The Upgraded Anthem AVM-20 2.0 Thread (1 Viewer)

[Steve*MH]

I know it is not directly related to the thread, but just wondering with all these Anthem fans here, has anyone heard any inside news on the new Anthem Statement line upcoming? The D1 SSP and the P5 multichannel amplifier? I believe Anthem has said mid-2003, which we are coming very close to. Anyone have connections with an Anthem dealer or rep and have any news/specs, etc. on the new products upcoming?
Thanks.

 

[Mike Loiterman]

Does anyone use a "Fogg" box to connect both a DVD-A and SACD player to their AVM-20?
Here is a link:
http://home.attbi.com/~shawnfogg/
It says you can use a 12v Trigger to switch back and forth between inputs. This would work great since the AVM-20 has the trigger jacks, but I don't really understand how it all would work.
I looked at the back of the AVM-20 and there appears to be some sort of gray plug/unplugable module that plugs into the trigger area. What do you do with that? Do you unplug that or do you leave that plugged in and insert the wire into its, what appear to be, "outlets"?
Thanks...

 

[Mifr44]

Mike,

To use Shawn Fogg's DVD-A/SACD switchbox with a 12V trigger, you need to be able to assign "logical" inputs (the Lexicon MC-12/12B can, the AVM-20 can't). By logical input I mean assign an input name, i.e. "DVD", "Video 1", etc., to ANY input on the back panel despite what the back panel name implies.

For instance, you would need to be able to assign two separate "inputs", say "DVD" and "AUX", to the same physical input on the back panel, in this case the 6 channel input. You can't do this with the AVM-20.

Now, having said that, the AVM-20 does give you the ability to "cheat" this physical limitation by the use of its "Simulcast" feature (section 5.4.3). This feature allows an AVM-20 user to select a different audio feed for a selected video feed.

As an example of using the Simulcast feature, say you selected the "TV" input to watch a baseball game, but would rather listen to the audio portion from a radio station. Right after selecting the "TV" input, you would enter the Simulcast feature (read the manual!), then select the AM/FM input for the audio.

For the switchbox connections, you would connect the switchbox to the 6 channel input on the AVM-20. Assign the DVD-A player to the switchbox when the 12V trigger is on for the switchbox and the SACD player when the trigger is off. Connect a spare AVM-20 trigger to the switchbox, assigning only the 6 channel input as "On", leaving all other inputs as "Off".

To play the DVD-A player, just select the 6 channel input. To play the SACD player, select some other unused input (say "AUX") and then enter the Simulcast function. From there, select the 6 channel input for audio. Provided that there isn't any video needed with the SACD player, you are set to go. You may be able to create a remote macro to handle the Simulcast switching function.

Michael

 

[Mike Loiterman]

Hrrrm...I'm confused.

Currently:

SACD
6 Channel out ----> AVM-20 6 Channel in



So, wouldn't I be able to do:



DVD-A and SACD
6 Channel out ----> Fogg Box ----> AVM-20 6 Channel in

Then I would use the trigger to switch the Fogg box from input A to B?

 

[Mifr44]

Mike,

Then I would use the trigger to switch the Fogg box from input A to B?

How? (my question is rhetorical!) The trigger outputs in the AVM-20 are activated/inactivated by each source input ("6 Channel", "DVD", "CD", SAT", etc.). By selecting the 6 Channel input, you have one trigger value, either On or Off, for each trigger (3 of them), for each Zone (Main, Zone 2, Zone 3).
So, you select the 6 Channel input and the trigger is On. Let's say that means the SACD player is active. How would you select the 6 Channel input again and have the trigger set to Off to use the DVD-A player? I suppose an RS-232 controlling device could do the trick (if there are codes for the triggers).
Michael

 

[Mike Loiterman]

Oh...I think I understand. The problem would be that there is no way to tell the Fogg Box to stay off if I want to use the other source. It would ALWAYS be triggered on when I select that source it's attached too.

Ugh..I guess I'll have to get the IR addition.

