Minidsp SHD Review Updated (DSP, DAC & Streamer)

[rvsixer]

Can we keep this thread SHD related please. The Flex series is different from SHD (different feature set, no internal streaming, SHD measurements are not applicable to it, etc.).

Flex thread is here:

miniDSP Flex

New DAC/DSP with Dirac Live option from miniDSP..... https://www.minidsp.com/products/minidsp-in-a-box/flex I've been tempted by an SHD or SHD Studio for a while, but suspected that they might release something new. I've pre-ordered the balanced version with Dirac.

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Karu]

Has anyone got their SHD recognised in Roon yet?

 

[Staki]

Has anyone got their SHD recognised in Roon yet?

Yes, it is working. But there are a couple of issues:

1. Play button on SHD remote does not work.
2. Putting SHD to sleep does not pause Roon stream.

 

[Dracumel]

Is it true that Dirac on SHD will run only with the Umik microphone? I already have a sonaworks ref 20 and a focusrite 2i2 interface and was hoping to use that. I will receive my shd next week and founding out about flex was devastating, could really use the price difference to buy a subwoofer. Please tell me I won't have to spend another 100 euro for the mic....

 

[rvsixer]

Is it true that Dirac on SHD will run only with the Umik microphone? ... Please tell me I won't have to spend another 100 euro for the mic....

Clearly stated on the website (https://www.minidsp.com/products/streaming-hd-series/shd):
NOTE: miniDSP supports only the calibrated UMIK-1/UMIK-2 microphone for Dirac Live calibration. Be sure to leave the UMIK-1 in your order (included by default) if you do not have one of our supported microphones

So now you get to spend $80 USD for the mic, instead of the $50 USD you "saved" by deleting if from the original SHD order (...and now there is another shipping/customs charge).

 

[ebslo]

Is it true that Dirac on SHD will run only with the Umik microphone? I already have a sonaworks ref 20 and a focusrite 2i2 interface and was hoping to use that. I will receive my shd next week and founding out about flex was devastating, could really use the price difference to buy a subwoofer. Please tell me I won't have to spend another 100 euro for the mic....

If I didn't already have the SHD I might be tempted by the Flex over the SHD to save some money, but there is no advantage to the Flex (same DSP platform, etc.) and the SHD has some really nice features over the Flex:

1. Integrated streamer. Yes, it's easy and cheap to add an external streamer, but there are a few nice things about having it integrated besides less cable mess. It auto-switches to Network input when the streamer starts playing, you can control the SHD main volume and input from the web/app interface, and since the streamer is connected internally you don't have to unplug it to plug in your laptop.

2. The I/O on the SHD is way more flexible as you get balanced, unbalanced, and digital outputs instead of having to choose only one when you order. For example, my amp picks up noise if I use unbalanced with the 12V trigger connected, so I use the XLR instead, but my sub only has RCA inputs.

3. The USB host port on the SHD turns off USB power when in standby (on the latest hardware revision anyway), which allows a USB->12V step-up cable to be used as a 12V trigger for the amp. I use it with a bus-powered hub so I can still plug in the thumb drive that has my flac library on it.

4. No measurement data is yet available for the DAC's on the Flex.

Assuming I had the budget, I would probably still choose the SHD.

 

[Dracumel]

Thanks for your replies. Clearly is a mistake for my own reasons, mostly lack of knowledge. I don't doubt that is an amazing piece of gear.

Clearly stated on the website (https://www.minidsp.com/products/streaming-hd-series/shd):
NOTE: miniDSP supports only the calibrated UMIK-1/UMIK-2 microphone for Dirac Live calibration. Be sure to leave the UMIK-1 in your order (included by default) if you do not have one of our supported microphones

So now you get to spend $80 USD for the mic, instead of the $50 USD you "saved" by deleting if from the original SHD order (...and now there is another shipping/customs charge).

