in-wall installation. Each module will be designed so that it can be bolted to an adjoining one so they're all daisy-chained together. The whole string of them can be mounted to your wiring wall. You'll be able to connect separate IR wires to each volume control for individual control, or you can address each one independently with serial commands. Each module will have a separate address (set at the factory).
He's hoping to have pricing information next week.
What do you guys think of all this? I told Ray I'd tell him your responses.
--David
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