 

[Mike Loiterman]

Beat me to it!
This sucks... I had a Sony TA-P9000ES which worked perfectly, but I had to get rid of it to purchase something else. Now you can't get them anymore. :frowning:

 

[Mifr44]

Mike,

Welcome to the dilemma many others have faced (and not just AVM-20 owners). Also, the thought of having three sets of 6 ICs plus the switchbox in the audio chain would seem to be a negative, at least to me.

Add the fact that most AVM-20 owners would then apply A/D and D/A conversions to the 6 channel input, and I have to wonder if you would be better off just connecting the DVD-A player via a digital cable? At least with the latter, many of the DSP modes and functions are available, whereas the 6 channel input is limited to THX Ultra 2.

Michael

 

[Mike Loiterman]

Michael:

I took awhile, but I figured out what you were talking about.

According to Shawn (Fogg), his device is transparent.

I'm waiting for my Tax Return and then I'll be buying one.

Your solution will be the best.

 

[Mike Loiterman]

One last thing:

How does the trigger wire plug into the AVM? Is it just a wire or is there something else I would need?

 

[Shawn Fogg]

Michael,

Have you tried the Simulcast trick to make sure the triggers state matches the selected video input and not the audio input?

"By selecting the 6 Channel input, you have one trigger value, either On or Off, for each trigger (3 of them), for each Zone (Main, Zone 2, Zone 3)."

You could potentially use this to switch back and forth if it is easier. Set one of your inputs in either zone 2 or zone 3 to turn on the trigger. If you want Input A on the switchbox just leave that zones output off. If you want input B on the switchbox select that input in Zone 2 or Zone 3 and it would make the switchbox select the B output.

Of course if the AVM-20 has a command to directly let you switch a trigger on or off that would be easiest.

Shawn

 

[Mifr44]

Mike,

Have you tried the Simulcast trick to make sure the triggers state matches the selected video input and not the audio input?

No I haven't, but you ask an important question. If the triggers are controlled by the "video" selection, there isn't a problem. But if the triggers are controlled by the "audio" selection or both "video" and "audio" selections in the Simulcast mode, then this won't work.

Using Zone 2 or Zone 3 (especially if they are not being used) for this application may work and is actually quite clever.

Michael

 

[Mike Loiterman]

I'm confused about using the different zones. How would that work?

Here is my current setup (I only use Zone 1):

SACD stereo --> CD in
SACD multichannel --> 6 Channel in
CD --> AUX in
DVD digital --> Coax in
DVD-A --> Unknown

So, lets assume now that both the SACD and DVD-A are connected into the Fogg box and from the Fogg Box into the 6 channel in. The trigger on the Fog Box is connected to the AVM-20.

How do I configure the AVM-20 using the different Zones?

Also -- if you use a source to trigger the box on, when you switch to a different source, does it then trigger the box off?

 

[Shawn Fogg]

Mike,

"I'm confused about using the different zones. How would that work?"

Just using that as a way to turn the trigger on and off. The AVM-20 may have other ways of doing it too. Lexicon's for example have a discrete IR command to turn a trigger on and off.

Say you set DVD in Zone 2 to have the trigger 1 ON and everything else has the trigger turned off.

On the switchbox Input A is your SACD player, Input B is the DVD-A.

To listen to SACD you just select the 6 channel input on the AVM-20.

To listen to DVD-A you select the 6 channel input on the AVM-20 AND select DVD in Zone 2. That turns on the trigger which makes the switchbox change to the B input. Hence your DVD-A player is now connected to the AVM-20.

To go back to SACD you turn off the DVD input in the second zone which should turn off the trigger which would make the switchbox go back to the A input.

Basically it is just a way of reasonably easily turning on and off a trigger. There probably are other ways of doing it in the AVM-20. Basically any way you can turn on/off a trigger you could use to switch inputs on the switchbox. It isn't as nice as you can do it on a few other processors but it would work. And IMO be a little nicer then a manual switch and be cheaper then using the IR module.

