DEQX Premate 8 digital active crossover / DSP

[Rikpost]

hmm I'm a little anxious to try the new software with these posts.
although the new ai alone is probably not that much of a problem.
I have also had sparks randomly from both speakers, but only when I had select an optical input.
That went away on its own, strangely enough. I asked Alan about it but he had never heard of it .
With sparks you mean a crackle sound random?

 

[Cu Boy]

In my case, the 'sparks' are a new problem and only started after the latest software download. Also, the three or four times that it has happened, have always been on changing from the PEQ tab to the Levels tab, whilst a CD was playing.
Sorry, yes it sounds like crackle/buzzing.

 

[TheoSweden]

Definitely a better UI experience on the front page at the moment. UI in the setup environment is largely the same and has some quirks still.

Haven't tried the low-pass option as I have no use for it myself, but nice that they're adding more features still.

There is potential for a sonic improvement with this new update, it believe it comes down to the measurements you take and the room itself. There're still sliders I'm not sure where to put or what they're for like truncation and smoothing, I suppose this will be addressed in the next update at the end of November.

I've not experienced these "sparks" you speak of, are they loud and from all the drivers or just some?

Been listening much to my system yesterday night and today and it for sure sounds better now after many measurements, trial and errors.
I still have issues to get my bass response perfect, much is due to my complicated construction and also the room play tricks.
200hz and up is probably the best I ever had from 20 years of building speakers.

The sparks or what I should call them in english comes from the tweeter channel, maybe also midrange but hard to tell, or maybe they are just high frequent.
They come from one side at a time totally random I should say I havnt been able to find any pattern why/when it happens.
I told Alan long time ago but got no good answer. Its clear that he dont want to deal with this issue now that a few seem to have.
Its extremely irritating when you try to get the best out of a very expensive system and suddenly you get surprised by these loud sparks now and then.

 

[TheoSweden]

I'm only getting familiar with the new UI at the moment and have not tried a new measurement yet. That's partly because I need to understand the 'sliders' better too and up until now have left them in their default position. This potentially has now been made more complicated by the changes in the new release, so I too am hoping for better explanations in the next release.

I have experienced the 'sparks' too. In my case it came about whilst fine-tuning the PEQ and when switching to the Levels tab, the music stopped and was replaced with 'noises' for a few seconds and then the music continued. The screen on my Pre-4 also changed during that episode!! This has never happened before.

In my case they can come any time the music is on, for the moment a few times(!) per track! Maybe a little more often when I do something with the settings like you.

 

[Rikpost]

Like I Saïd I had the same problem but it vanish by itselfs .
And its was only with tv sound using optical 1

 

[Rikpost]

I sent Alan the link to this thread (I don't know if he already looks at it) with the suggestion to take these comments into account, maybe he can do something with it.

 

[HookEm]

Just curious: Do you get visibility to what’s going on under the covers? (e.g., how many filters have been applied per channel, and what is the configuration of each one?)… I see the benefit of an abstraction layer via an easy-to-use GUI, but I think it would be useful to have an option to “open the hood”, so to speak.

 

[NavnFugl]

Just curious: Do you get visibility to what’s going on under the covers? (e.g., how many filters have been applied per channel, and what is the configuration of each one?)… I see the benefit of an abstraction layer via an easy-to-use GUI, but I think it would be useful to have an option to “open the hood”, so to speak.

Not to the extend you're talking. You do get to see some frequency graphs, but nothing too advanced.

 

[NavnFugl]

The Pre-8 has 4 digital outputs for each labeled section (Sub, Bass, Mid, High) that sends out the processed signal via coaxial to your own DAC(s).

As I understand it, if I were to use my own DAC(s) at this stage I'd need for them all to be synched via a masterclock? Is that correct for any DAC that you're using multiple of in this way? No matter if Delta Sigma or R2R?

What happens (Or can happen?) if I were to use 4 identical DACs but no masterclock to sync them?

Hope someone has the answer:=)

 

[Pluto]

What happens (Or can happen?) if I were to use 4 identical DACs but no masterclock to sync them?

Nothing special happens. As long as you are using the same DAC for each of the four bands, that's that!

In fact, were you to (somehow) clock the DACs independently of the Deqx unit, that approach would potentially be a cause of conflict unless your master clock was itself locked to the Deqx clock; there would be the potential for creating a clock race which must be avoided at all costs.

 

[NavnFugl]

Nothing special happens. As long as you are using the same DAC for each of the four bands, that's that!

In fact, were you to (somehow) clock the DACs independently of the Deqx unit, that approach would potentially be a cause of conflict unless your master clock was itself locked to the Deqx clock; there would be the potential for creating a clock race which must be avoided at all costs.

So I don't have to worry about this whole synchronizing the DACs thing? When is that then relevant?

 

[Pluto]

So I don't have to worry about this whole synchronizing the DACs thing? When is that then relevant?

In the context of domestic listening, hardly ever.

In fact, it's probably true to say that if you need to worry about this, you'll know!

 

[NavnFugl]

In the context of domestic listening, hardly ever.

In fact, it's probably true to say that if you need to worry about this, you'll know!

Thank you for the answers:=)

 

[HookEm]

I’d expect that the DAC modules on the new DEQX should sound pretty good! (SOTA for chip-based Sigma-Delta)… Please report on your experience.

 

[Keith_W]

I’d expect that the DAC modules on the new DEQX should sound pretty good! (SOTA for chip-based Sigma-Delta)… Please report on your experience.

Kim Ryrie told me that they spent a lot of effort trying to make the DAC's on the DEQX sound as good as possible. I told him that nobody would be able to hear the difference between the DAC on a DEQX and a Topping, and anybody who thinks they can hear a difference is imagining it. Forget the DAC's, as long as it's good enough (i.e. not designed with some misguided audio philosophy), you will never hear it. The difference will be utterly swamped by the DSP. It's like worrying if a paint scratch on your new main battle tank will reduce the effectiveness of its armor.

 

[ozlegend]

Keith, I think you are probably right in saying that the DACs on a current Topping and a current DEQX will sound very similar - because I assume they both use the latest ESS Pro chips. However this does not mean Kim is incorrect when he says they have spent a lot time trying make it sound as good as possible - I am pretty sure Topping would have done the same. And my experience of DEQX over 20 years is that as engineers what they say is usually pretty correct
.

Yes, the DSP will be very important in determining the overall sound quality but I am not sure the extraordinary changes I hear in my pre8 (see www.facebook.com/legendspeakers) are caused just by changes to the DSP architecture. I think it is probably also due to things like the DAC implementation as Kim says, as well as other circuit design and implementation improvements. My experience at Legend and Linn is that loudspeaker sound quality rarely depends on just one thing.

Rod

 

[Keith_W]

I am not saying they will sound similar, I am saying that nobody will be able to hear the difference in a blind test. I cynically think that the biggest difference in DAC sound is perception - if it's in a nice case and it costs umpteen thousands of dollars, it will be perceived as sounding better than a humble USB dongle. Maybe there might be a difference if you push the DAC close to clipping, and DSP users are more prone to doing that if they are careless. But I do not think that DAC's are anything to worry about, it is far more important to look at the DSP capabilities and the software.