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This page provides general information about Graphite Five products.
Our systems are easy to customize and can be installed in a variety
of configurations. If you are a homeowner with questions that are
not answered here, please contact the integrator who installed your
system. |
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| What is distributed audio? |
Distributed audio was designed years ago to eliminate the stacks
of audio gear in listening rooms. Distributed Audio Systems are typically
black boxes with 4 inputs by 6 outputs and are located in the "basement". They
connect to source devices (e.g. CD players, tuners, etc.) and had audio switchers
built in so homeowners could request audio sources from keypads located in
listening rooms. The black boxes then provide amplified outputs for listening
room speakers. |
| How have distributed audio
systems changed? |
Digital distributed audio systems have
emerged as a serious competitor to analog systems because they’re better and
priced right. |
| What
makes digital systems better?
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Compared to analog, digital systems deliver crystal clear
sound from remote sources to your distant speakers without hum, noise,
distortion or frequency roll-off. Digital performance specs are the same for
100m cables (the Ethernet limit) as they are for 1 ft cables.
Digital systems scale in unit increments to over 1000 sources and amplifiers.
That means the homeowners pay only for what they need. |
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What are the specs for the Graphite Five system?
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Frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz (+.16 dB to -.6 dB) -
exceptionally flat.
Total harmonic distortion + noise (THD)+N: .056% - less than the human ear can detect.
Power: 35 watts per channel – by ultra-efficient digital amplifiers. |
| Do
you use digital audio compression and if so, doesn’t that reduce sound quality?
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The system uses uncompressed PCM encoding (lossless) to
preserve original quality audio. |
| Do
you provide remote controls with your system?
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Yes, a Graphite Five remote is provided with every
Touchscreen Amplifier so you can control volume, mute, source, display and
power without ever getting up. |
| Can
I commission the system in my office before going on site? |
Yes, it is designed for permit programming either off-site or
on-site. Once
the system is set up, all data is retained and can be moved to the site without
concern. |
| Do
I need to be an IT expert to install and maintain the Silver system?
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No, we made it plug and play during installation (e.g. IP
address assignment is automatic). During a Touchscreen Amplifier replacement,
new units are automatically integrated into the system by making a touchscreen
request. |
| Does
the system need its own network?
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Yes, we want the system to use its own Ethernet switch to
better manage data congestion where it does not compete with the homeowner’s
network. |
| How
many SKUs does the system have?
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Four 2 main SKUs – the Touchscreen Amplifier and the Encoder
2 accessory SKUs - Deskstand and Power Coupler |
| What
is included with each SKU?
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Touchscreen Amplifier – Touchscreen Amplifier, power supply,
IR remote control.
Audio Encoder – Audio Encoder, power supply, IR control cable.
Deskstand – Deskstand
Power Coupler – Power Coupler |
| Can
the homeowner use a source’s IR remote in the listening room?
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Yes, the Touchscreen Amplifier will pass through the
source’s IR remote command to the source. |
| How
about cost?
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The Graphite Five system is competitively priced with analog
systems, especially when a 4 x 6 analog system needs to grow by one or two
ports. |
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| What are the
minimum requirements for wiring?
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CAT5e from the Ethernet switch location to all touchscreen
amplifier and audio encoder locations and 2 wire speaker cable from touchscreen
amplifier locations to speaker locations. If 2 or 4 speaker wires are also part
of the bundle to the touchscreen amplifier locations, they can be used to
deliver power to the amplifier instead of using a Power Coupler. |
| What is the
minimum wire gauge for power?
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20AWG |
| Can I install
the Graphite Five system on audio pre-wires?
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Yes, just use two of the extra wires to provide power to the
touchscreen amplifiers. |
| Can I
install
the Graphite Five system using structured wiring?
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Yes, use a Power Coupler to deliver power via the CAT5e
cable. |
| Do I need to
centrally locate my sources and encoders?
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No, the system permits sources and encoders to be located
anywhere in the house. For example, if the homeowner likes his CD changer on
his office desk so he can conveniently change CDs, that’s fine. Just add an
encoder nearby and plug it into a network jack to make it work. |
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| What sources
can I control with the Graphite Five system?
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Source types include CD players, CD changers, AM/FM tuners,
satellite radio, satellite TV, cable, tape decks and iPod-like devices where no
IR control is available. |
| What are
the Encoder specs?
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A to D converter: 24 bit at 48 kHz – professional grade.
(Note CD players are spec’d at 16 bit and 44.1 kHz).
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): .007% - way beyond the human hearing.
Frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz (-0.38 dB to +0.02 dB) – exceptionally flat. |
| Can I rack
mount the Encoder?
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Yes, 8 Encoders will fit in a single Mid-Atlantic 3U rack
panel. Alternatively, the Encoder can be mounted as a set top box. |
| What IR
Emitters are compatible with the Audio Encoder?
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Xantech 282 M, 283M; Niles Audio MF1, MF1VF; Russound 845.1;
Speaker Craft IRE 1-3.0. |
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| What is IGMP?
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IGMP is the Internet Group Management Protocol, a data
protocol that allows multiple recipients to receive internet traffic without
sending the traffic to everybody on the network. |
| I have 11
sources and 14 zones, do I really need an IGMP capable switch? |
If you can guarantee that all 11 sources will not be in use at the same time,
then you may not need an IGMP switch given the current state of Level 2
switches. Our testing has shown that with 11 simultaneous streams, a Level 2
switch does not have the processing power to send the data for the 11 streams
to all the devices on the network. |
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| What is the
power output of the amplifiers?
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35W per channel |
| How do I get
power to the Touchscreen Amplifier?
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Option 1 (dedicated wiring): The Touchscreen Amplifier (TA) power supply is
often remotely located and connected via unused speaker wires from the basement
to the TA j-box.
Option 2 (CAT5e wiring): When wall mounting the TA, the practical approach is
locating the power supply remotely and coupling it into the CAT5e near the
Ethernet switch using the Power Coupler accessory (power is carried on unused
pairs).
Option 3 (Direct wiring): If the power connector of the TA is accessible, such
as when mounted on a Deskstand, and an AC outlet is nearby, the TA power supply
can be connected directly to the TA. |
| Will the
Touchscreen Amplifier’s backlight automatically adjust to the room’s ambient
light level?
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Yes, a built-in light sensor automatically controls the
touchscreen’s backlight level. |
| Many
homeowners
want wall devices to match the wall’s color, can I do that?
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Yes, the Touchscreen Amplifier’s front and back bezel frames
are designed to snap off. They can then be painted to match the wall colors if
desired. Also, the dark gray side trim pieces can be snapped off before
painting to allow re-attachment after painting if the wide-screen look is desired. |
| What are the
user touchscreen controls?
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Users can set volume, a 5 band graphic equalizer, mute,
sources, sleep timer, balance, LCD contrast, brightness, default power-on
volume, display on/off, and night modes. |
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| What speaker
impedances are supported?
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4 or 8 ohms |
| What would
happen if I plugged a regular Ethernet device into a Graphite Five powered
jack?
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Depending on the internal construction of the device, it is
likely that the power would damage the Ethernet interface of the device. We
provide enough power for a 70W amplifier via the wires in the CAT5e cable not
used for Ethernet data communication. |
| How easy is it
to use the commission software?
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Installers like the Windows-based wizard software because it
leads installers through the programming one step at a time – no training is
necessary. The software has three jobs - it creates custom source names (e.g.
"Dad's Office CD Player"), loads source IR codes into the system (from the
software IR databases or from the "learn" mode), and sends the commissioning
data to the various Graphite Five devices. |
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