Powergate with RW-1's as Play-Fi Surrounds Possible ?

[Kris]

Does anyone know if using the Klipsch Powergate as "Play-Fi Surround Master" with Klipsch RW-1's as "Play-Fi Surround" is possible ? According to the Klipsch website Powergate firmware release 1.45 it should be possible: "Added Surround Speaker Support as rear surrounds", but when I try to setup through the Klipsch Stream app the message "No Master Detected" is given.  

 

"NOTES
Version: 1.045
Released: 12/20/2017
Region: Global

Change Log:

Added Surround Speaker Support as rear surrounds.
Removed hard sleep mode so Wi-Fi stays active in sleep mode.
Over all compatibility and stability fixes"

 

https://www.klipsch.ca/firmware?product=38940

 

Regards,

K

 

 

[CraigG]

Quote

Added Surround Speaker Support as rear surrounds.

I think that text is referring to using the PowerGate as the amplifier for surround speakers, with another device as the surround master.

 

Play-Fi's website says that to act as a Surround Master, the device must "be capable of decoding a 5.1 surround stream in some format." The PowerGate is a 2 channel amp, I'm skeptical it knows how to decode surround sound.
https://play-fi.com/faq/entry/products-that-support-play-fi-surround

 

Unfortunately Play-Fi doesn't list what devices out there can act as a surround master on their website. Outside of the Klipsch sound bars that support Play-Fi, I'm not sure what other products do - it is probably mostly Play-Fi enabled sound bars.

 

As far as I know, all of the A/V receivers out there that support Play-Fi, only support streams coming from other Play-Fi services. They do not support Play-Fi's "Line-In" functionality, which is their other requirement for being a surround master. So, my guess would be that none of the current A/V receivers out there that say they have Play-Fi can act as a surround master either.

Edited August 20, 2019 by CraigG

[Kris]

On 8/20/2019 at 9:05 AM, CraigG said:

I think that text is referring to using the PowerGate as the amplifier for surround speakers, with another device as the surround master.

 

I believe you are correct. Looking at the firmware change logs for all the related Klipsch Play-Fi equipment, it seems that Klipsch is inaccurate and inconsistent with their descriptions. For example, for the Gate it lists "Added Surround Speaker Support as rear surrounds" yet the Gate only has two channel analog input to convert to Play-Fi and itself cannot function as amplifier for speaker. 

 

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POWERGATE - REGION: GLOBAL
Product Page
NOTES
Version: 1.045
Released: 12/20/2017
Region: Global

Change Log:

Added Surround Speaker Support as rear surrounds.
Removed hard sleep mode so Wi-Fi stays active in sleep mode.
Over all compatibility and stability fixes

 

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GATE - REGION: GLOBAL
Product Page
NOTES
Version: 1.032
Released: 12/20/2017
Region: Global

Change Log:

Added Surround Speaker Support as rear surrounds.
Removed hard sleep mode so WiFi stays active in sleep mode.
Over all compatibility and stability fixes

 

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RW-1 WIRELESS SPEAKER - REGION: GLOBAL
Product Page
NOTES
Version: 0.038
Released: 12/20/2017
Region: Global

Change Log:

Added Surround Speaker Support as rear surrounds.
Removed hard sleep mode so WiFi stays active in sleep mode.
Over all compatibility and stability fixes

 

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RSB-14 SOUND BAR + WIRELESS SUBWOOFER - REGION: GLOBAL
Product Page
NOTES
Version: 4.008
Released: 11/08/2017
Region: Global

Change Log:

Remembers DIALOG setting (on/off) after standby. (DIALOG setting is reset to OFF after AC power cycle)
Remembers Subwoofer level setting after standby. (Subwoofer level is reset to default after AC power cycle.)
Remembers SURROUND setting (on/off) after standby. (SURROUND setting is reset to OFF after AC power cycle).
Added Surround Speaker Support for The Klipsch "RW-1" as a Single Surround.
Added Surround Speaker Support for The Klipsch "The Three" as a Single Surround and as a Left & Right speaker.
Speed up startup time
Over all compatibility and stability fixes.

 

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RSB-8 SOUND BAR + WIRELESS SUBWOOFER - REGION: GLOBAL
Product Page
NOTES
Version: 2.5.6
Released: 03/04/2019
Region: Global

MDU: v2.5.6

Change Log:

Fixes lockup issues behavior related to HDMI and Optical inputs
Improved DC Power efficiency
Improved Play-Fi module stability
Over all compatibility and stability fixes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MDU: v2.5.3.5

Change Log:

Retains Surround mode and Dialog mode after standby.
Added Surround Speaker Support for The Klipsch "RW-1" as a Single Surround.
Added Surround Speaker Support for The Klipsch "The Three" as a Single Surround and as a Left & Right speaker.
Over all compatibility and stability fixes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MDU: v2.4.9

Change Log:

Changed Retail mode's default value of volume
Added Surround Speaker Support for The Klipsch "RW-1" as a Left & Right speaker.
Over all compatibility and stability fixes.