FIRST ACQUAINTANCE, INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
The device is
very compact - only 9.7x7.8x3.5 cm (plus connectors), made in a good metal
case.
It comes with a
few corners for mounting.
Power supply is
combined with high level inputs in one connector. Switching on - by the signal
on Remote In or by the presence of a useful signal (more precisely, there is a
constant component detector here) on the high-level inputs. And the unit itself
can send control signals to amplifiers via Remote Out.
Now for the
inputs. Let's curl our fingers and count.
High-level
inputs. Everything is clear with them, they are somehow the most important (not
really, but you can decide that later). We have 4 input channels with a
sensitivity switch - 20 or 36 volts (I'll check later). Plus a
"cheat" for particularly clever tripods with self-diagnostics, here
it is called EPS.
Optical input. Everything here is "processor style",
standard format Toslink.
AUX.
Normal line input, in this case completely independent of the high-level input.
Bluetooth. Works to receive audio, using the basic SBC codec. The processor
switches to BT audio as soon as there is a stream from the connected
smartphone. When you stop playback on the smartphone, it switches back to the
original source.
In general,
Bluetooth is also used to control the processor from a smartphone via an app,
but I'll talk about that later.
USB Audio. In fact, Hellion can be used as an external sound card for the same Android
speakers. I checked it with one of the devices I had on hand at the time of
testing - it works (but here you need to look at the head unit itself, some
have this feature trimmed).
USB player. There is a peculiarity here - if you insert a flash
drive with MP3 or even FLAC into the same USB audio jack, it will start
playing. The player is uncomplicated: insert the flash drive and it plays,
remove it and it doesn't play. At most, you can switch tracks using the
smartphone app, and that's it. Still, I had to mention it.
Now what about the outputs. There are six of them. All of them are of the same
value, in the processor part they are not adjusted in pairs, but completely
independent of each other - crossover filters, equalizers, delays.
The only thing I
would like to point out is the color of the connectors. In the processor it's
more usual to make odd channels left and even channels right (and in the
default channel settings it's the same). So it is better not to use RCA colors
in this case.
The processor
part is based on a Cirrus Logic CS4953 chip. The analog part uses JRC4580
op-amps.
HOW TO SET UP
The first way of
tuning - from a computer. The connection is via USB, the cable is included in
the package. By the way, it is about 3 meters long - you can write it down as a
plus (more often they put very short ones in the kit).
The software
starts immediately, without installation. The connected processor was seen
immediately (at least on Windows 10 there were no difficulties).
The program
The program is
similar to other programs for Hellion processors. By default, channels 1/2 -
front, 3/4 - rear, 5/6 - subwoofer, but nothing prevents you from zeroing this
case and choosing any configuration you want. For example, 2-band front and
sub.And you can set the routing - from which input to which outputs what will
be received (for each source - separately).
And note that
you can mix signals from other inputs to all inputs except analog (Hi-Level and
AUX). And you don't have to use full volume, you can "soften" the
signal to be mixed.
The second
option is to configure it from a smartphone via Bluetooth (Android only for
now). The functionality is absolutely the same as the PC program, except that
the interface is built differently.
One of the main
differences to the "PC" version is the ability to control the
built-in USB player from a smartphone. Or rather, just change tracks. And you
can also control the level in the channels that are specified as subwoofer
channels and select the saved preset.
As you can see,
there are only basic settings in the initial window, something like a remote
control for operational control. And the processor settings are in the
"Advanced Settings" section. And you can even set a password to
access it.
The third way of
customization is from Android head units. Connection to the processor - via USB
or via Bluetooth (but the latter is not possible with all head units).
In fact, the
functionality is the same as in the application for smartphones, the main
difference is the lack of control over the built-in player.
Here I should
immediately note that the application is clearly oriented towards screens of 9
inches and more ("tablet" GU). I tried it on an "Android"
2DIN format radio with a small 6.8-inch screen - it's a bit cramped, I won't
even give you a photo.
CHECKING THE WORK OF THE PROCESSOR PART
Maximum signal on AUX. I set a small volume in the program (10 units out of
40), add the signal to the input. When the amplitude at the input is about 3.5
volts (2.4 V RMS) - still normal, a little higher - the limitation starts.
Checked.
Maximum signal at high level inputs. The manufacturer is obviously being modest here,
because the high-level inputs actually receive a bit more signal than declared.
I checked in the same way as for the line inputs, but I fed the signal from the
amplifier, checked its level at the processor input, and simultaneously watched
the processor output signal.
Sensitivity
switch "20 Volts" - the inputs start limiting the signal when the
signal reaches 28V (for understanding, this is 14V amplitude or slightly less
than 10V RMS).
Sensitivity
switch "35 Volts" - the inputs can actually handle the signal up to
48V (24V amplitude or 17V RMS).
Crossover Filters. You can set any frequencies you like, there are no
restrictions. The slope is up to 48 dB/octave. I tried to model a two-way, here
are just a few examples:
Equalizer. For the sake of clarity, I will show how the minus and plus settings
work with different values of the quality factor - bandwidth (Q parameter).
Note that you have a little more freedom in the minus setting than in the plus
setting:
Check the
operation of the delays. The maximum delay is 15 ms. Checked, running.
The minimum
adjustment step is 0.021 ms. Also checked, also met.
Maximum signal
at the line outputs. The output signal can be "overclocked" up to 2.8
volts (about 2 V RMS) without distortion, clipping starts closer to the 3 volt
mark.
So, to be
technically correct, the processor's outputs are 2 volts, although marketers
like to call them 3 volts - see which is closer to you.
GETTING TO THE POINT. WHAT TASKS SHOULD I CHOOSE FOR?
What you call
this device - a level converter with a processor or just a processor - is up to
you. But in terms of functionality, this is a full-fledged 6-channel DSP. And
with fully separate (not paired) tuning of all channels and the ability to
connect a lot of additional sources - from any standard high-level (actually,
as it should be for a converter) to a source capable of outputting audio stream
via USB. And I'm not talking about "banal" optics, Bluetooth and AUX.