Comments on: Review: AVI ADM 9.1 Active Speakers

By: Quincy

Quincy — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:58:06 +0000

I have spoken to Ashley at AVI who has told me that the 9.1s cannot have a digital coax input socket due to their redesign. I have gone to too much expense getting rid of jitter to risk some crappy toslink cable putting it back again. Pity.

By: David

David — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:22:34 +0000

Hi Tim

That would be a reason, I suppose. In that case, if I were AVI I would think about making the link automatically switch between analogue and digital depending on the source. Or if one cable can’t be made compatible with both modes, to provide the option for separate analogue and digital cables. (I don’t mean to ‘diss’ the speakers – I know I’d love a pair! – but the long analogue cable just strikes me as incompatible with the ‘philosophy’ of the product).

By: tim

tim — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 12:29:09 +0000

David

I guess the the problem with feeding the r/h channel with a digital signal is that it forces an additional a/d d/a conversion if the input to the ADMs is analogue. As it is, if you feed an analogue signal to the ADMs it bypasses the digital circuitry completely (as I understand it), so you can use an external DAC.

Tim

By: David

David — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:02:44 +0000

I am intrigued that the right hand channel is fed from the left by an *analogue* line level cable (the ‘slave’ output – I’m sure I read somewhere that the electronics term ‘master-slave’ was no longer considered politically correct…). Is this green-coloured and made of oxygen-free platinum and diamond so as to enhance the sound or might the purist be concerned that one channel is being fed down a long coax cable while the other one isn’t? I would have thought it possible to relay the digital signal to the other unit somehow, but I can also appreciate that buffering to eliminate jitter, yet keeping the two channels perfectly synchronised means this would be more difficult than it looks – though not impossible according to this review of Dynaudio Acoustics’ AIR system. Does this make the ADM system seem a bit crude; a bit of a bodge?

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep02/articles/dynaudioair.asp

“In addition to the audio and clock inputs, each master speaker is also fitted with three RJ45 sockets, like those used in standard Ethernet systems. The lower two are dedicated outputs, while the top one can be configured as either an input or an output by a small button. These sockets are used to connect the speakers together via a proprietary TC Link network interface, which carries a single 24-bit, 96kHz audio signal and bi-directional data communications.

The slave speakers have just two RJ45 sockets, one permanently configured as an input, the other as an output — there are no audio connectors at all. Slave units connect to the master only via the RJ45 network, using an eight-way cable provided with each speaker. In this way the appropriate audio channel is transferred from master to slave speaker, along with all the necessary control data. The maximum TC Link cable length is stated as 15 metres, although I gather that longer runs are possible with care.

This networking arrangement allows very complex multi-speaker setups to be created, with all speakers in a system being controlled as one. However, it is worth remembering that each slave receives audio only from its respective master, even though the Air Remote unit — included as standard with surround systems, and an optional accessory with smaller configurations — allows all speakers to be controlled simultaneously.”

By: Francis

Francis — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:39:48 +0000

Conrad Roberts = Prowla @ Pink Fish Media

By: Fahnsen

Fahnsen — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 10:07:22 +0000

Conrad, you should read the review before commenting it!

By: Conrad Roberts

Conrad Roberts — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:37:52 +0000

Haha, so the glorified little computer speakers are shite, after all!!

Love,
Conrad.