Minidsp Flex Review (Audio DSP)

[madrac]

@ madrac - Can you clarify what you mean by " The better I/O selection is of some interest in case I move to a balanced preamp. "

Better probably not the best adjective- SHD has both XLR and RCA inputs, where Flex is either / or as far as I recall.

 

[deercreekaudio]

If having Dirac Live and balanced I/O are your primary objectives, then SHD is recommended. If not, the Flex will provide excellent results with it's 32 bit 48 kHz Dirac processing.

 

[madrac]

If having Dirac Live and balanced I/O are your primary objectives, then SHD is recommended. If not, the Flex will provide excellent results with it's 32 bit 48 kHz Dirac processing.

thanks. Primary objectives are cross-over mains/subs + bass (sub) EQ. Balanced I/O nice to have in case I do a future upgrade to my prepro. No real need for Dirac Live since I primarily EQ bass only.

 

[deercreekaudio]

thanks. Primary objectives are cross-over mains/subs + bass (sub) EQ. Balanced I/O nice to have in case I do a future upgrade to my prepro. No real need for Dirac Live since I primarily EQ bass only.

Either will be great...
This blog sums up our opinion: Simplifying the Science of Subwoofer Integration

 

[enricoclaudio]

thanks. Primary objectives are cross-over mains/subs + bass (sub) EQ. Balanced I/O nice to have in case I do a future upgrade to my prepro. No real need for Dirac Live since I primarily EQ bass only.

If you don’t care about Dirac Live (now) and no need the streaming capabilities of the SHD, then the FLEX should be your choice. I have 2x4, FLEX TRS with Dirac Live and SHD. To me the FLEX TRS is the best bang for your buck out of all MiniDSPs.

 

[mglobe]

Looking to add either a Flex or the SHD into my 2 channel set-up, primarily to integrate subs with mains & eq bass. System does include a turntable (primary source), Oppo 103D for CDs, and Cambridge Audio CXNv2 streamer.

Based on the review, the Flex looks like it should work fine. Any benefits of spending the additional for the SHD (according to miniDSP, better DACs and analog circuitry plus better I/O selection)? I don't need the streaming function on the SHD and am undecided about using DIRAC (vs. REW for sub EQ). DIRAC could always be added to the FLEX (although at a lower sample rate).

Leaning towards the Flex as I'm not sure how distinguishable the different DACs/circuitry is. The better I/O selection is of some interest in case I move to a balanced preamp.

Anyone try both? Thoughts?

If you’re a Roon user, the SHD is Roon Ready, which among other things allows you to control the SHD’s volume control via Roon.

 

[madrac]

Thanks for the responses.

@mglobe I'm not a Roon user (and hardly stream) - mostly vinyl.

@enricoclaudio I've had a 2x4HD and 10x10HD in my system at one point in time. Currently using an unbalanced Flex in my HT system - primarily to load ezBEQ filters and choose configuration with or without my Crowson transducers along with my 2 Rythmik E15HPs . As my preamp (Rogue RP5) doesn't have balanced out, I'm leaning towards another unbalanced Flex. Figure if I do upgrade my preamp (considering RP7), I could then move to the Flex TRS at some point, although one of my Rythmiks has the PEQ3 amp (no XLR ins) whereas the other has the XLR3.

 

[kurosawa]

Please ignore . I found the sollution


I have received the Minidsp Flex digital yesterday. It works out of the box as a AD converter for my turntable.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the software to configure the preset(s). Under "user downloads" "Flex Series", I only see

...


SOLVED

 

[enricoclaudio]

The new software/plugin is Device Console. That’s the one you need to download.

 

[Xenio]

Hello,
I guess it has been asked many times but hey ...

Can we use the miniDSP flex height as an AVR substitution ? I think the only lacking features to really be a substitution is decoding of proprietary formats like dolby and such right ? But it can be done from a PC (and not from a blu-ray player or whatever else) ?

