Any minidsp users?

Tdogzthmn

Active Member
I recently ordered a DDRC-22A from minidsp to use in my primary listening system. I've read about DSP devices and software like Dirac for a few years but don't see it being mentioned in many systems. There seems to be a lot of benefits to a good DSP system which should allow your speakers to perform better in there listening environment.

It would be good to hear from anyone who has used a minidsp or similar device and software to see what it could do for them.
 
i use a 2-way miniDSP for a 2-way open baffle speaker set. i have the umik and use it to input REW room corrections into the crossover.
 
I'll have the device in my hands by the weekend and hopefully will be able to get it setup without much fuss. There's more feedback from users on other forums like AVSForum most who have it implemented report serious audible improvements.
 
I have a miniDSP 2x4 and do the same basic thing as rogerfederer, 2-way xover with some corrections loaded.

The Dirac is all room correction.
 
I am really interested in how well these work. I have been toying with the idea of trying a mini DSP for both room and speaker correction. I have recently modded my speaker to provide better transient response on the bass and I have gotten the results I wanted out if it. The flip side of that is that I have needed to use the bass and midbass controls of my amp (5 band eq built in) to restore the bass extension that the mod caused. REW shows an improvement but it could be a lot better I think.

How much of an improvement did you see? Were there any negative effects? Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks to all.

Shelly_D
 
i can't really comment on the potential for improvement in your system. i used a rane 2-way crossover before i switched to the miniDSP but that was a long time ago and my setup has evolved a lot. i love the almost unlimited options with the miniDSP but miss the on-the-fly adjustments possible with the rane.

my biggest concern is that, for all the fuss we make over DACs, the miniDSP contains an ADC and then a DAC both of which may not be as good as the fancy DAC i have in that rig. is this limiting my ultimate sound quality? i don't know. it is a very resolving system nonetheless.
 
my biggest concern is that, for all the fuss we make over DACs, the miniDSP contains an ADC and then a DAC both of which may not be as good as the fancy DAC i have in that rig. is this limiting my ultimate sound quality? i don't know. it is a very resolving system nonetheless.

I have seen this concern raised before but most reviews say that any limitations to the bit rate of the DAC in the minidsp are far outweighed by the improvements to the sound. My DAC is a metrum musette which can handle resolution up to 24-bit/384kHz but I dont even have any files at that bit rate. The bit rate of the DDRC-22A is 24/96k which in my experience is more than enough to get excellent sound. To me its a compromise worth making but I'll be able to confirm once I've heard it for myself.
 
Indeed. The net result should be the measure by which to judge.

If you think it sounds better with the processing than without the processing, it makes little sense to me to worry about what is going on between points A and B.
 
Thanks.

That helps. I'm looking for comments on how it affected your system, not how it will work in mine. It's impossible for anyone to accurately predict that and I realize that. I was just looking for the impressions of the current users and their opinions as to the improvement or degradation it made to their system, to their ears.

Thank you.
 
I've also been wondering if the DDRC-22A also control the crossover for my two way active speakers? My 2 way active monitors have bi amplification but the crossover is downstream from the DSP unit. I was not sure if the version I got is only designed to apply room correction or if it also can control frequency response going to each driver. Looking at the user guide I dont see any mention of crossover settings so my guess is that the DDRC-22A does not perform and active crossover functionality.
 
Thanks.

That helps. I'm looking for comments on how it affected your system, not how it will work in mine. It's impossible for anyone to accurately predict that and I realize that. I was just looking for the impressions of the current users and their opinions as to the improvement or degradation it made to their system, to their ears.

Thank you.

