Hi peng.
I'm a fairly new member here. I'm about to order an Arcam AVR20 mainly because of Dirac Live, independent sub outs and the choice of adding DLBC. However since it seems you don't think Dirac is all that much better than Audyssey XT32, why do you think there are so many people that say Dirac is superior to Audyssey XT32? I hear this mainly for music but some even say for movies.
Is there something to Diracs ability to correct impulse response? If you only correct the bass frequencies are they then equal? Are people using Audyssey XT32 the wrong way with music perhaps?
I have had read a lot about Dirac Live, and I have used the beta test PC version a couple years ago. As an experienced user of Audyssey XT32 SubEQHT, the Editor app and Ratbuddssy, I know that without tweaking, Audyssey could consistently get me within +/- 5 to 7 dB from 20 - 130 Hz, or to 200 Hz depending on how much time I spent on position the subwoofers, and my mlp position but that's without tweaking.
With tweaking, I had managed to get within +/- 1 dB or even tighter if I spent enough time on using the App with Ratbuddyssey that is a free downloader user interface. Whoever wrote that program deserves a ton of credits. I have yet to see Dirac Live users posts of better frequency response results along with other graphs that can do better, so you can see why I am a little skeptical about the claim of "superiority" as though it is fact. As to "sound better", it is a forever debate that some will say A is better, others will say the opposite or no different, that's really all talks based on each individual's, and there isn't even any properly conducted polls/surveys on the subject matter, non any controlled blind tests to at least show some consistent preference.
I think lots of people would believe what they read on the internet as long as the source of the information appear to be creditable, even better if it is new (relatively) and a lot of papers written on it. Dirac Live has an impressive website, whereas Audyssey's don't appear to focus on HT audio any more, so people are getting a one-sided story to begin with. Dirac users might also tend to be better educated on the software, whereas a lot of users don't even know the reason why thought Audyssey made the sound thin and boring, because Audyssey's targe curve would flatten the bass and they could easily restore the bass they prefer by some tweaking. The fact that Audyssey/D+M continue to use their cheap looking mic, that, at $40-$50 (don't remember exactly) doesn't help either. $40 to $50 is not even that cheap to some, and it is supposedly calibrated for its specific purpose, and from my experience it is actually accurate enough for it purpose. I can tell just by the consistent result I have been getting from my many REW graphs. So I believe in addition to what I just mentioned, that is the effects of hearsay, "so many people believe Dirac is superior to Audyssey" because it looks that way, is definitely superior to the old XT and even XT32 versions, but not necessarily better than the full XT32 SubEQHT version once you factor in the ability to weak with the MultEQ editor app and ratbuddyssey combination.
My comments of Dirac's impulse response performance are based on what I read on their marketing information and that was partially confirmed from the results I obtained when beta testing the PC version about two years ago. When I compared their impulse response using REW, the difference was that much so I doubt there would be audible effect, but again it was the beta version.
Incidentally, I am about to download their current version for a quick trial and if I see enough improvements from what the beta version did for me, I would likely either purchase it or upgrade my minidsp and go that hardware route instead of the PC route.
I am asking this since where I live (Sweden) neither Onkyo, Integra or Pioneers new receivers are available nor in any part of Europe as far as I have been able to find and probably wont be until the summer and I kinda need a receiver right now.
In my opinion it is not a good time to buy because of the supply chain issues. If you need one right now, may be you should try to get an Arcam or NAD from an authorize dealer that offers a trial period. Before you do that I would suggest you get everything reading (install REW if not yet and have a mic, something like the U-mik's) so you can see the actual results so you don't have to rely only on other user's subjective views.