MiniDSP Flex HTx

[terryforsythe]

For my subwoofer I’ll need one around 2 meters.

I also need them all in TRS/XLR. Their cables are very affordable and not exotic.

Thanks again.

Amazon has them.

No need for exotic cables.

Do Fancy Audio Cables Make a Difference? (video)

There were requests in youtube to do a video on high-end audio cables. So I did one based on the review of audioquest Wind cable. If you have already read the text review, there is little new information in there but for the rest of you, this is one you can watch or listen to instead of...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Do the cables matter?

Hi! I've heard tons of bullshit about "highend" cables, 1000$ cable "boosters", 100$ "virtual ground" (a literal f.... cable which goes into nowhere), XXXXX$ Power cables, XXX$ USB cables ect. ect... So my question here, will my stuff sound better if i change my RCA interconnects / speaker...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Matt S]

Many thanks for letting me know that HTx can actually down-mix 7.1 to 5.1 just like a receiver does. Below is the Minidsp response to my question:

Hi Sharok,

Sure, you could indeed mix the extra surround back into the surround thanks to the matrix mixer but not sure of the effect of doing this.. Never tested it.

Hoping this info helps and feel free to contact us if you have further questions.

Best Regards
miniDSP DevTeam

Now I’m confident that it works and I can plan for my purchase.

BTW,
Where do you buy the cables?
Can you order the cables in custom lengths?

Having had some difficulties in setting my HTx up, mainly caused by a poor HDMI cables, I'm now enjoying 7.1 downmixed to my 4.1 Genelec setup (with a Kef sub).

Take your time during setup and you will not be disappointed. I'm so happy with the performance of my system now and could happily listen for hours.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Sharok]

Having had some difficulties in setting my HTx up, mainly caused by a poor HDMI cables, I'm now enjoying 7.1 downmixed to my 4.1 Genelec setup (with a Kef sub).

Take your time during setup and you will not be disappointed. I'm so happy with the performance of my system now and could happily listen for hours.

Let us know how you get on.

May I ask what brand of HDMI cable do you use for eARC to connect to HTx?

Many thanks for letting me know that HTx can easily down-mix.

 

[Matt S]

May I ask what brand of HDMI cable do you use for eARC to connect to HTx?

Many thanks for letting me know that HTx can easily down-mix.

Just cheap Ugreen cables from Amazon which do the trick.

You'll be very happy indeed, I'm sure. Dolby Atmos streamed from Apple Music and BluRay/DVD Audio from my NAS via Roon has been so much fun. Over the past couple of weeks, I've perhaps enjoyed some music like never before.

 

[terryforsythe]

Are the new input PEQ's available with Dirac...at the same time? The generalized expectation of other people requesting this update was that it would be an either/ or scenario.

I have not yet tried it. I'll report back if I have any issues.

I tried it, and I am reporting back, meaning that I had issues. I entered all-pass biquads into the input PEQ, and there was no output on my main channels. The bass channel still worked though. Even after re-loading my previous settings from a backup, it still did not work until I refreshed the XMOS firmware.

I haven't yet checked the miniDSP forum to see what others have experienced. I will check it out.

 

[Mutsu]

I've been looking for a Dac with good measurements that also has HDMI arc with volume control. It seems like this could be for me.

A couple of quick questions...

I currently have an RME Adi2 fs dac, I assume using the Flex HTx as a replacement should not mean any loss in sound quality versus the RME?

If I want to add a center speaker to the Flex HTx but keep my power amp for my front L + R channels, what would the most cost effective way to do this be?

Thanks

 

[terryforsythe]

I assume using the Flex HTx as a replacement should not mean any loss in sound quality versus the RME?

Correct.

If I want to add a center speaker to the Flex HTx but keep my power amp for my front L + R channels, what would the most cost effective way to do this be?

Look at the Fosi Audio V3 Mono ($140). There are other options, but that one has both XLR and RCA inputs and measures fairly well.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Fosi Audio V3 Mono class D amplifier. It was sent to me by the company. The price with the power supply I tested is US $139.99. I must say the concept of a "monoblock" amplifier in such a small size runs foul of any expectation a longtime...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Matt S]

I've been looking for a Dac with good measurements that also has HDMI arc with volume control. It seems like this could be for me.

A couple of quick questions...

I currently have an RME Adi2 fs dac, I assume using the Flex HTx as a replacement should not mean any loss in sound quality versus the RME?

If I want to add a center speaker to the Flex HTx but keep my power amp for my front L + R channels, what would the most cost effective way to do this be?

Thanks

In my opinion there would be no audible loss in audio quality.

Re the centre speaker - ask yourself whether you absolutely need the centre channel? My 4.1 setup works a treat. Obviously just my opinion.

 

[Mutsu]

Getting a center channel would mainly be for making dialogue more audible. In certain Netflix shows or movies.

