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Minidsp Flex Review (Audio DSP)

Rate this product:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 4 0.7%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 16 2.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 117 20.6%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 431 75.9%

  • Total voters
    568

Draki

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Having listened to both the 2x4 HD and the Flex given your situation it's a close choice.
If the Flex has features you need then it would be an easy choice.
If you are seeking ultimate fidelity then Flex is superior with its high-end ESS DACs and primo analog output section.
The DACs are actually from TI (PCM 1795), if that matters.
 

holbob

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Having listened to both the 2x4 HD and the Flex given your situation it's a close choice.
If the Flex has features you need then it would be an easy choice.
If you are seeking ultimate fidelity then Flex is superior with its high-end ESS DACs and primo analog output section.
Would you care to explain exactly what you mean by primo analog output section. Thank You.
 

vicenzo_del_paris

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Has anyone upgraded from a miniDSP 2x4HD to FLEX? If so, did you notice any improvement in sound quality, and can you elaborate on this a bit?

Hi,

I owned a 2x4HD upgraded to DDRC-24.
To be honest, I can't really say that there is a very noticeable improvement in casual listening.
However, my speaker having a 94db sensitivity, with the 2x4HD, I had a hiss in the tweeters noticeable up to 1meter (but not noticeable from listening position).
And annoying cracks/pops at speakers level when switching between sources and presets.
Not the end of the world, but very frustrating!
Thus, I got the flex. And all my issues disappeared: tweeters are dead silent, no noise when switching presets/source.
and also, front display is very nice to check current source/preset.
with the 2x4hd, I was regularly checking with the plugin for current selection.

From my perspective, 2x4HD is more a nice component you use hidden for subwoofers or active crossover integration / DSP.

While the Flex can be used as a proper user facing preamp+DSP.

These 2 devices share the same core concepts but have different purposes and different intended use.
 

deercreekaudio

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Would you care to explain exactly what you mean by primo analog output section. Thank You.
I edited that post to say high quality. This refers miniDSP's selection of audio grade components and driver design following the DAC chip. miniDSP does a great job with the entire digital chain, all the way through the analog output.
 

txbdan

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Apr 21, 2020
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I'm having trouble finding a clear answer. Using Dirac Live on the Flex, can I use Outputs 1 & 2 HPF'ed to my mains and Output 3 LPF'ed to my sub? This would require Dirac Base Management, right?

Edit: looking at this I guess you setup the crossovers first and then Dirac will be measuring the resulting output of all speakers combine. Eg, Dirac doesn't know you have separate mains and sub at all and would apply correction as a whole. This is what I'm currently doing with Dirac on my computer connected to mains w/ a sub and passive crossovers.
 

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deercreekaudio

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I'm having trouble finding a clear answer. Using Dirac Live on the Flex, can I use Outputs 1 & 2 HPF'ed to my mains and Output 3 LPF'ed to my sub? This would require Dirac Base Management, right?

Edit: looking at this I guess you setup the crossovers first and then Dirac will be measuring the resulting output of all speakers combine. Eg, Dirac doesn't know you have separate mains and sub at all, but it'll still apply. This is what I'm cursing doing with Dirac on my computer connected to mains w/ a sub and passive crossovers.
This is a basic function of the miniDSP Flex plug-in, see attached example images. After this has been completed with good results you can run your Dirac Live project. You do not need bass management software.

Please see our blog "Stereo 2.1 & 2.2 Subwoofer Optimization"

Deer Creek Audio is an authorized miniDSP dealer.
 

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TreveK

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Jan 9, 2022
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I'm having trouble finding a clear answer. Using Dirac Live on the Flex, can I use Outputs 1 & 2 HPF'ed to my mains and Output 3 LPF'ed to my sub? This would require Dirac Base Management, right?

Edit: looking at this I guess you setup the crossovers first and then Dirac will be measuring the resulting output of all speakers combine. Eg, Dirac doesn't know you have separate mains and sub at all and would apply correction as a whole. This is what I'm currently doing with Dirac on my computer connected to mains w/ a sub and passive crossovers.
Your edited comments are correct. This is what I am doing. Sounds great
 

Keened

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lol the front plastic cover fell off between all of the moves back and forth recently. No damage and I'll use some electronic adhesive to restick it after cleaning the dust out from between the unit and the cover, but just be aware that it isn't particularly strongly held on.
 

Rednaxela

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lol the front plastic cover fell off between all of the moves back and forth recently. No damage and I'll use some electronic adhesive to restick it after cleaning the dust out from between the unit and the cover, but just be aware that it isn't particularly strongly held on.
To someone who is in the market for something like the Flex this sounds a bit disturbing I must say.

Do you or anyone know if the construction of the SHD is different (better) in this regard?
 

testp

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To someone who is in the market for something like the Flex this sounds a bit disturbing I must say.

Do you or anyone know if the construction of the SHD is different (better) in this regard?
well..it's called Flex for a reason.

but seriously i think it is a good product and its functionality is solid, thats what matters
 

Keened

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To someone who is in the market for something like the Flex this sounds a bit disturbing I must say.