I live in Europe and bought it from Audiophonics.fr , so not loosing anything in that regard, free shipping and no customs charge as we already pay everything much more expensive here anyway. price for umik1 here is 113 US dollars. Price for SHD is 1,750 US dollars

If I didn't already have the SHD I might be tempted by the Flex over the SHD to save some money, but there is no advantage to the Flex (same DSP platform, etc.) and the SHD has some really nice features over the Flex:

1. Integrated streamer. Yes, it's easy and cheap to add an external streamer, but there are a few nice things about having it integrated besides less cable mess. It auto-switches to Network input when the streamer starts playing, you can control the SHD main volume and input from the web/app interface, and since the streamer is connected internally you don't have to unplug it to plug in your laptop.

2. The I/O on the SHD is way more flexible as you get balanced, unbalanced, and digital outputs instead of having to choose only one when you order. For example, my amp picks up noise if I use unbalanced with the 12V trigger connected, so I use the XLR instead, but my sub only has RCA inputs.

3. The USB host port on the SHD turns off USB power when in standby (on the latest hardware revision anyway), which allows a USB->12V step-up cable to be used as a 12V trigger for the amp. I use it with a bus-powered hub so I can still plug in the thumb drive that has my flac library on it.

4. No measurement data is yet available for the DAC's on the Flex.

Assuming I had the budget, I would probably still choose the SHD.

You make excellent points. I just try to put things into perspective for me to realise what are my priorities right now.

I only listen to my flac collection so USB is my only source and only a toslink for the TV would be needed. The ability to just hook up a hard disk without a laptop is great but streaming is only good as a future update. I have a pair of Wharfedale Linton's and amplifier is Cambridge Audio w851 which triggers on automatically when you send signal to it. I don't have any subwoofers yet. I was using scarlet 2i2 as preamplifier but now it moved in my desktop setup so still need a dac/preamp solution. Also no acoustic treatment in the living room (yet?)

Reason I bought is because I thought that the only way to ''tame the beast'' that are the room modes I am experiencing, is to have two subwoofers, digital xover etc. But truth is that I am lacking the knowledge to dive that deep and maybe I overreacted to what I measure with REW as I definitely lack the technical aspect of interpreting all the graphs.

The idea was to first do Dirac then integrate one or two subwoofers and last add some acoustic treatment into the room. I can't do all together and it will take me couple of years to do all. Now I am back thinking that maybe I should have first done some mild acoustic treatment and experiment with REW filters / APO EQ before willing to pay over 3.000 euro for a preamp and 2 subwoofers.

I have so many questions and how to's I want to ask I need more than one thread to get started. Still I am only one year into the journey of acquiring gear and learning how to get magic from my system and the only reason I know I am in the right direction is this forum. Honestly thank you all, without out you I would still be looking for cables and power plants.

 

[rvsixer]

I live in Europe and bought it from Audiophonics.fr , so not loosing anything in that regard, free shipping and no customs charge as we already pay everything much more expensive here anyway. price for umik1 here is 113 US dollars. Price for SHD is 1,750 US dollars

Okay thanks for the specifics. I do see Audiophonics debundles the SHD and microphone (unlike miniDSP where you must specifically opt out of the mic). But the AP website, like miniDSP's, also states that a UMIK mic is required. Free shipping and customs on imported goods...I wonder who pays for those things if the customer doesn't ...

The miniDSP site has excellent how to guides on taming room modes and subwoofer integration via miniDSP processors (taking you all the way from room measurement, to subwoofer placement/gain adjustment, to programming and verifying the fixes). You found the right tool for the job it did wonders for my stereo/home theatre setup(s). Good luck. Two subs are a great starting point in my own experience.

 

[deercreekaudio]

SHD Series is now Roon Ready. The miniDSP SHD Series (SHD, SHD Studio and SHD Power) are now all certified Roon Ready players. If you're already a Roon subscriber, check out the latest user manual. Be sure to update your Volumio Build to the latest version (v1.111) and your SHD Series unit will become available for selection as a Roon Ready device inside Roon. Here a few pointers:

• Check that Roon Ready is enabled on your SHD.
• If you already have the SHD bridge enabled in Roon you should disable that
• You may need to cycle the SHD Roon Ready connection if it's still showing "not certified"

 

[deercreekaudio]

Thanks for your replies. Clearly is a mistake for my own reasons, mostly lack of knowledge. I don't doubt that is an amazing piece of gear.


