MiniDSP Flex HTx

[rhollan]

Looks like they put their own measurements up. If this can be confirmed, its impressive.

If this is anywhere close to accurate, I want one! It will replace much of my Rube Goldberg system which goes from HDMI (PCM audio) to SDI to 4x AES3 digital audio deembedder to DDRC-88D Dirac Live processing to 4x AES3 embedder to SDI to HDMI to Oppo 205 which I use as an 8ch DAC to a 3ch and 4ch Apollon multichannel amps and dual subwoofers.

I could run from the Oppo 205 analog outputs directly into this.

Previous miniDSP offerings had lousy ADC and DAC performance. But they must have improved that with their SHD and now Flex series.

It's almost worth buying one to send to Amir to measure.

 

[Dj7675]

peq from 15Hz as the rubbish processor

Stormaudio now allows PEQ down to 6hz

 

[Andysu]

Stormaudio now allows PEQ down to 6hz

i look into it , later maybe i was think its still same like last firmware , thanks

 

[Dj7675]

i look into it , later maybe i was think its still same like last firmware , thanks

A few new firmwares lately. One on Nov 16th, can’t see what it was for yet, but 4.5.r2 is the one that added eq down to 6hz.

 

[Andysu]

A few new firmwares lately. One on Nov 16th, can’t see what it was for yet, but 4.5.r2 is the one that added eq down to 6hz.

View attachment 328032

it says possibility , even with pink noise with 1/2 octave at -18dB i see no drop in frequency at 10Hz , only change is when its at 15Hz i see decease in frequency level , maybe 4.5r2 is glitchy ? otherwise do a video to show
thanks

 

[Left]

See below to the MiniDSP QandA.

My TV can decode Dolby, Atmos etc. some cable / sat boxes too. So you need to check if yours can be configured to decode and to put out Multichannel LPCM.

If not oh well … having a separate AVR as well isn’t certainly something which I would consider an elegant solution.

What is the brand and model?

 

[HarmonicTHD]

What is the brand and model?

It is one of the top line pretty thin LG screens… C Series maybe? About 2 years old. I think Amir might have the same - the one with the artsy screensavers.

I „only“ looked at an online manual and it listed a bunch of Audio codecs it uses. So I should have worded my statement more carefully as I actually didn’t try it to see if it works for sure.

 

[Left]

It is one of the top line pretty thin LG screens… C Series maybe? About 2 years old. I think Amir might have the same - the one with the artsy screensavers.

I „only“ looked at an online manual and it listed a bunch of Audio codecs it uses. So I should have worded my statement more carefully as I actually didn’t try it to see if it works for sure.

Because I have not found a TV that will decode to more than LtRt and LoRo. So two channel only. Pretty sure it is a licensing limitation.

 

[rhollan]

Most, if not all, blue ray players do, though. You will need an HDMI Audio to HDMI eARC converter. Fortunately, such devices exist, namely the HDFury devices mentioned. There are also simpler and cheaper ones.

 

[danstahl]

Most, if not all, blue ray players do, though. You will need an HDMI Audio to HDMI eARC converter. Fortunately, such devices exist, namely the HDFury devices mentioned. There are also simpler and cheaper ones.

Why wouldn't a standard splitter work? Send an HDMI to the splitter, then one to the TV and one to the minidsp.

 

[rhollan]

Why wouldn't a standard splitter work? Send an HDMI to the splitter, then one to the TV and one to the minidsp.

Because the miniDSP wants audio over ARC/eARC HDMI audio back channels and not the main HDMI audio channels. A TV will generally only send ITS OWN audio back, and whether it can also sent its input audio back or not, there is the question of if it can decode it to LPCM, generally the job of the AVR to which it is usually connected.

Now, the TV sending input audio back via ARC/eARC depends on whether it has a feature called Audio Pass-through. I would expect that it would negotiate audio format upstream to match the least common level between the TV and the ARC/eARC component downstream. So, it would not be the TV doing the decoding except if it needed to for itself.

