Dirac > Audyssey XT32 ... Sure, Always?

[Fahzz]

How is the Audyssey MultEQ-X Windows app controlled? If I install on my music streaming mini PC, can I interact with it via a webpage?

 

[GSM58]

I think $600 is a lot of money to get the complete DL package.
You can buy a Sub SVS SB 1000 PRO in the box.
Up to $200 is acceptable, but I still think it's absurd.

 

[Oddball]

How is the Audyssey MultEQ-X Windows app controlled? If I install on my music streaming mini PC, can I interact with it via a webpage?

App is for supported D&M AVRs and AVPs only. Not aware of the way to make it "stand alone" e.g. like Dirac PC implementation.

App is not really controlled when listening. You open it up, measure the speakers (or use existing measurement) and set the parameters. Then you export filters to AVR/AVP. If you want to change anything, you need to re-run and export filters again. This is pretty much like any other room EQ as they don't interact in real "listening" time.

There are extensive Audy (and other) controls that are available via D&M web interface when listening, but it will always work based on the uploaded filters. You can have 2 presets and 2 curves within each, so can switch between those in the web interface for different uses.

 

[Oddball]

I think $600 is a lot of money to get the complete DL package.
You can buy a Sub SVS SB 1000 PRO in the box.
Up to $200 is acceptable, but I still think it's absurd.

It is what it is - people that have the knowledge to design, code and implement room correction systems are not exactly found easily and will command a premium. I don't think this is price gouging, just unfortunately reflection of the market in terms of cost and (low) volume of sales. Things in general are massively expensive and price hikes over last 5 years were difficult to bear for all.

Dirac actually lowered the prices for full package, but apparently still can't really deal with the volume of support that came from D&M implementation and pending fix of Onkyo DLBC implementation.

 

[ban25]

It is what it is - people that have the knowledge to design, code and implement room correction systems are not exactly found easily and will command a premium. I don't think this is price gouging, just unfortunately reflection of the market in terms of cost and (low) volume of sales. Things in general are massively expensive and price hikes over last 5 years were difficult to bear for all.

Dirac actually lowered the prices for full package, but apparently still can't really deal with the volume of support that came from D&M implementation and pending fix of Onkyo DLBC implementation.

I'm suspicious as to whether or not Audyssey as a company exists anymore. MultEQ-X hasn't been updated in years, and the Director of Operations, who did an interview with Audioholics, hasn't worked there since last year. The engineers associated with it out of USC are long gone. If it still exists, I suspect it's just an entity to collect royalties from Massimo.

 

[Oddball]

I'm suspicious as to whether or not Audyssey as a company exists anymore. MultEQ-X hasn't been updated in years, and the Director of Operations, who did an interview with Audioholics, hasn't worked there since last year. The engineers associated with it out of USC are long gone. If it still exists, I suspect it's just an entity to collect royalties from Massimo.

You might be more informed than me. Their existence is as a going concern is definitively to be questioned with the recent D&M trouble. Their license agreement with D&M is also not transparent, so we don't really know what is Audy vs what is D&M's ownership. Presumably, it is all D&M.

There were some updates in last year, but nothing that would be earth shattering. They do continue to support the app and platform though. They were never extremely good at it but that, as I understand, continues.

Regardless of that, they have a well functioning product and I never had to reach out to them for any support (yeah stupid technical questions aside) since they rolled it out. The fact that it won't advance is sad, but the fact is that there is not much out there advancing as well. DLBC rollout is still a problem (Onkyo) and ART is in development for 3 years. ARC has done nothing meaningful in the meantime and YPAO and Sony just keep it light. Trinnov is probably the only one that keeps it real and adjusts anything as users want, but then there is a price for that service.

I would love to see some exciting movements in this space, but seems like doom and gloom of what we have is all we got. It is not all that bad, but honestly could be much better for sure.

 

[ban25]

You might be more informed than me. Their existence is as a going concern is definitively to be questioned with the recent D&M trouble. Their license agreement with D&M is also not transparent, so we don't really know what is Audy vs what is D&M's ownership. Presumably, it is all D&M.