I live in Europe and bought it from Audiophonics.fr , so not loosing anything in that regard, free shipping and no customs charge as we already pay everything much more expensive here anyway. price for umik1 here is 113 US dollars. Price for SHD is 1,750 US dollars



You make excellent points. I just try to put things into perspective for me to realise what are my priorities right now.

I only listen to my flac collection so USB is my only source and only a toslink for the TV would be needed. The ability to just hook up a hard disk without a laptop is great but streaming is only good as a future update. I have a pair of Wharfedale Linton's and amplifier is Cambridge Audio w851 which triggers on automatically when you send signal to it. I don't have any subwoofers yet. I was using scarlet 2i2 as preamplifier but now it moved in my desktop setup so still need a dac/preamp solution. Also no acoustic treatment in the living room (yet?)

Reason I bought is because I thought that the only way to ''tame the beast'' that are the room modes I am experiencing, is to have two subwoofers, digital xover etc. But truth is that I am lacking the knowledge to dive that deep and maybe I overreacted to what I measure with REW as I definitely lack the technical aspect of interpreting all the graphs.

The idea was to first do Dirac then integrate one or two subwoofers and last add some acoustic treatment into the room. I can't do all together and it will take me couple of years to do all. Now I am back thinking that maybe I should have first done some mild acoustic treatment and experiment with REW filters / APO EQ before willing to pay over 3.000 euro for a preamp and 2 subwoofers.

I have so many questions and how to's I want to ask I need more than one thread to get started. Still I am only one year into the journey of acquiring gear and learning how to get magic from my system and the only reason I know I am in the right direction is this forum. Honestly thank you all, without out you I would still be looking for cables and power plants.

The SHD series is also now Roon Certified, this a real game changer.

 

[Madjalapeno]

The SHD series is also now Roon Certified, this a real game changer.

Is this how it show be showing?

 

[KaLam1ty]

Hey all, I got a technical question regarding clocking and sample rates to see if this unit is for me.

To give some context, I have a RME Fireface UCX II which I was initially thinking of using as a "digital pre-amp/selector". But turns out, it doesn't have a Sample Rate Converter, so incoming digital signals all need to all be in sync and same sample rates. Unfortunately, I'm unable to set the digital sources as slave clocks (i.e. they are both Master clocks, which will conflict).

But from what I can tell, the SHD does have an Asynchronous SRC. Does this mean that, I needn't worry of whatever varying sample rate/clock fluctuation is coming into the SHD? In other words, will the SHD re-clock everything properly?:

From what I tell, whatever incoming signal gets resampled to 24bit/96kHz in the end.

My UCX does not do this (or any SRC for that matter), hence my question.

 

[mdsimon2]

Hey all, I got a technical question regarding clocking and sample rates to see if this unit is for me.

To give some context, I have a RME Fireface UCX II which I was initially thinking of using as a "digital pre-amp/selector". But turns out, it doesn't have a Sample Rate Converter, so incoming digital signals all need to all be in sync and same sample rates. Unfortunately, I'm unable to set the digital sources as slave clocks (i.e. they are both Master clocks, which will conflict).

But from what I can tell, the SHD does have an Asynchronous SRC. Does this mean that, I needn't worry of whatever varying sample rate/clock fluctuation is coming into the SHD? In other words, will the SHD re-clock everything properly?:
View attachment 170469
From what I tell, whatever incoming signal gets resampled to 24bit/96kHz in the end.

My UCX does not do this (or any SRC for that matter), hence my question.

You do not need to worry about input sample rates as the ASRC will convert everything to 96 kHz. Of course the SHD is a bit different from the UCX II in that although it has multiple inputs you can only select one input at a time so there is no concern about keeping multiple inputs in sync.

On the UCX II can you not change the clock source when you change your input? Or are you really trying to input multiple digital signals with different clock sources at the same time?

