Minidsp SHD Review Updated (DSP, DAC & Streamer)

[luckyguliver]

What would you use it for then?

In this case I wanted to use it as a pre amp - streamer - dac.

 

[mdsimon2]

What if you don't use Dirac?

Whether you use Dirac or not it is the same. Fortunately it is pretty simple.

You need to make sure that the combination of source level + processing + volume control does not exceed 0 dBFS prior to reaching the DAC. For example if you sent a 0 dBFS signal to the SHD, did not use Dirac but had a boost of +15 dB applied across all frequencies in the SHD and had the volume set to -10 dB you would clip as you would be attempting to send 0 + 15 - 10 = +5 dBFS to the DAC.

In general if you use the SHD volume control I wouldn't worry too much about digital clipping unless you are doing something crazy. It is a bit more of an issue if you use downstream volume control.

Michael

 

[luckyguliver]

I think it was a bit misleading the way I wrote what I need it for as I meant internal SHD Dac not external Dac. I want to keep things as simple as possible even though it’s not always possible. I tend to change my gear pretty often so SHD will be used in many different configurations and for different purposes. I also must say I played with Dirac function already but the result wasn’t very impressive. It’s early days so I am too bothered

 

[tallbeardedone]

I think it was a bit misleading the way I wrote what I need it for as I meant internal SHD Dac not external Dac. I want to keep things as simple as possible even though it’s not always possible. I tend to change my gear pretty often so SHD will be used in many different configurations and for different purposes. I also must say I played with Dirac function already but the result wasn’t very impressive. It’s early days so I am to bothered

What did you do with Dirac and why wasn't it impressive?

 

[luckyguliver]

What did you do with Dirac and why wasn't it impressive?

Soundstage is more focused towards the center of the room but is "painted with thinner lines" so to speak. Overall sound seams to be "strained" not as open as without use of Dirac.
I also wonder how can I add sub to the process of calibration. When I set it up initially I did it only for two speakers but now I want to add sub but I can't find way to do that.

 

[tallbeardedone]

Soundstage is more focused towards the center of the room but is "painted with thinner lines" so to speak. Overall sound seams to be "strained" not as open as without use of Dirac.
I also wonder how can I add sub to the process of calibration. When I set it up initially I did it only for two speakers but now I want to add sub but I can't find way to do that.

I’ve had the same exact experience. I’ve been listening for the last week and I keep going back to unprocessed signal. The three dimensionality of the images disappears with dirac on. It goes from three dimensional “I’m there” feeling to a two-dimensional “on a screen” feeling.

I’m going to re measure with 90-degree cal file and vertically placed mic and exactly measure each mic spot to make a sphere of 50cm diameter around my listening position and see if that improves things. But atm I’m not holding my breath.

 

[luckyguliver]

I will do a couple of more tests as well. It all goes very slowly as I've got loads other things going on. If I will be not very impressed than I switch to Lyngdorf and see what they have to offer in terms of room acoustic correction.

 

[james57]

I will do a couple of more tests as well. It all goes very slowly as I've got loads other things going on. If I will be not very impressed than I switch to Lyngdorf and see what they have to offer in terms of room acoustic correction.

No expert here, but if you are considering Lyngdorf you may also have a look at the Trinnov, its out of my budget but I have seen many intresting reviews and comments.

 

[tallbeardedone]

I will do a couple of more tests as well. It all goes very slowly as I've got loads other things going on. If I will be not very impressed than I switch to Lyngdorf and see what they have to offer in terms of room acoustic correction.

If you try Lyngdorf please let me know your thoughts.

 

[TabCam]

I’ve had the same exact experience. I’ve been listening for the last week and I keep going back to unprocessed signal. The three dimensionality of the images disappears with dirac on. It goes from three dimensional “I’m there” feeling to a two-dimensional “on a screen” feeling.

I’m going to re measure with 90-degree cal file and vertically placed mic and exactly measure each mic spot to make a sphere of 50cm diameter around my listening position and see if that improves things. But atm I’m not holding my breath.

Can you describe your setup? I know Dirac quite well but never experienced going from 3D to 2D. I have both experienced benefits and detrimental effects from using Dirac Live. Measuring correctly helps a lot and also the type of speakers seem to make a difference. I currently have active open baffle but even when they were passively filtered Dirac didn't do that much good.