There were some updates in last year, but nothing that would be earth shattering. They do continue to support the app and platform though. They were never extremely good at it but that, as I understand, continues.

Regardless of that, they have a well functioning product and I never had to reach out to them for any support (yeah stupid technical questions aside) since they rolled it out. The fact that it won't advance is sad, but the fact is that there is not much out there advancing as well. DLBC rollout is still a problem (Onkyo) and ART is in development for 3 years. ARC has done nothing meaningful in the meantime and YPAO and Sony just keep it light. Trinnov is probably the only one that keeps it real and adjusts anything as users want, but then there is a price for that service.

I would love to see some exciting movements in this space, but seems like doom and gloom of what we have is all we got. It is not all that bad, but honestly could be much better for sure.

"Just Works" is seriously underrated. If it does what you need, it does all it needs.

 

[Sal1950]

I listen to music with DEQ on and it has become to me, mandatory.
I don't know much about Dirac, I have the suspicion however that MultEQ

Thanks @FrantzM , I agree on DEQ and this info on it's adjustability may just push
me over the hill to do the purchase.. It's been only it's one license per unit and my uncertainty with my AVR holding me back. That said, what's another $200 with all we've already spent. LOL

The script controls the AVR over local network, so the PC does not need to be the source but it does need to be on the same LAN. the batch file mentioned should open in a command window where one of the options is to run DEQ fixer. leave it running while AVR is in use.

So the PC must be on and active on the network for the X created file to be active? That's how they enforce to licensing rule. Hummmm..

 

[-pekr-]

I use Audyssey mobile app recently for the Cinema 50. I have also bought Dirac Live + DLBC, did just one measurement though, and found it unsatisfactory (mostly a user error). As for Dirac, mostly waiting for the ART, if it ever comes to the machines like Cinema 50. Have not tried alternatives like Evo or Nexus yet. But - I wondet, if I would gain anything from buying / upgrading to the Audyssey MultEQ-X? The latest company news is from November 2023, so I hope they are still in business?

 

[peng]

I use Audyssey mobile app recently for the Cinema 50. I have also bought Dirac Live + DLBC, did just one measurement though, and found it unsatisfactory (mostly a user error). As for Dirac, mostly waiting for the ART, if it ever comes to the machines like Cinema 50. Have not tried alternatives like Evo or Nexus yet. But - I wondet, if I would gain anything from buying / upgrading to the Audyssey MultEQ-X? The latest company news is from November 2023, so I hope they are still in business?

If you are not sure about the $200 Audyssey Mult EQ X, you can do well in experimenting with the $20 MultEQ Editor app. It can do a lot, and many said they got great result using it with the Audyssey One variety of versions you mentioned. Are you using REW? Since you seem keen on using RC/EQ, you probably should use REW and a good mic such as the Umik-1 to take measurements of before and after each calibration. That way, you can actually see the effects of the your calibration run(s) and if you thought there might be user error, it would/should be reflected in the measurements.

 

[Oddball]

Hard to say if $200 is "worth" it, as that evaluation is individual and might be different for different people. Was worth it for me, but then I made my system so complicated that I needed a tool to make that possible.

Will Audy as a company survive? Hard to say as they are tied to SU group through arrangement that is not public, so details are unknown. I certainly hope so as it worked pretty well for D&M to have Audy in price and Dirac extra. Would be interesting to learn how many users actually upgraded to Dirac. I did not as had Storm demo for Dirac in my system and, well, demo went well but not that extremely well that I would feel compelled to tweak yet another EQ system to death.

 

[ban25]

I use Audyssey mobile app recently for the Cinema 50. I have also bought Dirac Live + DLBC, did just one measurement though, and found it unsatisfactory (mostly a user error). As for Dirac, mostly waiting for the ART, if it ever comes to the machines like Cinema 50. Have not tried alternatives like Evo or Nexus yet. But - I wondet, if I would gain anything from buying / upgrading to the Audyssey MultEQ-X? The latest company news is from November 2023, so I hope they are still in business?

Since you've already paid for Dirac & DLBC, I would suggest you spend some more time with that. As with all room EQ systems, you get out of it what you put into it.

