Budget 2000€ : Streamer, DSP, DAC with Dirac Live & 2 subs, if possible stéréo

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

Thank you.

What will the xlr give me in usage and sound, sorry i am a beginner.

with a wiim pro plus or wiim ultra is it possible to bypass the dac in the minidsp and rather use the dac of the wiim ?

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

Denon, big product name, hmmmmm

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

For €2,000, I'd buy the Denon AVC X3800H with a Dirac Licensing ART license.
Everything you need for audio, for life.

Thank you TaliMan but home cinema isn't what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a 2.2 system with Dirac Live capability, nothing more.

 

[Talisman]

Thank you TaliMan but home cinema isn't what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a 2.2 system with Dirac Live capability, nothing more.

The Denon does the job you ask for very well, plus it leaves the way open to a myriad of other possibilities or future additions, the most important of which is the possible purchase of a Dirac Art license, the real game changer in room correction.

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

If the SHD is old, old dac, perhaps I can do this ? If it makes any sens to you ?

WiiM Pro Plus / Ultra
→ (TOSLINK/SPDIF out)
→ miniDSP Flex Digital (DSP/Dirac processing, digital through)
→ (TOSLINK/SPDIF out)
→ External DAC of your choice
→ Amplifier

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

The Denon does the job you ask for very well, plus it leaves the way open to a myriad of other possibilities or future additions, the most important of which is the possible purchase of a Dirac Art license, the real game changer in room correction.

You might be right about what you say, but when I look at the back of this Denon, bœuf

 

[Redacted]

Denon, big product name, hmmmmm

Unless you stick with affordable, simple items from the well-known Chinese brands, I personally would spend that €2000 differently.
You have said above that you don't have a lot of experience with audio kit - I think using a miniDSP will be a burden for you and for your budget - it's a significant chunk just to get 'room correction' and/or driving two subs. We've mentioned than ANY device that has stereo line-level signals coming out of it can be used to drive two (stereo) subs, as they all have adjustable gain and crossover points. Unless I have missed it, I don't recall you saying your room is problematic to the point of needing Dirac-anything. But if you know this needed, fair enough. People get good results.

I have a very modest system which at the time was bought for under €3000 including speakers and two subs, and honestly, with careful positioning, I'm very happy with the sound, ease of use, etc. You may say I'm lucky that my room needs no correcting devices, but then I like things simple. I have many thousands of FLAC tracks of many styles, and it all sounds sweet enough to me (and I'm not required to sit in one 'optimized' place in the room!)

Therefore, for your budget, I'd look at a good value DAC/streamer, and a nice power amp. If you wanted to keep things really simple, and look at an all-in-one (just add speakers and 2 subs) - the Denon suggestion was just that, I think. Even better for you might be (it works fine with stereo subs on the pre-amp ports):

https://www.richersounds.com/cambridge-audio-evo-150-black/

Just a suggestion; Hypex based, and the price reflects it being a run-out model - no doubt I'll be flamed for not being an audiophile!

 

[Ruediger]

Thank you TaliMan but home cinema isn't what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a 2.2 system with Dirac Live capability, nothing more.

The Denon does all that, up to 4 subs actually. And it can run in pure pre-amp mode feeding external power-amps. Streaming is built in (Heos platform + app). Nice solution, a rather easy one too.

The MiniDSP SHD comes with Volumio as player. You can actually download that for free, boot a PI or PC with it and try out that streamer + app in your home network. Superb device IMO by looking at the hardware. But I read Dirac only does 2.0, no subs.

The WiiM will take the prize for versatility and best app I guess.

What streamer suits you, depends on your personal needs. 3 rather different flavors here.

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

Thank you again.

Yes, I have to decide,

perhaps the Denon is a good starting point. After all, many used on the market for 1200€ and I can resell later without loosing lots of €.

Plus Dirac Art for 700€. You say if my room is difficult ? Is room corrections not always needed for a great sound ?

The Cambridge looks great as well,
why not audiophile ?

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

The Denon means
my subs can be amplified when you say it can run in pure preamp mode ?

 

[Talisman]

Plus Dirac Art for 700€. You say if my room is difficult ? Is room corrections not always needed for a great sound ?

All rooms have enormous acoustic problems at low frequencies, but the human brain is an exceptional instrument and can extract good sound even from a terrible response curve.
You only notice the enormous difference when you listen with your own ears—the difference when the room modes are canceled and the response of the subwoofer and speakers is perfectly phased.

 

[Talisman]

The Denon means
my subs can be amplified when you say it can run in pure preamp mode ?

This means that all the Denon outputs can also be just pre-outs to be sent to a power amplifier if a better or more powerful or more capable amplifier is needed at low impedances, in short the Denon can become a pure multi-channel pre-amp (the power outputs are deactivated) with enormous room correction capabilities and sub integration.

 

[voodooless]

The Denon should not be €1200 used... You can get the below € 1000 brand new with a bit of luck.

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

The Denon should not be €1200 used... You can get the below € 1000 brand new with a bit of luck.

Sorry yes it is new, plus Dirac comes to around 2000€. Thank you, I should actually consider this possibility.

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

How would the Denon compare to the below :

Is the below mire audiophile than Denon ?
And perhaps much more complicated ?

Dirac Live with :
WiiM Pro Plus / Ultra
→ (TOSLINK/SPDIF out)
→ miniDSP Flex Digital (DSP/Dirac processing, digital through)
→ (TOSLINK/SPDIF out)
→ External DAC of your choice
→ Amplifier

 

[Bland_username42069]

How would the Denon compare to the below :

Is the below mire audiophile than Denon ?
And perhaps much more complicated ?

Dirac Live with :
WiiM Pro Plus / Ultra
→ (TOSLINK/SPDIF out)
→ miniDSP Flex Digital (DSP/Dirac processing, digital through)
→ (TOSLINK/SPDIF out)
→ External DAC of your choice
→ Amplifier

Personally I’d go with Denon or Lyngdorf and make my life easy.

The second option is for the hardcore

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

Thank you. Amirm is quite negative about this Denon.

The only problem about the Lyngdorf is the amp. Very little power.

Can I like with the Denon bypass and use external amps with the Lyngdorf ?

 

[ZolaIII]

If you disregard Dirac and do it yourself by hand for little more then what's budget you can get there. 2x 12" sub's Speedwoofer 12S in music preset mode and MiniDSP Flex (+UMIK-1) with WiiM Mini. Around 2200$ (800x2 +550 + 100). Other requirement is that each sub in 2.2 is close to its main and XO is at 120 Hz.

 

[voodooless]

Amirm is quite negative about this Denon.

The only problem about the Lyngdorf is the amp. Very little power.

This shows you how arbitrary the recommendations of Amir are… just understand the data, don’t just accept the conclusions.

 

[ZolaIII]

Regarding AVR unfortunately you need much higher end Denon like AVR-X6800H that's 3.7K US$ alone and actual license cost went down to about 550$ from over 800 for Dirac full multi subs.