Next generation DVS.. LONG LIVE VINYL!

[josh@firestorm]

interesting

very..

[Jo3]

DVS with no extra cables or sound card, that is a brilliant idea! It's an excellent idea actually. Well impressed with this.

[TreTuna]

Love the concept! Would love to have something like this implemented, but I have to point out a few things that I can foresee problems with.

If the signal coming back to the tonearm is from a bluetooth signal, it's going to be line level, which the turntable is not built to handle, and the phono input is MUCH lower then this which can cause some serious noise and gain issues. This could cause issues inside the table itself as the wiring is not built to handle the power levels line signals bring. Then there is the RIAA curve built into records and phono preamps. The bass is reduced and highs are increased on vinyl, for which the phono preamp has an opposite curve to return it to a flat response. This is done for sake of the needle skipping on the record due to large bass tones. Here's an example of the curve that a phono preamp has built in (the vinyl record has the exact opposite curve):


This is going be a big battle if you are intending to use this on the phono preamps. You'd have to have something built in that would drop the signal level back to a phono level, and introduce this EQ curve into the system so when it goes through the phono preamp is doesn't get screwed.

If you are planning this for the line inputs, then there's the issue of being able to play normal vinyl on the system. There are many instances where people like myself move from DVS to vinyl and back to DVS at any given moment, especially for scratching. This could cause a big issue here for setup on a system like this.

I do hope you can figure out ways around these issues as I love the idea. Thing is, personally I would be VERY wary of pumping a line level signal through my tonearms into my system.

[lethal_pizzle]

What an absolutely genius idea!

Regardless of getting TECHNICAL or not, you still have to convert the audio ADC and DAC in the tonearm, which means that you'll have to cram all the tech into the receiving unit(s) of which you'll need two.

And regardless of the mechanism for broadcasting bluetooth or wireless it still won't be as quick as wired directly into your soundcard. I don't think the problem is insurmountable with a higher specification of wireless though.

Unfortunately I think this brilliant idea is like putting a new suit on a corpse, and unless this product and others like it turn around the vinyl/turntable industry, you'll find a dwindling market and apathetic investors. I hope not though and wish you the best... maybe your product will mean that less of the venues I play in will have their Tech12s gathering dust in the corner!

Rob

[jimbrowski00]

Dude... this is probably the best idea I've ever seen for the evolution of the DVS! It circumvents the biggest issue I see with DVS systems in the first place... plugging in the soundcard between the tables and the mixer.

Props to you and you should absolutely pursue this!

[lbc4ever]

You guys are all spot on..
There ARE a number of technical challenges. NONE of which are insurmountable..
And as long as there are balding old DJ's like me out there who love the SL's I will pursue this nonstop

[fullenglishpint]

There are young DJs with full heads of hair loving them too man! I may be mostly a midi man, but I love mine and I get great pleasure out of them.

[lbc4ever]

Haha! You are the future my friend... At least until they cure hairloss.

[lethal_pizzle]

Ha... count me in on the baldness dude. If you tie your patents up I'll think you'll find a market...

[Siytek]

Every now and again I come across an idea and absolutely kick myself for not thinking of it myself, this is one of those ideas! Brilliant!

I agree, sorting cables out for DVS is a pain and this solution is defiantly something that I believe would replace the audio interface system without a doubt!

Thought I would put down a few of my thoughts...

This is going be a big battle if you are intending to use this on the phono preamps. You'd have to have something built in that would drop the signal level back to a phono level, and introduce this EQ curve into the system so when it goes through the phono preamp is doesn't get screwed.

very cool idea, my initial concern would be about the frequencies travelling down the tonearm. its my understanding that in vinyl they are inverted to an extent (otherwise for good bass response you'd have a record thats +6 inches thick).

I don't think this would be too hard to solve, by applying the EQ curve digitally within the same MCU that handles the DAC and ADC, the outputted audio could be changed in the firmware programming before it hits the analog stage, so it is outputted from the DAC with the RIAA curve implemented. In order to get the correct voltage range for RIAA, a suitable VRef (reference voltage) could be used on the DAC. This would give you 'simulated' RIAA output with no additional components / hardware to the MCU and DAC that you would need anyway

am very curious to see how it performs in a club with 250+ cell phones with bluetooth/etc signals...

I buy music on my MBP during my weekly residency all the time as well as chat to my GF occasionally online, about 200 on the dancefloor during peak time, router is one floor beneath me in a small cupboard and I don't tend to have a problem. I am of course talking about WiFi here....

If 96Khz 24-bit is required, thats 96,000 samples a second each consisting of 24-bit...

96,000 * 24 = 2,304,000 bits per second, which is about 2.2Mbps, just out of reach for Bluetooth 2.0 and for stereo signal you would need twice that amount per needle, about 4.4Mbps assuming a perfect world with no error checking.

Microwaves travel at the speed of light, so with the correct implementation, I would have thought the low latency could be achieved. I think developing a custom protocol would be the way forward and having a USB-stick type receiver instead of using existing WiFi internet would be a better solution.

...or, why have the DAC/ADC happening in the needle, you could always transmit the audio to and from the needle in traditional 'analog radio' format like FM or UHF to a USB-stick type receiver and do the DAC/ADC at the computer side of the setup. Of course some system would need to be in place to prevent hi-jacking but im sure something could be dreamed up, maybe even an analog / digital hybrid type radio connection.

Am keen to see the development of this project, will be keeping an eye out!