Turning on apple tv 4k option to disable loud noises helps somewhat but don't feel like it's the best solution.

Basically we have the issue where we need to turn up the volume just to hear dailogue but then other noises in movies then become far too loud.

 

[kyuu]

The issue with trying to use a center channel so you can turn it up to hear the dialogue more clearly is that, in multichannel mixes, the center channel is used very heavily for much of the soundtrack. It's not just for dialogue. So you'll still have the same issue of other parts of the soundtrack being too loud. There are other reasons why using a center channel can improve your dialogue intelligibility, but being able to turn up the channel to only increase the dialogue volume isn't one of them.

 

[masterhw]

Basically we have the issue where we need to turn up the volume just to hear dailogue but then other noises in movies then become far too loud.

common issue - in an AVR the solution would be to use Dolby's loudness management/dynamic range compression feature. few sources that perform Dolby decoding offer this - the only time I've seen it is recent Homatics Box R 4K Plus builds. I hope more get it because adjusting the mix is the only meaningful way to address this.

 

[Mutsu]

Thanks everyone, that's really useful RE center channel and may save me a fair few pennies.

I had just always assumed that most mixed put the dialogue mainly in the center channel and that getting one would make dialogue clearer in movies where it seems to be quite verses everything else. The Crown on Netflix is a really bad offender here where we need to keep changing the volume to hear dialogue, this problem is worse when using external speakers probably due to the increased low frequency added to the sound.

I saw that the Flex HTx does have a compressor. Hopefully it works a bit better than the Apple TV 4k one as I feel like it that is more of a volume normalizer rather than compressor (quite sounds also seem boosted)

 

[dweeeeb2]

I use the HTx compressor function for movies. Works a treat - 2.1 system

 

[rirelien]

Thanks everyone, that's really useful RE center channel and may save me a fair few pennies.

I had just always assumed that most mixed put the dialogue mainly in the center channel and that getting one would make dialogue clearer in movies where it seems to be quite verses everything else. The Crown on Netflix is a really bad offender here where we need to keep changing the volume to hear dialogue, this problem is worse when using external speakers probably due to the increased low frequency added to the sound.

I saw that the Flex HTx does have a compressor. Hopefully it works a bit better than the Apple TV 4k one as I feel like it that is more of a volume normalizer rather than compressor (quite sounds also seem boosted)

I don't use a centre channel, but my experience is that getting your Room EQ right (in my case using Dirac) actually helped.

In general, a lot of movies and shows are just mixed badly, in my view. It's at the point where devices like the Apple TV have shortcuts to turn on subtitles when you rewind or use the voice assistant to ask "what did he/she say?". Just crazy.

(And don't get me started on modern lighting design.)

 

[Sharok]

Basically we have the issue where we need to turn up the volume just to hear dailogue but then other noises in movies then become far too loud.

Is it possible to increase the center channel level on the fly with Flex HTx, since the dialogue for some movies is low ?

 

[Mutsu]

I ordered one today. If it works as needed I can sell the RME dac which covers the cost of it.

 

[Matt S]

I ordered one today. If it works as needed I can sell the RME dac which covers the cost of it.

With patience you will be very happy indeed.

 

[Mutsu]

So the unit arrived a lot quicker than expected and overall I'm happy with the device, however I have a big issue with HDMI and hoping someone here may have an answer as trying things I've found searching Google haven't worked...

Basically I want to use HDMI CEC for volume control of the Flex using my TV remote. This is the main reason for getting the device, but I also often use other sound outputs from the TV.

The problem is my TV keeps auto switching to HDMI arc sound output when changing hdmi sources or when the tv is turned on. If it was just me using the device it wouldn't be too much of an issue, but it's driving my wife nuts.

Seems like such an odd thing to me to force the output to one source, especially when the user has selected something else.

My TV is LG C8

Thanks

 

[dweeeeb2]

So the unit arrived a lot quicker than expected and overall I'm happy with the device, however I have a big issue with HDMI and hoping someone here may have an answer as trying things I've found searching Google haven't worked...

Basically I want to use HDMI CEC for volume control of the Flex using my TV remote. This is the main reason for getting the device, but I also often use other sound outputs from the TV.

The problem is my TV keeps auto switching to HDMI arc sound output when changing hdmi sources or when the tv is turned on. If it was just me using the device it wouldn't be too much of an issue, but it's driving my wife nuts.

Seems like such an odd thing to me to force the output to one source, especially when the user has selected something else.

My TV is LG C8

Thanks

Can you set the tv to output as your wife wants as default? then switch to arc when you watch?

 

[Mutsu]

Can you set the tv to output as your wife wants as default? then switch to arc when you watch?

Unfortunately no matter what output is selected, the TV automatically switches back to HDMI Arc when changing channels or switching to different set top boxes, or turning the tv off and on again.