Russound distrubtion amps

royalj7

Active Member
This thread is mainly aimed at Paul from SBS, but if anyone has any information feel free to post!

I’m trying to decide between the CAM, CAA, and even the CAS systems and have a few questions. The chart you’ve linked to in other threads was a big help.

1. Will the new VM1 HD switcher interface with the CAA or CAS systems at all? It says the CAA system can control RNET products, but I have no clue what features or limitations there are.

2. Am I correct in saying the CAM and CAA have line level pass through for the first two sources while the CAS has none?

3. You mentioned in another thread the CAV (and them CAM?) have more sophisticated IR capability. Can you expand on that?

4. It looks like I lose 2 zones and the RNET control capability when going from the CAA to the CAS. Is there anything else that is missing?

5. Have you had any experience controlling the CAA or CAS using ML, CQC, or HomeSeer? I know there are drivers for the CAV66 in those systems but would they work on their little brothers?

Thanks for the help!
 
royalj7 said:
This thread is mainly aimed at Paul from SBS, but if anyone has any information feel free to post!

I’m trying to decide between the CAM, CAA, and even the CAS systems and have a few questions. The chart you’ve linked to in other threads was a big help.

1. Will the new VM1 HD switcher interface with the CAA or CAS systems at all? It says the CAA system can control RNET products, but I have no clue what features or limitations there are.

2. Am I correct in saying the CAM and CAA have line level pass through for the first two sources while the CAS has none?

3. You mentioned in another thread the CAV (and them CAM?) have more sophisticated IR capability. Can you expand on that?

4. It looks like I lose 2 zones and the RNET control capability when going from the CAA to the CAS. Is there anything else that is missing?

5. Have you had any experience controlling the CAA or CAS using ML, CQC, or HomeSeer? I know there are drivers for the CAV66 in those systems but would they work on their little brothers?

Thanks for the help!
Here's som feedback to your questions:

1. Russound has indicated that the VM1 HD video switch will work with the CAA66 as well as the CAV6.6 & CAM6.6. It will not work with the 4-zone CAS44. Basically if you use a keypad connected to a CAV, CAM or CAA to select a source that has HD video equipment connected via the VM1 switch, the system will work together to switch the HD video and stereo audio to keep things in sync.

2. Neither the CAM or CAA have line level pass through for any SOURCES, but they do however have line-level out for the first two ZONES which can be connected to an external amp to power more speakers. These outputs can be switched from fixed to variable allowing some flexibility in how you control the volume. The CAV has line-level outs on all six ZONES, but they are "variable" outputs only meaning that the volume of the speakers conencted to the external amp will raise and lower when you adjust volume from the zone keypad.

3. All three systems have individual IR out for each source as well as a common output that combines all the IR signals and learning capability. The CAM & CAV allow for fairly advanced IR macro capability (best done using the PC Power Tools Software). This would allow you to select the DVD source on a keypad and have the "Play" button power on the proper gear, select the DVD input on your TV or Receiver and then start to play the DVD. The CAA system only provides basic transport control which can really only be accessed by using an IR remote or b the optional KPSC keypads.

4. The CAS44 is a bare bones 4-source, 4-zone system... There's no provision for connecting an external amp like on the other systems and there is only a single IR output. The single IR output is really only an issue if you have two deal source devices (like two cable boxes that are the same). With only one IR output, there's no way to independantly control two cable boxes that use the same IR commands.

5. Sorry, no experience with the software apps with anything other than the CA6.6. From what I know, the features that area available should still work... maybe someone else can chime in on this???

I'll attach another chart that compares the serial controlled features of each.

Cheers,
Paul
 

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Thanks for the help Paul,


Well, I think the CAA is looking pretty good. While I would love to be able to get the CAV or the CAM with the XM tuner, I don't think that is in the bugget. So I will not be able to share any of the sources, with like a home theater system, if I use the CAA? Also, are the labels on the KPL keypad programable? If there are I can see spending the extra money to get them over KP6, but if not, what value do they provide?

Thanks!
--Jamie
 
royalj7 said:
So I will not be able to share any of the sources, with like a home theater system, if I use the CAA? 
You can still share sources with the Home Theater, but you will need to use "Y" connectors. The following diagram is from the Russound A-Bus A-H484 but the concept is the same.

As for the CAA buttons, I'll let Paul answer that one.

Scott
 

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Scott's right on the money about using simple "Y" adapters to share the source gear. Just remember that you need to connect IR emitters between the CAA & Source gear so these will need to be extened too if the source gear is not placed physically near the CAA.

The source names on the KPL keypads can't be customized... you have to pick from a predifined list of around 80 names. If you download a copy of the manual from Russound you can see the list.

One benefit of the KPL keypad is being able to see the bass, treble, balance settings that you get to by holding the Source button down. On the KPL, it will show what you're adjusting and it's level on the screen... on the KP6 you have to rely on what combination of source names are lit to determine what your adjusting.

Cheers,
Paul
 
pkoslow said:
Just remember that you need to connect IR emitters between the CAA & Source gear so these will need to be extened too if the source gear is not placed physically near the CAA.
Paul,

How far can you extend the IR emitters? So far, if the client want's to share components, I try to place them in the HT area to avoid this issue. I haven't really found any definitive info on max lengh of IR emitters.

Thanks,

Scott
 
Scott,

For IR data runs (between connecting blocks, etc.) the max distance is usually listed as around 500' in the manuals.

For Emitters, I've heard you can extend to 200' using 16ga wire.

I don't think I've ever gone more than around 100ft for either. Using shielded cable for IR data is always a good idea as it can be finicky and prone to interference from the usual suspects that produce lots of EMI.

No need to use shielding on the emitters (16ga speaker wire works great). Many peoply have luck extending IR 50-70ft using CAT5, but I always try to use the proper wire unless in a pinch trying to retrofit something.

Cheers,
Paul
 
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