Mimicking a miniDSP with a music server, anyone tried this, will it work?

[WeekendWarrior]

Currently I have no ability to implement a HPF for my main speakers and would like to experiment with one for better bass management. Rather than replacing existing equipment, buying a miniDSP etc, I had thought about using my music server instead…

• My music server has multiple USB ports and plays to them all simultaneously, so I buy a cheap (but Amir approved) second USB DAC and attach to my server.
• I implement a HPF in Roon for the DAC associated with the mains, and a LPF (in Roon, or on the subs) for the second DAC which will feed my subs.
• I group them in Roon and use Roon volume control for the new group.

My main speakers are AsciLab C6Bs, and I’d like to set a HPF at around 80Hz as per Ascilab recommendations, and I hope may also help with a room mode I have.

There could be problems with latency, volume matching between mains and subs etc, but using a mix of REW and Roon PEQs I could eliminate this perhaps.

My equipment is Topping D90LE, Pre90, LA90D, AsciLab C6Bs and a pair of MJ Acoustics Pro50 Mk4 subwoofers.

I'm sure buying a miniDSP of some description would be easier, but I like messing around and challenges!

Anyone tried this or have thoughts?

 

[Mort]

Crossovers usually have a roll off. Might make for artifacts near the xo. Make sure your DACs can do it. You are also missing bass room correction although maybe you intend to do that with rew and peq in room.

I get it. I like projects like this too, but in the end I would strongly suggest you buy a mini DSP product.

 

[WeekendWarrior]

Crossovers usually have a roll off. Might make for artifacts near the xo. Make sure your DACs can do it. You are also missing bass room correction although maybe you intend to do that with rew and peq in room.

I get it. I like projects like this too, but in the end I would strongly suggest you buy a mini DSP product.

Roon has a comprehensive DSP engine and I believe allows roll-offs to be set.

Yes, I would use REW to generate bass correction PEQs and implement them in Roon, which I already do. It's just the crossover I can't do at the moment. But I agree a miniDSP may be easier, but not as exciting!

In effect, this is what I'd be doing but using my server, REW and Roon DSP in place of the miniDSP.

 

[mdsimon2]

It's generally a bad idea to implement crossovers using two separate USB DACs which have different clocks. The clock drift will result in nulling at the crossover. See here for some examples of this -> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/vb-matrix.48989/post-1756250.

It is possible to implement some kind of drift correction by resampling the output of one DAC to match the other. Mac OS has this functionality. It generally works OK for bass crossovers where timing differences are less of an issue. However, there are still issues with variable USB latencies that change on startup.

Tons of people including myself use software DSP with a multichannel DAC (see link in my signature). This eliminates any clocking concerns and gives more flexibility and processing power than miniDSP. The downside is increased latency which may be an issue for audio/video applications.

Michael

 

[dziemian]

You can everything what minidsp does in jriver software including an import of minidsp biquads

 

[DVDdoug]

A 5.1 channel soundcard should come with a utility to configure bass management.

 

[WeekendWarrior]

It's generally a bad idea to implement crossovers using two separate USB DACs which have different clocks. The clock drift will result in nulling at the crossover. See here for some examples of this -> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/vb-matrix.48989/post-1756250.

It is possible to implement some kind of drift correction by resampling the output of one DAC to match the other. Mac OS has this functionality. It generally works OK for bass crossovers where timing differences are less of an issue. However, there are still issues with variable USB latencies that change on startup.

Tons of people including myself use software DSP with a multichannel DAC (see link in my signature). This eliminates any clocking concerns and gives more flexibility and processing power than miniDSP. The downside is increased latency which may be an issue for audio/video applications.

Michael

Yeah, clock drift was my main concern. Thanks

 

[Daverz]

You can everything what minidsp does in jriver software including an import of minidsp biquads

Filtering and routing can be done in software, but if he wants to high pass the mains and low pass the sub, he still needs at least 3 D/A channels on the same clock.