dbx DriveRack VENU360 Review (audio processor)

[oivavoi]

Interesting, the critique seems to be mainly on the harmonic distortion, the noise looks more acceptable especialy as this is -15dB from full scale. I'm using Yamaha P series amps that have input sensitivity around 8dBu, this is towards the insensitive side. Looking at the Venue 360 manual it states "ANALOG INPUT/OUTPUT CLIP LEVELS [INPUTS: +14, +20, +24, +28 dBu / OUTPUTS: +4, +8, +12, +14, +17, +20, +22 dBu]" so persumably in my circumstance I would use the 8dBu output setting (and I think the most appropriate setting for most users would be the 4dBu setting) so perhaps appropriate to retest at a lower output level setting on the drive rack?

Thanks, this was enlightening. Should probably work fine with lower output settings, then

 

[pkane]

Strange that the predecessor of this unit produced THD+N 10dB better, and mostly noise dominated, up to 24kHz:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...riverack-pa2-speaker-management-system.14134/

 

[oivavoi]

Strange that the predecessor of this unit produced THD+N 10dB better, and mostly noise dominated, up to 24kHz:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...riverack-pa2-speaker-management-system.14134/

I was just about to post your measurements to the thread and comment on the same point. One would assume that this unit would perform better than its little brother...

 

[Stoutblock]

Ouch! Brutally honest! I have both the miniDSP SHD and the Venu360. If only the SHD had eight outputs instead of four I would not need the Venu360. I bought it to remove a questionable analog active crossover that has since been verified to be good (Thanks Dave!) so I guess it needs to go back into my system. I actually got the Venu360 to sound pretty good but it did take a few hours of tweaking. I used it as a three way crossover for my main speakers along with near field PEQ using LiveEQ. I also used it for some driver timing adjustments on my main speakers. Then I use the SHD in front of it (connected digitally) to manage the sub and to compensate for the latency of the Venu360. Finally I use Dirac Live on the SHD to do RTA for the whole setup in my room. Results were actually impressive but the imaging and staging are not yet where they were before with just the SHD and the analog crossover (which Dave says is a very good crossover). Before my speaker locations would totally disappear in the listening space. With the Venu360 I can’t say I’ve been able to duplicate this but my aging ears certainly did not sense anything like Amir’s measurements suggest? Hmm, I have absolutely no doubt with his conclusions but maybe a population greater than one is needed?

 

[Stoutblock]

You did have Preset #1 loaded and the input mixer correctly configured, yes?

If the owner is amenable, would you consider letting me test this unit?

Dave.

Dave you can test mine?

 

[win]

Ugh.

I might wait for a second test to confirm. Those numbers don't really jibe with a 24bit dac, do they?

I wish it had digital outs so I could use standalone dacs. What is a better alternative that is actually available? (Ie okto 8 doesn't count)

 

[Ron Texas]

Yikes, really broken. Thank you @amirm

 

[enricoclaudio]

Ouch! Brutally honest! I have both the miniDSP SHD and the Venu360. If only the SHD had eight outputs instead of four I would not need the Venu360. I bought it to remove a questionable analog active crossover that has since been verified to be good (Thanks Dave!) so I guess it needs to go back into my system. I actually got the Venu360 to sound pretty good but it did take a few hours of tweaking. I used it as a three way crossover for my main speakers along with near field PEQ using LiveEQ. I also used it for some driver timing adjustments on my main speakers. Then I use the SHD in front of it (connected digitally) to manage the sub and to compensate for the latency of the Venu360. Finally I use Dirac Live on the SHD to do RTA for the whole setup in my room. Results were actually impressive but the imaging and staging are not yet where they were before with just the SHD and the analog crossover (which Dave says is a very good crossover). Before my speaker locations would totally disappear in the listening space. With the Venu360 I can’t say I’ve been able to duplicate this but my aging ears certainly did not sense anything like Amir’s measurements suggest? Hmm, I have absolutely no doubt with his conclusions but maybe a population greater than one is needed?

I have a few Biamp Nexia SP processors and they work much better than the dbx DriveRack. You can find them in the used market way bellow $200. It has 4 inputs and 8 outputs all balanced. Setup is done via Nexia Software which works on any Windows PC. You connect to the Nexia SP via network.

https://www.biamp.com/products/prod...1wgZMOMHd7VyuE6CvnIMHU84btPJk5xcaAnaYEALw_wcB

 

[oivavoi]

What is a better alternative that is actually available? (Ie okto 8 doesn't count)

Xilica XP-4080 is the same price range, but has never been measured as far as I know. I'm holding out for other measurements to confirm though - it just feels a bit strange to me that this unit is apparently worse measuring than the much cheaper little brother DBX PA2.