I have had very good result with "boxed" speakers. In the case of the Dutch&Dutch 8C it didn't do much good but also no detrimental effects.

Regarding the measurements, the first measurement should be exactly at the MLP, most often exactly in the middle. Even a few cm off can give odd effects as it can change the balance and timing.

Hope the new measurements work out well and let us know.

 

[tallbeardedone]

Can you describe your setup? I know Dirac quite well but never experienced going from 3D to 2D. I have both experienced benefits and detrimental effects from using Dirac Live. Measuring correctly helps a lot and also the type of speakers seem to make a difference. I currently have active open baffle but even when they were passively filtered Dirac didn't do that much good.

I have had very good result with "boxed" speakers. In the case of the Dutch&Dutch 8C it didn't do much good but also no detrimental effects.

Regarding the measurements, the first measurement should be exactly at the MLP, most often exactly in the middle. Even a few cm off can give odd effects as it can change the balance and timing.

Hope the new measurements work out well and let us know.

My set-up:

My hi-fi:

I placed the mic horizontally with the 0 degree at the exact center of listening position accurate to the millimeter:

I will do a re-measure and see if I get better results. But at the moment Dirac is destroying my sound completely.

 

[lamda18]

Η ρύθμισή μου:
View attachment 247995

Το τρίγωνο πρέπει να είναι ισόπλευρο

 

[tallbeardedone]

Το τρίγωνο πρέπει να είναι ισόπλευρο

Sitting slightly nearfield from the tip of the equilateral triangle sounds best in my room to both my ears and my measurement microphone.

 

[Ricwa]

I’ve had the same exact experience. I’ve been listening for the last week and I keep going back to unprocessed signal. The three dimensionality of the images disappears with dirac on. It goes from three dimensional “I’m there” feeling to a two-dimensional “on a screen” feeling.

I’m going to re measure with 90-degree cal file and vertically placed mic and exactly measure each mic spot to make a sphere of 50cm diameter around my listening position and see if that improves things. But atm I’m not holding my breath.

My set-up:
View attachment 247995
My hi-fi:
View attachment 247996
I placed the mic horizontally with the 0 degree at the exact center of listening position accurate to the millimeter:

I will do a re-measure and see if I get better results. But at the moment Dirac is destroying my sound completely.

A suggestion and a comment as follows: If you haven't already, try pulling back your chair so that

My set-up:
View attachment 247995
My hi-fi:
View attachment 247996
I placed the mic horizontally with the 0 degree at the exact center of listening position accurate to the millimeter:

I will do a re-measure and see if I get better results. But at the moment Dirac is destroying my sound completely.

Nice setup (like the books and the Mr. T cushion). One suggestion and a comment: (1) If you haven't already, suggest you pull back your listening chair so that you have a true equalateral triangle. Suggest you run Dirac with the mic at the vertex of the equalateral triangle. Take just one Dirac measurement to start and then save and upload that single measurement sweep to miniDSP. Then take a frequency response measurement with REW. You should have an absolutely FLAT response with a single measurement if you don't move the mic. If your frequency response is not flat, there is likely a problem that may be sampling related. I'd have this occur frequently when using a uMik-2 and Windows. It would manifest as a steep taper off at high frequencies. I ended up giving up trying to run at 96khz and going to a uMik-1 and 48khz sampling rate. Dirac should definitely not diminish your sound stage in a nice room like yours; if anything, just the opposite. Now the comment (2): it's not an apples to apples comparison if you're just using the remote to toggle on/off Dirac with your remote without compensating for the volume difference that Dirac takes away. This will negatively effect soundstage perception because we tend to perceive louder signals more favorably (up to a point).

 

[tallbeardedone]

A suggestion and a comment as follows: If you haven't already, try pulling back your chair so that

Nice setup (like the books and the Mr. T cushion). One suggestion and a comment: (1) If you haven't already, suggest you pull back your listening chair so that you have a true equalateral triangle. Suggest you run Dirac with the mic at the vertex of the equalateral triangle. Take just one Dirac measurement to start and then save and upload that single measurement sweep to miniDSP. Then take a frequency response measurement with REW. You should have an absolutely FLAT response with a single measurement if you don't move the mic. If your frequency response is not flat, there is likely a problem that may be sampling related. I'd have this occur frequently when using a uMik-2 and Windows. It would manifest as a steep taper off at high frequencies. I ended up giving up trying to run at 96khz and going to a uMik-1 and 48khz sampling rate. Dirac should definitely not diminish your sound stage in a nice room like yours; if anything, just the opposite. Now the comment (2): it's not an apples to apples comparison if you're just using the remote to toggle on/off Dirac with your remote without compensating for the volume difference that Dirac takes away. This will negatively effect soundstage perception because we tend to perceive louder signals more favorably (up to a point).