Michael

 

[KaLam1ty]

You do not need to worry about input sample rates as the ASRC will convert everything to 96 kHz. Of course the SHD is a bit different from the UCX II in that although it has multiple inputs you can only select one input at a time so there is no concern about keeping multiple inputs in sync.

On the UCX II can you not change the clock source when you change your input? Or are you really trying to input multiple digital signals with different clock sources at the same time?

Michael

Thanks for confirming Michael! Exactly what I wanted to know.

As for the UCX, it's not so much I'm needing (nor should be) running multiple digital at the same time -- I'm toggling the clock source between a SPDIF and Internal (for USB) clock. The only issue is, assigning to a different clock source doesn't "shut out" the signal of the other per the designed functionality.

I have a very odd and specific scenario where my SPDIF digital device normally sends 48kHz signal that I sync to. When it's inactive and not in use, it constantly sends a silent 44.1kHz clock in "sleepmode", which prevents Autosync from switching back to and prioritizing the Internal clock. And the sudden change in the SPDIF's sample rate interferes with the operation of my 48kHz Internal clock signal:

Easy enough to either disconnect the cable or manually switch clocks between Internal and SPDIF, but that's... a bit of a hassle haha. I suppose a different question would be if I could gatekeep a digital signal if I wanted to, but afaik that isn't exactly a defined use case for the UCX.

 

[abdo123]

Is it true that Dirac on SHD will run only with the Umik microphone? I already have a sonaworks ref 20 and a focusrite 2i2 interface and was hoping to use that. I will receive my shd next week and founding out about flex was devastating, could really use the price difference to buy a subwoofer. Please tell me I won't have to spend another 100 euro for the mic....

Don't order a microphone just yet, Dirac recognizes all microphones and line-ins, I just never tried to use anything other than my UMIK-1.

 

[rvsixer]

Don't order a microphone just yet, Dirac recognizes all microphones and line-ins, I just never tried to use anything other than my UMIK-1.

So claim is Dirac itself recognizes all mic's.
But you have only tested with UMIK-1 (on an unspecified platform).

So no basis that miniDSP/SHD/Dirac combo is not limited to UMIK mics (as specifically called our for by the manufacturer)?

Will be interesting if this or manufacturer claim is incorrect.

 

[deercreekaudio]

Is this how it show be showing?

View attachment 170454

Here is an image of how it looks, in this case there are two SHDs. There are in the roon READY section of Audio

 

[Madjalapeno]

Here is an image of how it looks, in this case there are two SHDs. There are in the roon READY section of Audio

That's better. I had not enabled it in Volumio, and was still using the Roon Bridge functionality.

Thanks

 

[Epos7]

I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on an SHD. Is there a preferred source here in the US? I was set to pay the extra $15 to order from Deer Creek Audio then did a last minute search here and came across the negative experience referred to 5-6 pages back.

Should I just order direct from miniDSP? Or are there support issues that go back to the manufacturer? Not looking to get a headache should something go wrong. I haven't found any products that can compete with the SHD's feature set and specs, but $1300 is still a lot of money (to me at least) and it's not worth it if the manufacturer/retailer won't stand behind the product.

edit - Upon reading back further, this may be a can of worms I do not want to open.

 

[ebslo]

I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on an SHD. Is there a preferred source here in the US? I was set to pay the extra $15 to order from Deer Creek Audio then did a last minute search here and came across the negative experience referred to 5-6 pages back.

Should I just order direct from miniDSP? Or are there support issues that go back to the manufacturer? Not looking to get a headache should something go wrong. I haven't found any products that can compete with the SHD's feature set and specs, but $1300 is still a lot of money (to me at least) and it's not worth it if the manufacturer/retailer won't stand behind the product.

I can't speak from personal experience as in my case no support was necessary. I ordered from Deer Creek and the unit was delivered on time and fully working. But had there been an issue, I would rather have had to return it to Colorado than Hong Kong. AFAICT, there was one very loud unhappy customer; even the best vendors get an occasional bad review.