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miniDSP Help

Oski1928

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I am looking for some help/advice with a hypothetical path that I may take with my setup in the future. First I will layout my current system:

Marantz NA6006 > Marantz PM KI RUBY > Focal Chora 826.

Everything I am about to say is hypothetical as it is not all financially possible at once, but it is a possible path I may take. My next move is going to be moving from my Chora 826's to a used pair of the Kanta No. 1 that I have setup a very good price for. This will take me out of the game for a while as this move is all that my budget permits, but after this I would like to upgrade my digital source. I am looking at streamers like the IFI Zen Stream as it is reasonably priced and has great reviews and for the DAC I would like to try and secure a Pontus II or a Venus II on the used market when the time comes (depends on what my budget will be at that time).

Now comes my question about miniDSP. Assuming a setup like what I laid out above (streamer > dac > amp > speakers), I am trying to figure out the best way to implement room correction into this. It seems to me like the best way to do this would be a DDRC-22D in between the streamer and the dac (streamer > miniDSP > dac > amp > speakers). If this is agreed upon as the best route, I now have a few questions.

First off does anybody have any experience with this product, I am hoping that it is considered as transparent as possible? Next, I have heard some people talk about Dirac killing the soundstage of their system, but I am only planning on using Dirac to correct the bass frequencies. If I only use it to correct the lower frequencies will this even be a possible concern? Next, a general question about Dirac. My only experience with room correction is with Audyssey when I had a home theater setup. Does Dirac allow me to introduce a high pass filter to my system using its software? Moving to two way bookshelf speakers, I would like to experiment with cutting out the lowest frequencies from my system. Basically I would like to find out where the speakers roll off in my room and then cut anything below that from being introduced to both my amp and speakers, does Dirac allow for this? Finally, The DDRC-22D puts out a max sampling rate of 24/96. Now I know this is a hot button issue here on this forum and I am not trying to get into the discussion of "hi res" music in this thread, but I do have files that are 24/192. My only question here is will running these files into the device have any negative consequences?

I will once again clarify that this is all just a plan for the future and that I do not have the money to make this happen right now. I just want to be knowledgeable about this so that I know which paths I am interested in exploring. Any information about any of this is greatly appreciated!

Edit: Just to introduce one more idea: Moving to bookshelf speakers introduces the possibility of desiring a subwoofer. The Ruby does not have preouts so if this is ever something I wanted to do, it would need to be a sub that has speaker level inputs. Would running Dirac in what is still basically a 2.0 system (speakers running full range and blended into the sub via speaker level inputs) still work well?
 
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Rednaxela

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Have you considered MiniDSP products that can also serve as a DAC/preamp, such as the Flex or an SHD?
 
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Oski1928

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Have you considered MiniDSP products that can also serve as a DAC/preamp, such as the Flex or an SHD?
I have looked into the products, but I don't really want to introduce a preamp in front of my integrated amp. Maybe this is foolish, but I paid a lot of money for that amp (although i did buy it open box at a pretty big discount) and I want to use it for what it is.
 

abdo123

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Yes the 22D should work flawlessly for you.

Do you have plans to add subwoofers in the future? Maybe the Flex digital is better in that case.
 
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Oski1928

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Yes the 22D should work flawlessly for you.

Do you have plans to add subwoofers in the future? Maybe the Flex digital is better in that case.
I talk about the possibility of adding a sub in the original post. My problem with something like the flex is that using subwoofer outs like that leaves me no way to control the volume of the sub and the amp together (unless I use the flex as a preamp which I don’t really want to do in front of my integrated).
 

MCH

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If you want to experiment with room correction on a very tight budget, it can be done for as little as 150-160 euros that a raspberry pi with a spdif hat and a measuring microphone would cost you. This won't run dirac and you would have to go through some learning, but it would allow you to hear what sort of improvement the room correction can bring to your system before deciding to invest in something more pricey. My 2c.
 
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Oski1928

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If you want to experiment with room correction on a very tight budget, it can be done for as little as 150-160 euros that a raspberry pi with a spdif hat and a measuring microphone would cost you. This won't run dirac and you would have to go through some learning, but it would allow you to hear what sort of improvement the room correction can bring to your system before deciding to invest in something more pricey. My 2c.
Not a bad idea at all, and perhaps a great project for the right person. I just don’t have much extra time/patience to learn and experiment with certain things. Work has me pretty busy and I’m not the most intuitive when it comes to certain tech. For instance I know that I can use a computer like the raspberry pie for streaming, but the concept of a streamer that is already setup and ready to go, and that can be controlled by an app on my phone is so much more appealing for me with where I’m currently at.
 
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