 

[GSM58]

Since you've already paid for Dirac & DLBC, I would suggest you spend some more time with that. As with all room EQ systems, you get out of it what you put into it.

Hey friend!

You're a guy who knows a lot about the subject and I'd like to know your opinion.
I have my old SVS SB12 NSD sub in for repairs. If it works out, I'd like to test it with two subs in my system. In this case, the DL is more recommended, right?
My room is a good size, but the JLAUDIO does a great job. Since I've never used two subs in the same room, I'm curious about the result. i

 

[ban25]

Hey friend!

You're a guy who knows a lot about the subject and I'd like to know your opinion.
I have my old SVS SB12 NSD sub in for repairs. If it works out, I'd like to test it with two subs in my system. In this case, the DL is more recommended, right?
My room is a good size, but the JLAUDIO does a great job. Since I've never used two subs in the same room, I'm curious about the result. i

Two subs will help even out the bass response in the room by eliminating nulls with proper placement. Adding a 2nd sub is easily one of the best upgrades I have ever done for my system. DLBC is primarily known for its ability to integrate multiple subs with the mains by optimizing the crossover per speaker group. It allows you to set very fine-grained crossovers per group in 1 Hz increments. Audyssey XT32 doesn't let you set crossovers that fine (it's limited to whatever the AVR has in its settings), but it will time-align up to 4 subs. So I would give Audyssey a shot first, especially because you can also enable LFE Distribution and LFE+MAIN if you have full-range mains.

 

[GSM58]

Two subs will help even out the bass response in the room by eliminating nulls with proper placement. Adding a 2nd sub is easily one of the best upgrades I have ever done for my system. DLBC is primarily known for its ability to integrate multiple subs with the mains by optimizing the crossover per speaker group. It allows you to set very fine-grained crossovers per group in 1 Hz increments. Audyssey XT32 doesn't let you set crossovers that fine (it's limited to whatever the AVR has in its settings), but it will time-align up to 4 subs. So I would give Audyssey a shot first, especially because you can also enable LFE Distribution and LFE+MAIN if you have full-range mains.

Thank you for your answer.

I still haven't had a response from the SVS repair.
If everything goes well, I'll do it according to your tip.
To put another sub in my living room, it only fits next to the sofa. In this case there would already be the problem of the RCA cable to the Receiver.
At these times a sub with Wi-Fi is the perfect solution.

Great weekend!

 

[OCA]

At these times a sub with Wi-Fi is the perfect solution.

I'd strongly suggest against that. Wifi dongles introduce delays impossible to compensate by the receivers' delay limits. You will never have clean bass.

 

[GSM58]

I'd strongly suggest against that. Wifi dongles introduce delays impossible to compensate by the receivers' delay limits. You will never have clean bass.

Good to know. I didn't know about this delay.

 

[GSM58]

The interesting thing is that several sub brands are going to this Wi-FI path for the practicality of controlling through the app.
The famous subwoofers from SVS and KEF that are great are with this technology.
Apparently it's a path of no return.
My sub has this technology, but it only works with an (expensint) receiver that is sold separately. I'm using the traditional RCA cable.

 

[peng]

The interesting thing is that several sub brands are going to this Wi-FI path for the practicality of controlling through the app.
The famous subwoofers from SVS and KEF that are great are with this technology.
Apparently it's a path of no return.
My sub has this technology, but it only works with an (expensint) receiver that is sold separately. I'm using the traditional RCA cable.

That's expected, the thing is, many of us on this forum are probably ocd to different extent so we care about the minor issues such as delays from different sources, even the very minor speed of sound errors. In reality, it is unlikely that most people would be able to even tell such minor difference, audibly speaking. Visibly, sure...

 

[GSM58]

That's expected, the thing is, many of us on this forum are probably ocd to different extent so we care about the minor issues such as delays from different sources, even the very minor speed of sound errors. In reality, it is unlikely that most people would be able to even tell such minor difference, audibly speaking. Visibly, sure...

I've already noticed that. How you yourself write the whole of the placebo effect.