I use a Behringer DCX24/96 for DSP. I've used it only on bass and I've used it for bi-amp and triple-amp set ups that include mid-bass and tweeters. I used to avoid putting it into anything above about 150 Hz for fear of degradation, but I've used it more and more to avail myself of the ability to get the bass section time and phase aligned with the mid woofer-tweeter combos and to fix minor acoustic issues and I am realizing that there really is no degradation in sound quality, imaging, soundstage depth or width. So, I tend to use it for the full frequency range now. The ability to smooth out the bass region and then to be sure that subs or other larger woofers are time an phase aligned with the drivers handling the mid-bass on up yields sonic results that IMO outweighs the potential for sonic depredation. Perhaps since the ADC and DAC is happening in the same device on identical chips on the same clock - the degradation is minimized relative to what we tend to think of as "digital artifact"??? I didn't know, but I'd encourage you to experiment as I think you will be surprised at the results that can be achieved.
 
I've also been wondering if the DDRC-22A also control the crossover for my two way active speakers? My 2 way active monitors have bi amplification but the crossover is downstream from the DSP unit. I was not sure if the version I got is only designed to apply room correction or if it also can control frequency response going to each driver. Looking at the user guide I dont see any mention of crossover settings so my guess is that the DDRC-22A does not perform and active crossover functionality.

I did some reading on the Dirac website to learn what that was and stumbled across some information that said the DDRC-22A was 2 input and 2 output (I think). If true, then it can't be used as an electronic crossover.


Can REW generate the files needed to program the miniDSP directly or is this a process of measure with REW, make a correction with other software, load it up and test again with REW?

Thanks.

Shelly_D
 
i wrote out the whole process for myself but am out of town...
simple version:
1. set up crossover with crossover points and slopes of your choice using miniDSP software
2. use umik to measure using REW
3. have REW generate corrections to get response to flat
4. input REW-generated corrections to miniDSP using miniDSP software
5. enjoy!
 
i wrote out the whole process for myself but am out of town...
simple version:
1. set up crossover with crossover points and slopes of your choice using miniDSP software
2. use umik to measure using REW
3. have REW generate corrections to get response to flat
4. input REW-generated corrections to miniDSP using miniDSP software
5. enjoy!

That looks quite doable.

Thanks.
 
I've also been wondering if the DDRC-22A also control the crossover for my two way active speakers? My 2 way active monitors have bi amplification but the crossover is downstream from the DSP unit. I was not sure if the version I got is only designed to apply room correction or if it also can control frequency response going to each driver. Looking at the user guide I dont see any mention of crossover settings so my guess is that the DDRC-22A does not perform and active crossover functionality.

DDRC-22A is not a crossover/does not perform crossover function.
 
Thanks.

That helps. I'm looking for comments on how it affected your system, not how it will work in mine. It's impossible for anyone to accurately predict that and I realize that. I was just looking for the impressions of the current users and their opinions as to the improvement or degradation it made to their system, to their ears.

Thank you.

This reply probably won't be terribly helpful then either since I don't really care to do the subjective speak all that much.

But, I can say for sure I wouldn't use it if didn't prefer the sound with it more than without it.
 
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Finally got the DDRC-22 connected to my system. Setup was fairly straight forward but there is a lot of room to tweak the settings and really get things dialed in. So far I have noticed improved speech intelligibility and a more focused soundstage. These are fairly subtle improvements but I'm looking forward to further experimentation.
 
Quick update, I simplified my signal path to the DDRC-22 and got noticeably better output signal resulting in louder clearer sound. The unit is now directly connected to the source rather than running through a passive attenuator/source selector I had been using previously to change sources and control volume output to my active monitors. Next I will use the chair configuration for taking the acoustic measurements in Dirac Live to see if it will tighten up the image any more.

I certainly notice much more space around each instrument and better placement in the room. Before using DSP all the instruments seemed to be fused together into a mosaic of sound. The added space breaks the bonds between the instruments and places them in a more spacious 3D soundscape. I would not say I get an increase in detail using DSP but just a more realistic and textured soundscape. I mostly listen to Apple Music streaming from an Apple TV and the sound is fantastic even if its just 256kbs.
 
I just picked up the new Anthem STR integrated amp. Comes with Anthem room correction. Very satisfied so far.
 
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