Nahash5150 10,629 Posted January 12 Posted January 12 For 2025 we will be introducing new mods that will allow you to use a phone app to control functions like volume, power on/off, and filters on common Carver models. We will also be introducing a new product called the 'Vintage Control Center' which is a power sequencer, surge protector, conditioner, and a general integrator of your vintage rack to make it work more seamless with newer technology. At the touch of your smartphone screen, you will even be able to control the volume of source units or preamps that otherwise do not have this feature. I have toyed with the idea of including an inverter to a power amp input channel which would allow some amps to be used as common ground and others to be used in bridge mode. 3 2 1
3M_Audio 1,998 Posted January 12 Posted January 12 Very cool idea on the phone app - I'll be looking forward to learning more about that.
Brian K. Totten 318 Posted January 13 Posted January 13 (edited) I am highly interested in following this thread. I implement home automation in my home, and currently my vintage gear power is switched, through automation, using Ubiquiti Unifi smart power strip. ESP32 is used extensively within Home Assistant as well, and within many other smart devices on the market. The point is, when designing this solution, look at compatibility with smart home interfaces using off-the-shelf technology. I can tell you after having a smart phone for 20 years, I simply tire of having to rely on it solely to control devices. Automation ability with Home Assistant, Alexa, Google, etc, would be a nice value add. I would certainly buy the Vintage Control Center in a heartbeat, most likely as a standalone device, but more so if implemented as a modern piece of gear. Edited January 13 by Brian K. Totten 3 1
Nahash5150 10,629 Posted January 13 Author Posted January 13 6 hours ago, Brian K. Totten said: I am highly interested in following this thread. I implement home automation in my home, and currently my vintage gear power is switched, through automation, using Ubiquiti Unifi smart power strip. ESP32 is used extensively within Home Assistant as well, and within many other smart devices on the market. The point is, when designing this solution, look at compatibility with smart home interfaces using off-the-shelf technology. I can tell you after having a smart phone for 20 years, I simply tire of having to rely on it solely to control devices. Automation ability with Home Assistant, Alexa, Google, etc, would be a nice value add. I would certainly buy the Vintage Control Center in a heartbeat, most likely as a standalone device, but more so if implemented as a modern piece of gear. Great post! I'm still evaluating the applications. All will integrate with Alexa and Google though - it's pretty common now. As much as I would like to be able to accommodate each well known automation company, it's just too expensive and too much to deal with on our end. My decision will be based on a single application with a wide variety of devices that's been around long enough to have a good track record - I'm down to two. I'm extremely excited about the VCC. I've been working on the idea for a couple of years. It will hopefully be that one stop solution to take care of a variety of modern needs that many people just don't have any desire to shop for - like surge protection, AC line filtering, power switching, etc. The VCC will also have a DC blocking filter for toroid transformers. I've also toyed with the idea of making it an amp cooler by installing quiet fans under the top cover to blow up into a power amplifier stack above... 4
Nahash5150 10,629 Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 Bluetooth and Wifi will be available for the C-1 and C-4000 and many other preamps! The testing is working out fantastic! The app we use will make your phone able to stream bluetooth directly to a C-1, as well as Apple Music, Tidl, Spotify, and many other integrations. It will also play music directly from your NAS or DLNA enabled PC! I love this integration! 2 1 1
Half Life 585 Posted February 27 Posted February 27 On 2/2/2025 at 11:09 AM, Nahash5150 said: Bluetooth and Wifi will be available for the C-1 and C-4000 and many other preamps! The testing is working out fantastic! The app we use will make your phone able to stream bluetooth directly to a C-1, as well as Apple Music, Tidl, Spotify, and many other integrations. It will also play music directly from your NAS or DLNA enabled PC! I love this integration! Intriguing idea! I'm especially interested in direct streaming to my C-1. Without giving away any secrets, how would it differ from something like this (I currently use one): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016NUTG5K?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_20 Lastly, in your minds eye, when do you see this available to the general public? Definitely a cool idea!
Nahash5150 10,629 Posted February 27 Author Posted February 27 38 minutes ago, Half Life said: Intriguing idea! I'm especially interested in direct streaming to my C-1. Without giving away any secrets, how would it differ from something like this (I currently use one): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016NUTG5K?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_20 Lastly, in your minds eye, when do you see this available to the general public? Definitely a cool idea! First, the hardware is integrated with the C-1, so there's no external box. Second, this hardware is not just bluetooth, but also connects to your wi-fi so you can stream via Spotify, Apple Music, etc. And it will stream music from a NAS or PC that uses the DLNA protocol. Many home routers have a USB input, so you could connect an external USB harddrive full of music to your router USB, and this hardware will stream music from that as well. This is all done though the phone app that connects to the hardware. 1 1 1
Half Life 585 Posted February 27 Posted February 27 8 hours ago, Nahash5150 said: First, the hardware is integrated with the C-1, so there's no external box. Second, this hardware is not just bluetooth, but also connects to your wi-fi so you can stream via Spotify, Apple Music, etc. And it will stream music from a NAS or PC that uses the DLNA protocol. Many home routers have a USB input, so you could connect an external USB harddrive full of music to your router USB, and this hardware will stream music from that as well. This is all done though the phone app that connects to the hardware. Sold! I was going to refresh my C-1 myself and do the Bill D mod. After hearing this, I'm going to hold off on doing any of the C-1 work myself and send it to you guys. But I'll wait a few weeks after I get my M-1.0t back from your shop. I want to enjoy that for a bit. 2 1
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