DEAR Daniel， if we only use the one pair XLR Output of Sentinel DAC，does it means we only got 8 channel DAC parallel output ？or it works as 16 channel DAC parallel and copy a isolated output?
@wekin , we are currently planning for it to be configurable based on use case. If only one output is used, all 16 modules will be combined. If the output is split, we can configure it into two 8 channel DAC’s. We want every configuration to be the highest performing possible.
Hi Daniel
Just out of curiosity, since seems like Sentinel will be very configurable, that leads me to ask… will it be possible to configure the Sentinel for surround sound. With 16 DACs, 9.1 surround would be easy, you could even assign 2 DACs to the L, R and C channels.
Or you could do 9.1.6 Atmos. Not common in homes but for someone mixing Atmos is would be really as good as you would every need.
Of course, it would reduce the quality of the output, but we are talking surround/Atmos, not HiFI. All the sample rates for surround are relatively low.
Of course that would require a new, and very interesting, output module 
.
It might not seem a good choice for home surround, but with an appropriate GUI (like on a tablet) interface, it would eliminate the need for an AVP. As long as he Sentinel had an HDMI input an AppleTV box or an Roku or Google or ?? could provide the streams.
Dan
@Dan , that would be SO COOL! I personally have always wanted to dabble with multi-channel, but it is unfortunately not something we can break into. The only issue is the decoding and licensing. We have looked into it and the pricing is completely unreasonable for a small manufacturer. They are only looking to work with large companies moving many many boxes.
We used to circumvent this with our transports that piggybacked off the Oppo player. We were able to use their decoding and licensing connected with our Theater Master DAC. Those were some pretty fun installations. Multi-channel needs better DACs!
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@Daniel_Francis That’s too bad. It would be reference level surround!
Dan
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@Dan and @Daniel_Francis
It would also make me wonder what level of speakers would be needed to make this worthwhile. I run an almost complete in-wall system (Other than the 2 REL S/812s) as they are NOT possible to wall mount but my existing system HT while very good would be massivly inferrior to the DAC, so what would be a good in-wall compliment (I dont like the Focals, B&W doesnt make anything at that caliber, the Martin Logan Monument system I use isn’t really going to get me there).
Now if I could in wall mount a pair of ALSYVOX!
Your thoughts?
Some surround systems, like Trinnov, can provide digital out (managed by in the Trinnov configuration just like the analog ones are), in addition to analog out. So you can use whatever DACs you want for surround.
When I first setup my Trinnov surround I used Cascade digital input for L/R. I had some issues, not sound quality, that made me switch to using the analog L/R from the Trinnov.
It’s not uncommon to use external DACs with Trinnov… not Cascade though!
Trinnov makes for an amazing surround system, provided you can find someone who can configure it properly.
BTW, I use 4 B&W subs in my surround and with Trinnov configuring then there is no problem with LFE!
Dan
Ahh but I think you might have missed the gist of my day dreaming question.
If you were using the Sentinal as a surround DAC what level of speakers would you need to do it justice and does anyone even make architectural speakers of that caliber.
Of course floor standing ones exist but…
I missed that 
…
To me Surround is surround and I want to be good for movies, but it is not HiFi. I put more emphasis on spacial imaging and LFE than on fidelity for surround.
I know one acoustician, who I feel is very knowledgable, who does media / theater rooms, including many high end ones. He feels Perlisten are the best choice for surround ex subs. He recommends installing external DACs on Trinnov.
I currently have Sonos faber architectural speakers. They are fine, my system never fails to please , but is it weren’t such a hassle and expense I would consider switching to Perlisten…
Dan
I agree and I have the same philosophy, I really dont like hifi in atmos it was more the idea of a 300K DAC connected to 30K of speakers seems a bit misaligned.
But the reality is I dont expect to upgrade from my Cascade