 

[sailor2005]

Xilica XP-4080 is the same price range, but has never been measured as far as I know. I'm holding out for other measurements to confirm though - it just feels a bit strange to me that this unit is apparently worse measuring than the much cheaper little brother DBX PA2.

Well. to be fair, the results Amir got were only valid for the unknown (presumably default) internal settings of the unit. Things like limiters, compression, etc. From what I read on the review whatever settings were there were not disabled. So you can take the measurements with a few grains of salt.

 

[win]

Well. to be fair, the results Amir got were only valid for the unknown (presumably default) internal settings of the unit. Things like limiters, compression, etc. From what I read on the review whatever settings were there were not disabled. So you can take the measurements with a few grains of salt.

Hoping this is the case. It does take a lot of configuration. But I doubt there's a config setting to make it have a lot of noise

 

[Stoutblock]

I have a few Biamp Nexia SP processors and they work much better than the dbx DriveRack. You can find them in the used market way bellow $200. It has 4 inputs and 8 outputs all balanced. Setup is done via Nexia Software which works on any Windows PC. You connect to the Nexia SP via network.

https://www.biamp.com/products/prod...1wgZMOMHd7VyuE6CvnIMHU84btPJk5xcaAnaYEALw_wcB

Yes I have looked at those. It could be an interesting solution but I was never sure of the audiophile specifications It performed to? Certainly much more functionality than I need.

I’ve also been looking at the Xilica XP-4080 and XD-4080. Hmm, maybe I should sell the SHD and Venu360? I do like the GUI for Dirac Live and LiveEQ. I am a bit of a novice compared to most of you...

 

[win]

Certainly there must exist a 2x6 digital in and out crossover? I imagine you could even make one on a pie but I'd prefer to not have to use anything usb.

 

[Deleted member 2944]

Certainly there must exist a 2x6 digital in and out crossover? I imagine you could even make one on a pie but I'd prefer to not have to use anything usb.

https://www.minidsp.com/products/minidspkits/nanodigi-2x8-k

Dave.

 

[Stoutblock]

Certainly there must exist a 2x6 digital in and out crossover? I imagine you could even make one on a pie but I'd prefer to not have to use anything usb.

To replace the SHD and Venu360 I need 2x8. For my system it would be best if it had 2 XLR analog inputs and 8 XLR analog outputs.

 

[Stoutblock]

https://www.minidsp.com/products/minidspkits/nanodigi-2x8-k

Dave.

I would rather have XLR balanced more like the DDRC-88A series bu Amir’s test was a modest passing grade.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ddrc-88a-dirac-multichannel-dsp-review.15900/

 

[win]

would be best if it had 2 XLR analog inputs

Ditto this.

To replicate the venu360 functionality you need the nanodigi + 3 stereo dacs + AD converter

 

[enricoclaudio]

Yes I have looked at those. It may be a much better solution for me.

I’ve also been looking at the Xilica XP-4080 and XD-4080. Hmm, may I should sell the SHD and Venu360? I do like the GUI for Dirac Live and LiveEQ. I am a bit of a novice compared to most of you...

I would recommend you to download the Nexia Software before making any decision. The Nexia Software has a learning curve that could be a challenge for many. But as soon you get it, building a project is super easy.

 

[mdsimon2]

Ditto this.

To replicate the venu360 functionality you need the nanodigi + 3 stereo dacs + AD converter

4X10HD and 10X10HD get you there for quite a bit less than the venu360. Although I imagine they may disappoint the SINAD obsessed. See below for measurements.

https://neurochrome.com/pages/minidsp-4x10hd

I've taken a few measurements of the nanoDIGI using the TOSLINK input of a mac mini and do not see any major issues. SINAD is ~115 dB.

REW Results
131072-point spectrum using Blackman-Harris 7 window and 32 averages
Input RMS -0.00 dBFS
-0.0 dBFS C, -0.0 dBFS A
-0.0 dBFS 22 - 22k UNW
-132.5 dBFS >22k
Distortion at 999.8 Hz, -0.0 dBFS:
THD: -153.7 dB based on 19 harmonics [20..20000 Hz]
HHD: -157.7 dB [10 .. 20]
N: -114.8 dB [20..20000 Hz]
N+D: -114.9 dBFS A
THD+N: -114.8 dB [20..20000 Hz]
2nd harmonic -169.7 dB
3rd harmonic -160.1 dB
4th harmonic -171.6 dB
5th harmonic -168.5 dB
6th harmonic -174.3 dB
7th harmonic -159.2 dB
8th harmonic -172.4 dB
9th harmonic -173.6 dB

Michael

 

[Farenheit]

I think that before you incinerate your driveracks, you should wait for a new measurement from Amir.

This device must be incorrectly configured, since the PA2 measured better and is inferior in everything.