Shawn

 

[Mike Loiterman]

Ok. That makes sense. But --

WHen you turn on the DVD input for Zone 2...what exactly is happening? I understand that it will trigger the box correctly, but aren't you sending the output of the DVD input to the Zone 2 stereo outputs?

 

[Shawn Fogg]

"but aren't you sending the output of the DVD input to the Zone 2 stereo outputs? "

Yup. If you use the Zone 2 feature then you should configure the trigger for a zone 3 input. If you use both Zone 2 and Zone 3 you should configure it to an unused input for either zone. That way when you select it the Zone 2/3 output isn't really getting anything output on it.

Shawn

 

[Mike Loiterman]

Bear with me, I know I'm a little slow at times:

I don't use Zone 2 or 3 for anything...yet.

The part that I don't understand is that Zone 2 output can be stereo only -- so won't this defeat the puprose of using this for DVD-A?

However, I have a feeling that I'm not really going to be sending anything out of the actual Zone 2 outputs and that I'm only using it to turn on the Fogg box, but I don't understand how that works.

If I choose Zone 2 DVD, whats happening to Zone 1? Do I need to Copy Zone 2 DVD to Zone 1 DVD for this to work?

 

[Prathavan V]

Hi Mike,

Just thought I'd chime in to help you out (I hope).

When your zone 2 trigger turns on your switchbox, that's all it does (well, all it's going to do, since you have no output to zone 2). All it is doing is enabling the switchbox to use the other 6 channel input. zone 2 will think it's playing a DVD, but that's no biggie since you've got nothing set to zone 2. When you go back to your SACD, you'll in theory be using the trigger for zone 1.

Now my question, when I was playing with my triggers yesterday, I tried having my stereo CD input set to trigger my main amp, and then my DVD player or 6 channel set to trigger the other amps. When I turn on anything, it works like it's supposed to, BUT, when I've already got the 6 channel ON, if I switch to DVD, all the amps stay ON (very smart switching). If I switch to CD, the only amp that stays ON is the main amp. Again, I reiterate, very smart switching. Here's my question, if you have your zone 2 flip your FOGG box, WHILE YOU LEAVE THE ZONE 1 PLAYER ACTIVE, what happens if you switch back to the SACD?? The smart switching will NOT (based on my assumptions from my own tests above) re-trigger the FOGG box.

Hope that hasn't caused even more confusion. I'm sure Shawn and Michael have the answers. Guys, while you're answering, one other question, is there any harm done to the amps if they're ON, but not getting any signal (ie - all the amps ON, but only playing a 2 channel source?)

 

[Prathavan V]

Oops, I figured it out. When you turn on "DVD" or whatever you've got it set to in zone 2 it flips the trigger which flips the FOGG. When you turn OFF "DVD" or whatever you have it set to, it again flips the trigger which again flips the FOGG. All the while you're still listening to 6 Channel in Zone 1. Very cool. Very elegant.

OK, so, can I still leave all my amps on, even if they're not receiving a signal, when I'm listening to 2 channel? Will it harm the equipment, will I get killed on my energy bills?

 

[Shawn Fogg]

" When you turn on "DVD" or whatever you've got it set to in zone 2 it flips the trigger which flips the FOGG. When you turn OFF "DVD" or whatever you have it set to, it again flips the trigger which again flips the FOGG. All the while you're still listening to 6 Channel in Zone 1. Very cool. Very elegant."

Exactly. With the trigger off (or the trigger unplugged) the box sends the A input through. The trigger turning on is literally the trigger to tell the box to switch to its B input.

"OK, so, can I still leave all my amps on, even if they're not receiving a signal, when I'm listening to 2 channel?"

As long as they aren't class A amps (or tube amps) they shouldn't draw too much power sitting idle. If you switch between 2 channel and surround listening some what frequently during a listening session I'd think it is better for the amps to leave them on instead of having the surround amps turn on and off freqently.

Shawn