rjpjnk
Active Member
Interesting thread. I too have been curious as to whether or not the introduction of the miniDSP in the signal path would cause a loss in fidelity that would be audible. I have the miniDSP 2x4 HD and first off I want to say it is an amazing device. I have been using it with REW and the UMIC-1. The flexibility and quality this thing provides are almost unfathomable for the price. But as with any device in the signal path, there must be some degradation in sound quality. I wanted to know how much.
This weekend I had a chance to more thoroughly evaluate the miniDSP 2x4 hd to investigate this, and it definitely introduces some loss of fidelity, but not much.
I did this using a line level A/B switch to allow me to listen to the same source either though the miniDSP or direct. I set all filters in the miniDSP off. My goal was to hear only the effects of the miniDSP's signal path when it is not trying to change the sound. I consider this to be a baseline of the best it can do as far as preserving fidelity. I made sure I could not see the switch position during the test so as not to bias the outcome based on any preconception.
To my surprise (to my old ears), I could hear a slight loss of high end clarity and spaciousness through the miniDSP path compared to the direct path. My conclusion from this is the the miniDSP's A/D, D/A, and signal path circuitry do in fact introduce a slight loss in fidelity. Of course this must be the case, but I wasn't sure if it would be audible. It is.
The loss of fidelity is small, and I could easily see how the benefits of equalization it brings could outweigh this. But in a field where listeners recognize changes in audio quality as subtle as those introduced by capacitor variety or even speaker wire, I think this is significant.
In summary, it is my opinion that the miniDSP 2x4 HD provides a huge benefit in terms of equalization, but does introduce a slight deleterious effect on fidelity. It is a trade-off as to which is more important in the particular situation and for the particular listener.
This weekend I had a chance to more thoroughly evaluate the miniDSP 2x4 hd to investigate this, and it definitely introduces some loss of fidelity, but not much.
I did this using a line level A/B switch to allow me to listen to the same source either though the miniDSP or direct. I set all filters in the miniDSP off. My goal was to hear only the effects of the miniDSP's signal path when it is not trying to change the sound. I consider this to be a baseline of the best it can do as far as preserving fidelity. I made sure I could not see the switch position during the test so as not to bias the outcome based on any preconception.
To my surprise (to my old ears), I could hear a slight loss of high end clarity and spaciousness through the miniDSP path compared to the direct path. My conclusion from this is the the miniDSP's A/D, D/A, and signal path circuitry do in fact introduce a slight loss in fidelity. Of course this must be the case, but I wasn't sure if it would be audible. It is.
The loss of fidelity is small, and I could easily see how the benefits of equalization it brings could outweigh this. But in a field where listeners recognize changes in audio quality as subtle as those introduced by capacitor variety or even speaker wire, I think this is significant.
In summary, it is my opinion that the miniDSP 2x4 HD provides a huge benefit in terms of equalization, but does introduce a slight deleterious effect on fidelity. It is a trade-off as to which is more important in the particular situation and for the particular listener.
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