 

[danstahl]

Because the miniDSP wants audio over ARC/eARC HDMI audio back channels and not the main HDMI audio channels. A TV will generally only send ITS OWN audio back, and whether it can also sent its input audio back or not, there is the question of if it can decode it to LPCM, generally the job of the AVR to which it is usually connected.

I had thought ARC/eARC was an extension to "normal" HDMI, not a restriction; but it looks like I'm wrong. Thats a pretty severe limitation. Since I use a Vero4K for all my media I suppose I could just use USB.

 

[rhollan]

I had thought ARC/eARC was an extension to "normal" HDMI, not a restriction; but it looks like I'm wrong. Thats a pretty severe limitation. Since I use a Vero4K for all my media I suppose I could just use USB.

It's not a restriction. It is a mechanism for a normally downstream device to send ITS audio back. Generally, the TV only has to decode for itself. Historically this meant cable or OTA audio would be sent back over ARC/eARC. With multiple HDMI inputs, some TV started to sport Audio Pass-through, where input audio would be sent back in the format it was received, so the TV could be used as an HDMI switch. But, again, this was an option as most people switched HDMI in their AVRs, which generally only sent two channel audio to the TV, if at all.

 

[danstahl]

It's not a restriction. It is a mechanism for a normally downstream device to send ITS audio back. Generally, the TV only has to decode for itself. Historically this meant cable or OTA audio would be sent back over ARC/eARC. With multiple HDMI inputs, some TV started to sport Audio Pass-through, where input audio would be sent back in the format it was received, so the TV could be used as an HDMI switch. But, again, this was an option as most people switched HDMI in their AVRs, which generally only sent two channel audio to the TV, if at all.

Understood, the reason I said "restriction" is I assumed any HDMI port would be able to receive a standard lpcm signal. That assumption appears to be misplaced.

 

[rhollan]

Understood, the reason I said "restriction" is I assumed any HDMI port would be able to receive a standard lpcm signal. That assumption appears to be misplaced.

Technically, an ARC/eARC input is an HDMI OUTPUT, though there may not be any Normal audio/video output (except black video for timing reasons). HDMI outputs do not accept HDMI non-ARC/eARC input.

HDMI outputs that accept ARC/eARC back channels are often found on AVRs and soundbars so only one signal cable has to go to the TV.

 

[danstahl]

Technically, an ARC/eARC input is an HDMI OUTPUT, though there may not be any Normal audio/video output (except black video for timing reasons). HDMI outputs do not accept HDMI non-ARC/eARC input.

HDMI outputs that accept ARC/eARC back channels are often found on AVRs and soundbars so only one signal cable has to go to the TV.

Ah this makes so much sense! Thank you.

 

[HTnooB]

Noob question:
Can I just plug my PS4 in Flex HT/HTx with hdmi and have 5.1/5.2 audio out for my amps? I mainly use Netflix&Hbo for movies.

 

[rhollan]

Noob question:
Can I just plug my PS4 in Flex HT/HTx with hdmi and have 5.1/5.2 audio out for my amps? I mainly use Netflix&Hbo for movies.

Sadly, no. The Flex HT/HTx requires an ARC/eARC input. This is why HDFury devices are offered with it. Also, your PS4 needs to be set to output LPCM audio.

 

[HTnooB]

Sadly, no. The Flex HT/HTx requires an ARC/eARC input. This is why HDFury devices are offered with it. Also, your PS4 needs to be set to output LPCM audio.

Thanks for the fast reply!
Ok, I have been planning to upgrade to PS5, does it's HDMI have eARC support?

 

[rhollan]

Thanks for the fast reply!
Ok, I have been planning to upgrade to PS5, does it's HDMI have eARC support?

eARC is an audio back channel from the TV, or from an appropriate device between a source of HDMI audio and an A/V sync, like a TV. The HDFury devices offered perform the conversion you need, but there may be cheaper ones.