miniDSP Flex HT - Review and Measurements

[Philipp Paul Klose]

Good catch. Did not see that. The DAC sections of the HT and Eight are probably identical.

 

[soerenssen]

Cons:

• External switch mode power supply

Are there any 3rd party power supplies available that you can recommend?
I'm thinking about getting the balanced version (HTx) and it would be good to know the potential impact the power supply can have on audio quality.

 

[Philipp Paul Klose]

Are there any 3rd party power supplies available that you can recommend?
I'm thinking about getting the balanced version (HTx) and it would be good to know the potential impact the power supply can have on audio quality.

The Flex is powered by a smps with +12V and max 1.6A with ground on the outside and + on the inside. It uses a fairly common barrel connector, that is used often found with guitar pedals and I believe some low end laptops. A pretty standard part. I doubt that another power supply would help performance, but I cannot be sure since I have not tried it. On the extrem, one could use a car battery as an ideal source. A standard battery would probably last more than 200hrs.

 

[RickyC34]

I'll bite, just purchased the Minidsp FlexHT! I plan to use it as a multichannel dac / preamp for Dirac stereo + DLBC. I'll let everyone know when she lands : )

 

[Philipp Paul Klose]

Just a quick update on HDMI eARC/ARC connectivity: I tested the Flex HT with two TV sets. Worked flawlessly. The Flex was in both cases instantly recognized as „connected audio system“.

 

[zuker81]

@Philipp Paul Klose do you find that the unit will boot from standby when the TV turns on? Initially MiniDSP said no CEC standby support, but when i read the manual it seemed like CEC was supported (although compatibility between devices is still not guaranteed).

 

[Philipp Paul Klose]

Yes, in my tests the TV set wakes the flex. Volume changes and mutes from the TV remote are mirrored on the flex.

 

[mdsimon2]

@Philipp Paul Klose are you a REW user? If so can you tell us if the Flex HT appears as an input device in REW? If it does can you play something from your TV, while using the Flex HT as input device in REW (with the Flex HT input set to HDMI), and see if you are receiving the signal by using the Scope, Levels or RTA functionality in REW?

Thanks,
Michael

 

[soerenssen]

@Philipp Paul Klose are you a REW user? If so can you tell us if the Flex HT appears as an input device in REW? If it does can you play something from your TV, while using the Flex HT as input device in REW (with the Flex HT input set to HDMI), and see if you are receiving the signal by using the Scope, Levels or RTA functionality in REW?

Thanks,
Michael

fingers crossed!

 

[Philipp Paul Klose]

I just checked it… The Flex HT seems to have no return after the DSP pipeline via USB. The other Flexes have that feature. Probably due to restrictions and piracy prevention.

 

[RosalieTheDog]

Yes, in my tests the TV set wakes the flex. Volume changes and mutes from the TV remote are mirrored on the flex.

I regret that the Minidsp Flex used to have but no longer has the remote learning capability. I hope they didn't axe it to provide a selling point for the Flex HT ...

 

[mdsimon2]

I just checked it… The Flex HT seems to have no return after the DSP pipeline via USB. The other Flexes have that feature. Probably due to restrictions and piracy prevention.

Darn...thanks for checking. That is a major disappointment, would have been nice low-cost alternative to VanityPro.

Michael

 

[Left]

I just checked it… The Flex HT seems to have no return after the DSP pipeline via USB. The other Flexes have that feature. Probably due to restrictions and piracy prevention.

Could you explain what this restriction means?

 

[Philipp Paul Klose]

Could you explain what this restriction means?

That means you cannot record/listen/foldback the output of the DSP to your computer via USB.

 

[onlyoneme]

I just checked it… The Flex HT seems to have no return after the DSP pipeline via USB. The other Flexes have that feature. Probably due to restrictions and piracy prevention.

Flex Eight can do that? I think that only the first Flex is capable of it.

 

[Urotdukidoji]

Is it possible to connect an AV receiver to one of these, through one of the receiver's HDMI outputs, maintaining the entire digital chain?
With a mid-range AV receiver and a Mini DSP Flex Ht we would have multiple HDMI inputs, Dolby and DTS decoding of the receiver plus crossover, heavy DSP and pre-outputs for 8 channels of the Flex.

 

[kadajawi]

Is it possible to connect an AV receiver to one of these, through one of the receiver's HDMI outputs, maintaining the entire digital chain?
With a mid-range AV receiver and a Mini DSP Flex Ht we would have multiple HDMI inputs, Dolby and DTS decoding of the receiver plus crossover, heavy DSP and pre-outputs for 8 channels of the Flex.

I am not aware of any AVR. First of all, why would they (what's the use case apart from MiniDSP Flex HT owners) and I suspect the copyright owners are strongly against losslessly decoding to an encryption free format.

 

[Urotdukidoji]

No conozco ningún AVR. En primer lugar, ¿por qué lo harían (cuál es el caso de uso aparte de los propietarios de MiniDSP Flex HT) y sospecho que los propietarios de los derechos de autor están firmemente en contra de la decodificación sin pérdidas a un formato libre de cifrado? ?

I didn't take into account that the video passes but the audio stays....it's true

 

[Rafael2000]

Is it possible to get additional (i2s) outputs directly from the pcb? I couldnt see it on the picture... Maybe where the wisa card would be?
Also are there i2s inputs on the pcb? These would make the system even more flexible for specific use cases. Thanks for the review btw. Greetings from Aachen.

 

[Joaquinín]

I am not aware of any AVR. First of all, why would they (what's the use case apart from MiniDSP Flex HT owners) and I suspect the copyright owners are strongly against losslessly decoding to an encryption free format.

Kadajawi, I hope you can help me. I understand that the S95C earc-HDMI output downmixes everything to 2 channels, right? Have you tried to send multichannel PCM from the S95C to the Minidsp Flex HT via USB? Maybe that could be a "secret door"? I am using the USB audio out from the S95C to my 2 channel DAC with great results (even if I think that the S95C resamples everything to 44.1khz).