I recently incorporated a Flex into my system, and I must say this is the most temperamental piece of electronics I've used since a PC loaded with Windows Vista. It needs to be power cycled every single time I want to connect it to my MacBook. Switching between presets sometimes mutes individual speakers, or sometimes it makes very loud pops or buzzes through speakers when switching. Sometimes it boots at full gain noise floor with extreme speaker hiss yet still plays music at the set gain level, also necessitating a power cycle. Loading Dirac profiles to different presets is extremely convoluted needing to go back and forth between Dirac Live and DSP software (which also prompts power cycles). Restoring the device to factory settings is often required due to some error configuring presets. I was hoping that the Flex could replace my preamp, but alas this is also not possible because my phono stage outputting 500mV causes the 2V max input to occasionally clip. I'm running a gain dance between all the devices - integrated amp set to 2 o'clock, Flex set to -20 dB (because 0 dB causes ridiculous speaker hiss, a known issue), and preamp set between 11 and 1. It almost makes the entire process not worth it. I'm just going to have to finally set it and forget it once I get it dialed in.
I purchased a Flex to try and correct some of my room issues: speakers only 3" from the wall, mounted too high to be out of reach of my toddler and pointed down toward the listener, seated position also against a wall 10' away, and speakers/listening positions along the long walls of a 22'x12' room. Running Dirac Live was actually not so bad and only took about an hour until I had my first filter up and running. With a few tweaks for personal preference, I must say that the improvement is very noticeable. Dirac Live filled in a big 70Hz suck-out, corrected a massive 150Hz hump, and filled in a dip below the speaker crossover between 2kHz and 3kHz which seems to be caused by the large couch based on the microphone measurements. The cleaned up bass response especially at 150Hz is fantastic, clarifying bass notes and revealing detail that was obscured by the bloat in this region.
Is it all worth $800+ for the Flex, microphone, and Dirac Live license? I think so. Prior to installing the DSP into my chain I was already happy with the sound but had a feeling there were noticeable improvements to be made given less-than-ideal listening setup. I have about $6000 worth of equipment from turntable to speakers so getting noticeable improvement from an $800 investment seems to be very much worth it. At the end of the day I also feel pretty good knowing the Flex can be an endgame device that can stay in my system wherever it is located. But given all the technical issues I described in the first paragraph I worry it's going to just shit the bed one day, so I'm happy I purchased from an authorized US dealer instead of direct from miniDSP.
I purchased a Flex to try and correct some of my room issues: speakers only 3" from the wall, mounted too high to be out of reach of my toddler and pointed down toward the listener, seated position also against a wall 10' away, and speakers/listening positions along the long walls of a 22'x12' room. Running Dirac Live was actually not so bad and only took about an hour until I had my first filter up and running. With a few tweaks for personal preference, I must say that the improvement is very noticeable. Dirac Live filled in a big 70Hz suck-out, corrected a massive 150Hz hump, and filled in a dip below the speaker crossover between 2kHz and 3kHz which seems to be caused by the large couch based on the microphone measurements. The cleaned up bass response especially at 150Hz is fantastic, clarifying bass notes and revealing detail that was obscured by the bloat in this region.
Is it all worth $800+ for the Flex, microphone, and Dirac Live license? I think so. Prior to installing the DSP into my chain I was already happy with the sound but had a feeling there were noticeable improvements to be made given less-than-ideal listening setup. I have about $6000 worth of equipment from turntable to speakers so getting noticeable improvement from an $800 investment seems to be very much worth it. At the end of the day I also feel pretty good knowing the Flex can be an endgame device that can stay in my system wherever it is located. But given all the technical issues I described in the first paragraph I worry it's going to just shit the bed one day, so I'm happy I purchased from an authorized US dealer instead of direct from miniDSP.
