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Can this device serve as an audio master in a ML circuit?

Yes, it can. Audio master, video master, masterlink gateway, source center or slave device. So pretty much anything.

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I ask as it seems a far more elegant solution that an Airport Express plugged into the Aux-In socket of an Audio Master (eg Beosound 9000).

Exactly. It feels a lot more mature than a simple streamer connected to the aux port. A BS9000 with can handle N.Music / N.Radio sources. When activated from the BS9000 it will request those sources on the ML bus ("source center" application). The source center device will receive all commands from the BS9000 and can also control the BS9000. Like switching it on or off once your started/stopped the audio stream and also provide metadata which is then shown on the BS9000 display.

As an aside, an example of BL3500 displaying something different , albeit not metadata. When my BL3500 was connected to Beoport and PC computer, selecting/playing the PC's CD from the BL3500 would display this: (and it wouldn't display CD track number)

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Can this device serve as an audio master in a ML circuit?

Or is there any other way that one device can feed into multiple master link products?

I ask as it seems a far more elegant solution that an Airport Express plugged into the Aux-In socket of an Audio Master (eg Beosound 9000).

Thanks

Thanks so much for the prompt reply - it looks a great piece of kit.

From a practical point of view, how do you connect into the ML network - I assume instead of ML plug you wire into a connector box?

In terms of signal input I'd ideally use (an old unused) iMac - would that work?

I have a Beosound 9000 version 1 master, which doesn't support N.Music or N.Radio - is there any other way that these type of services can be accessed off the music source (ie iMAc in this case)?

If all the above works, I'd order one tomorrow!

 

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From a practical point of view, how do you connect into the ML network – I assume instead of ML plug you wire into a connector box?

I made this little . You can directly plug it directly into an ML device and then use a standard RJ45 cable for connecting it to the interface board. If you have a ML system with several linkrooms connected then either solder an ethernet cable onto the bus at a convenient location or if you are lucky to have one of those old ML distribution boxes just plug in the little adapter from the picture above. Alternatively you can also wire everything with RJ45 - I made a passive RJ45 hub for joining 6 ML devices.

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In terms of signal input I’d ideally use (an old unused) iMac – would that work?

The title of this thread is not exactly matching anymore. While it still relies on a USB connection for the ML communication, it was later made compatible with a Raspberry Pi single board computer. You just attach the ML interface board to it. You can then run any software you'd like. There are some very well working community implementations for AirPlay, Spotify Connect, etc. available.

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I have a Beosound 9000 version 1 master, which doesn’t support N.Music or N.Radio – is there any other way that these type of services can be accessed off the music source (ie iMAc in this case)?

For those units the theory is setting it to Option 2 (TV speakers connected to BS9000) and let the ML interface board act as a video master. So you can then use TV/SAT/DTV/etc. for streaming through the BS9000. It should work but haven't tested it yet.

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If all the above works, I’d order one tomorrow!

Not yet available! Should have some stock in around 2 weeks. Also please be prepared to fiddle a bit with the software. I'm using it daily and it works really reliable but the initial setup requires some very basic software tinkering" skills. Already wrote an nice documentation for it but it's not the typical plug-n-play product.

Quick question: If the device is set up as an audiomaster and connected to an ML equipped B&O TV in V.OPT 2, will the TV show audio metadata if the screen is unmuted/turned on?

(I am not sure if this was ever tested during the linkplayer experiments)

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Remote commands / key strokes you can read out via ML

Just implemented this with the Masterlink adapter. So when using MDT in that mode it can receive all remote key strokes via ML - otherwise you are limited to light" and "control" commands. Practical example: LG OLED connected to BSys3 via S/PDIF and you want to control everything via Beo4. The BS3 "TV" source is set up for BeoMaster 5 control. MDT is set up for emulating a BeoMaster5 and translating all ML input to LG IP commands. You can simply press TV on the Beo4 - the LG switches on and you can control all functions of it via Beo4. In that setup also a BC2 is connected to the ML. At the same time MDT will act as a "source center" (n.radio / n.music server) in parallel. You can send an AirPlay / Bluetooth / Spotify steam to it from your phone. The BC2 is automatically switches on and showing the song metadata. Sound is coming through speakers that are connected to the BS3. You can use the Beo4 for controlling playback. Stop the stream from your phone and everything turns off automatically. I think that ticks pretty much ticks every box you'd expect from a modern system.