I'm looking at improving my x3700h/focal aria setup and this looked interesting

 

[howard416]

Anyone know if the IMD issue has been solved in either the Flex or the new Flex Eight? I guess for the latter, we can only wait for Amir to do a review...

 

[onlyoneme]

Is there any way of reducing the risk of intersample clipping on the Flex except limiting the signal on the source transport? Flex seems to have no headroom here and any gain / master volume manipulation is applied after the ASRC when clipping distortions are in the signal already.

 

[mdsimon2]

Is there any way of reducing the risk of intersample clipping on the Flex except limiting the signal on the source transport? Flex seems to have no headroom here and any gain / master volume manipulation is applied after the ASRC when clipping distortions are in the signal already.

There is a firmware update in the works for all devices using device console that will change the gain structure such that the master volume control acts before the ASRC. I tested this with a 2x4HD in March but unfortunately the updated firmware has not been released.

Michael

 

[onlyoneme]

There is a firmware update in the works for all devices using device console that will change the gain structure such that the master volume control acts before the ASRC. I tested this with a 2x4HD in March but unfortunately the updated firmware has not been released.

Michael

Thx! Was it a kind of non-public beta release? Any chance for more details published somewhere?

 

[mdsimon2]

Thx! Was it a kind of non-public beta release? Any chance for more details published somewhere?

Yes, it was a non-public beta. I made some measurements here -> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...nts-and-rising-noise-floor.42383/post-1530158.

Michael

 

[onlyoneme]

Yes, it was a non-public beta. I made some measurements here -> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...nts-and-rising-noise-floor.42383/post-1530158.

Michael

That's exactly what I got yesterday. Thx again, I will ask miniDSP support regarding the status of this line of FW.

 

[bkkchris]

Help me confirm something. The Flex "Digital" version has no DAC included correct? I don't see why it would, but can't find any specifics that mention the specific exclusion of a DAC.

 

[antcollinet]

Help me confirm something. The Flex "Digital" version has no DAC included correct? I don't see why it would, but can't find any specifics that mention the specific exclusion of a DAC.

No analogue outputs, therefore no DAC by definition.

 

[bkkchris]

No analogue outputs, therefore no DAC by definition.

Ha. Thanks. Yup as assumed. But after reading through 91 pages on the Flex my brain is feeling a little slow...

 

[Abtr]

I use the MiniDSP Flex/digital as volume control and parametric equalizer in my 2.2 audio system, feeding 2 channel Toslink into the DAC. Now my DAC is an RME ADI-2 DAC, which has digital volume control and PEQ of its own. Yet, the MiniDsp setup with the exact same filter (a simple low shelf-filter) sounds significantly cleaner and overall more integrated and natural. The difference is clearly audible. I identified the correct setup 7 out of 7 times in a blind listening test. Note that since all takes place in the digital realm the output volume of both setups is exactly equal so that can’t explain this result.

Possibly the PEQ output of the MiniDSP and RME differ very slightly, but I doubt that could explain what I hear. I personally think PEQ processing inside the RME produces electrical noise which somehow distorts the analog output. The MiniDSP’s optical output galvanically isolates it from the DAC so electrical noise can’t get into the DAC. Hence the better sound quality.

Anyway, though I'm generally very pleased with my MiniDSP unit, I also have a few issues. Firstly, the USB input is very finicky regarding the used USB cable. When I use the cable that is provided with it, streaming audio from a MacMini works fine, but if I use a cable that is 10 cm (or more) longer (which I used with various other USB interfaces without problems) it loses connection after a few seconds. A shorter cable again works fine. Does anyone recognize this? It makes me wonder about the long term reliability of the unit’s USB interface..

Secondly, the input selection (USB, Toslink, SPDIF, Analog, Bluetooth) requires 2 presses of the control knob and resets after just 1 second which is very annoying if you didn’t make your selection yet (you must then again press the control 2 times and make a selection within a second). I would prefer input selection after one press of the control, staying active for at least 5 seconds.

Third, it would be nice if there was a setting to disable the automatic dimming of the unit’s display, so the display would stay on.

Maybe some of these points can be addressed in the next software update