MiniDSP Flex HTX vs Okto DAC 8 Pro (AVR replacement)

[montyliam]

Hi guys, I'd love some input on this if possible. Basically, I'm currently running a 5.1.2 system comprised of Genelec 8350 LCR, 8030c surrounds and 8010 heights with subwoofers. This is all currently running from a Denon AVR4400H with the MultEQ-X software allowing me to have precise control over each channel. The main use for the system is music, with 1 or 2 films on weekends. I'm thinking about buying either the Flex HTx or Dac 8 pro to better the DAC in the Denon and potentially increase the quality of the system for 2 channel playback, the balanced connectors would also be a bonus. The proposed plan with the HTx would be to do all of the DSP within the MiniDSP and use JRiver and an external blu-ray player to feed it audio over USB, with my laptop HDMI running straight into the projector. The proposed plan with the DAC8 would be the same, but running all of the DSP on the laptop either through Jriver, ROON or similar. So, with this in mind, I have a few questions:

1. Would the HTx/DAC8 be a noticable upgrade in SQ over the Denon and would the better DAC performances of the former products be noticeable?
2. Is JRiver able to decode dolby atmos signals and send this to the HTx/DAC8 for playback?
3. I'm leaning towards the HTx because A. It's cheaper and B. I can do all the DSP within the MiniDSP platform, freeing up processing power on the laptop. Would the potentially better performance of the DAC8 vs the HTx be worth it considering the processing would then be moved to the laptop (Asus UX333 i7).

Thanks guys.

 

[staticV3]

2. Is JRiver able to decode dolby atmos signals and send this to the HTx/DAC8 for playback?

Afaik, only with significant effort and cost:

How To Decode and Play Dolby TrueHD Atmos on Windows and macOS

Yes, you read the title correctly. Here is a little background and all the information you'll need to decode and play lossless Dolby TrueHD with Atmos on a Windows or macOS computer, without the need for HDMI output. Housekeeping There are two codecs used with Dolby Atmos content. Lossy - Dolby D...

audiophilestyle.com

 

[montyliam]

Thanks for that. So it's really a question of, will the upgraded DAC performance of the HTx/DAC8 be worth it over the Denon if I have to lose the two atmos channels. Considering music is my main concern, I'm leaning towards the HTx/DAC8, but it would be dissapointing to lose atmos considering how well it works for some films. Another consideration would be, if I'm ok with losing atmos for an upgrade in SQ, I could then forgo using the laptop for video processing and output LPCM directly from the blu-ray player to the HTx via HDMI and the HDFury kit they have. My blu-ray player also has a coax out, meaning I could potentially go Coax-AES in on the DAC8 and do the audio processing on the laptop but leave the video to the blu-ray player?

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Afaik, only with significant effort and cost:

How To Decode and Play Dolby TrueHD Atmos on Windows and macOS

Yes, you read the title correctly. Here is a little background and all the information you'll need to decode and play lossless Dolby TrueHD with Atmos on a Windows or macOS computer, without the need for HDMI output. Housekeeping There are two codecs used with Dolby Atmos content. Lossy - Dolby D...

audiophilestyle.com

Absolutely not. JRiver will only decode the legacy codecs up to 7.1 channels. No Atmos, DTS-X, or Auro 3D. The Audiophile Style article refers to buying a Atmos player for $400 to use on Windows, it will only decode files, not streaming sources. That means not only no Netfflix, Amazon Prime Atmos movies, but also that anything on a Blue Ray must be ripped off it, and formatted in a file, and played on your computer through their player.

It's really doing it just for the sake of doing it, and a real waste of time and energy IMHO.

However, it you are willing to settle for up to 7.1, you can use JRiver as your decoder, pass the sound to the Octo's asio interface, and use the Octo plus Jriver to play streaming Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. Sounds great, though the streaming service limit themselves to Dolby Digital Plus instead of Dolby True HD.

As for whether something like an Octo's Dacs woudl be audibly superior to something like the Denon's, I remain skeptical, and I own an Octo and use the setup I outlined above. I just did what I did to save space and because I think AV receivers are a rip off in that the formats change continuously and the earlier generations are then obsoleted, necessitating a new $1500-2000 purchase every two years. My Octo will never become obsolete, and JRiver costs $25 to update which I will do only if they offer something worth updating to. And if I want Atmos, I just get it over my HD 800 headphones fed by my Smyth A16 Realiser.

 

[elmura]

you can use JRiver as your decoder, pass the sound to the Octo's asio interface, and use the Octo plus Jriver to play streaming Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. Sounds great, though the streaming service limit themselves to Dolby Digital Plus

Have you got Amazon Prime to work properly? And have you tried Disney Plus?

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Have you got Amazon Prime to work properly? And have you tried Disney Plus?

Amazon Prime works perfectly. I don't have Disney Plus, but I see no reason why any of my streaming services offering multichannel will not work. They should all work fine.