Do you or anyone know if the construction of the SHD is different (better) in this regard?
I don't think it will be an issue during normal usage, just don't toss it into a box full of other audio equipment and bounce it around for a month back and forth.

If they ever did a redesign I would like to see a wrap around version held in with some small screws because that would let them remove the sharp corners/edges but something like that means extra manufacturing cost and logistical issues so I doubt we'll see it.
 

Pingu

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Would a flex + dirac be wasted on me? Im currently using ldac>ifi zen blu>coax>dac magic plus>rca>ati1202>dynaudio x18 - the low end gets a little boomy due to a very compromised space: (ported speakers are neccasarily placed close to a (partition) wall , in a large and strangely shaped and echo-y concrete room).

Would digital room correction / eq help much? Would spending extra for dirac, mic, etc be necassary to see any improvements? Would the flex's inbuilt ldac receiver be just as good as ifis fancy one?

Being able to replace the ifi, dacmagic and coax cord with one little box is an attractive prospect.
 

holbob

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Not only is it an attractive prospect for aesthetics, but it will be very attractive for audio when those bass modes are controlled.
 

mig59

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Jul 24, 2019
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I am afraid I think I know the answer, but can anyone confirm whether the Flex auto switches between inputs based on signal? Not for Bluetooth, but between eg Toslink and USB?
 

djgras

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So there's not been much discussion about the fact that the Minidsp Flex only processes audio at 48KHz when using Dirac. Even without Dirac it only operates at 96KHz. So that means all your hi-res music (anything above 48KHz) will be downsampled when using Dirac, and anything above 96KHz will be downsampled when not using Dirac. Even worse, all 44.1KHz CD content (which I'd assume is the majority of our library for most people) will be upsampled to a non-integer scale. So with that in mind, I have a few questions.
  1. Should we be concerned about the reconstruction filter in the Flex's DAC producing the same artefacts that plague digital audio that's encoded at just over the Nyquist frequency bound of 22-24KHz? Eg ringing, time smearing.
  2. Should we be concerned by the detrimental effects to audio quality caused by the aliasing produced by upsampling 44.1KHz audio to a non-integer scale, be it 48KHz or 96KHz? Anti-aliasing would help but isn't ideal.
  3. Is there any point in playing hi-res media through this DAC when using Dirac at 48KHz?
  4. Does the fact that it processes the audio in 32-bit help alleviate these issues? If so, by how much?
  5. Does the overall increase in audio quality to the listener as a result of using PEQ DSP in the Flex, either through using Dirac or configuring manually, outweigh the potential loss in audio quality from the above?
  6. Would it be a better solution to first process PEQ DSP on a more powerful computer in 192KHz or above before streaming to a DAC? Eg Roon, Dirac Live on a PC. An advantage of this would be retaining MQA support in some cases, eg Roon.
Thanks!
Yes you should be concerned.
I am waiting for the SHD STUDIO 2 to go digital to my external DAC at max 192 kHz.

See Alir's thoughts on hirez audio files.
Summary and Final Thoughts
As I mentioned at the outset, high resolution audio makes a difference. And a huge one at that in the way it gives us access to stereo masters prior to re-mastering for the CD. That path means the music can be free of loudness compression which will have clear benefit, putting aside any additional sonic fidelity due to use of higher bit depths and sampling. Given the fact that CD has no choice but to go away in the future, we as enthusiasts better get behind high resolution audio distribution. Nothing but goodness comes from having more choices of formats for our music.

My own experience with purchased (Qobuz) hirez files on albums I love and properly recorded I guess, is just great sounding. Please feel free to snigger or chortle...
 

djgras

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So this device can't handle DSD/SACD iso playback, it has no MQA support (somewhat understandable), and also can't playback 24-192 files from Qobuz or HDtracks?

Seems like at least 2 of the 3 are huge features to leave out. Is this something that can be added in a firmware upgrade, or is the device limited by hardware and software coding capabilities due to DIRAC?
Agree. Not what I'm looking for yet. And it should respect the original sampling rate, not do it's own unknown process. See Amir's conclusion certainly matching my experience with recent studio masters albums in 192kHz...

 

antcollinet

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Not only is it an attractive prospect for aesthetics, but it will be very attractive for audio when those bass modes are controlled.
And if you could put a rug down, and any soft hangings around the concrete, you might get even better results.
 

antcollinet

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Agree. Not what I'm looking for yet. And it should respect the original sampling rate, not do it's own unknown process. See Amir's conclusion certainly matching my experience with recent studio masters albums in 192kHz...

You do both realize that any resampling does not in any way damage the benefits of the mastering?

And it is pretty much only the mastering that Amir recognizes as a benefit of high bit rates and resolution.
 

djgras

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I am looking for a digital Cover at 192 kHz to high pass the main speakers and manage 1 or 2 subs using Dirac Live too
 
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