So you suggest measuring from tip of equilateral triangle even if that isn't the ideal listening position in my room? Okay, I will try it, along with running an REW sweep directly after to see if I get a flat response.

A few questions while you're here:

1.) Remove listening chair or keep it in position while measuring?
2.) Horizontal mic placement with 0-degree cal file, or vertical mic placement with 90-degree cal file?
3.) Focused imaging (9 measurement points) or slightly broader imaging (13 calibration points)?
4.) Distance to other measurement points from center point? (There is absolutely zero detail on this in the Dirac set up.)

Many thanks!

 

[Ricwa]

First pass is just "fire for effect" so don't worry if not the ideal listening position. Suggest you make the distance between the the speaker and listening position equal to the distance between the speakers, 2.66 meters in your setup.

1.) Make sure the listening chair is well out of the way when taking measurements, prefereably a few feet behind the measurement mic. Dirac can miscalculate corrections if the sound is even slightly blocked due to tables, chairs etc.
2.) Use the 0 degree cal and always adjust the mic to point it between the two speakers for each measurement.
3.) In my previous message I suggested that you take only one measurement (at the listening position) to begin. Dirac will "complain" when you try to proceed but go ahead and confirm that's what you want to do. Longer term, for a single listening position I'd suggest the 9 point calibration. It will go faster and it's not going to make much difference either way.
4.) Good question, and it surprised me at first because I made the distances too small when I started and was getting bad results. For a single listening position, I'd suggest the right and left positions 6" to12" on each side of center and 4" to 8" above and below the center. So, for example, imagine a box 16" wide and 12" high with the initial measurement taken at the center of the box and the additional 8 measurements at each corner. I'm enough of a fanatic that I have a removable horizontal string setup between my two walls (fastened with those 3-M Command strips) making it easy to set the mic's initial position and up/dn/left/right offsets from center.

If the results of the single sweep test don't look good, post the REW measurement and I'll try to help. If they do, then try a 9 position calibration and measure the response again with REW to see if it still looks ok. Suggest you don't try to A-B listening test initially because if you don't get the volume with/without Dirac nearly perfect, it can affect your perception. And even if you do, at what frequency? With a flat response, 75dB means 75dB SPL at all frequencies but if the response is not flat, the SPLs will be frequency dependent and can affect the perception of imaging/soundstage. I see your Blakey album in the photo so I'm guessing you'll like a flatish frequency response which, IMO, lends itself well to acoustic instruments. But if not, you can play around with target curves and such.

 

[tallbeardedone]

Awesome thanks. I will have another re-measure in a couple days when I have a quiet house. Very interested to see if I can get a Dirac correction at high frequencies that I like.

 

[WillBrink]

I'd consider using that unit as a pre amp with active speakers. With the room correction, would make a great 2.1 system, unless I'm missing some reason otherwise. This appears a much more user friendly unit from MiniDSP for not non tech types like me.

Thoughts/opinions on the idea?

 

[tallbeardedone]

I'd consider using that unit as a pre amp with active speakers. With the room correction, would make a great 2.1 system, unless I'm missing some reason otherwise. This appears a much more user friendly unit from MiniDSP for not non tech types like me.

Thoughts/opinions on the idea?

If you’re after volume control and dirac/DSP then yeah, don’t see why it won’t work great. I have a good room and my speakers measure so well unprocessed at my listening position that adding dirac seems superfluous. It seems to be over correcting for a problem that isn’t there, and takes a bit of headroom off my amp. But for your actives it could be awesome. Not sure if all the ins and out of an active system though.

 

[Glasvegas]

I'd consider using that unit as a pre amp with active speakers. With the room correction, would make a great 2.1 system, unless I'm missing some reason otherwise. This appears a much more user friendly unit from MiniDSP for not non tech types like me.

Thoughts/opinions on the idea?

That’s exactly how I’m using it (see my signature). I’m very happy with the result.

However, given the choice again, I would buy the miniDSP Flex and a separate streamer. The streamer (Volumio) in the SHD is ok for Spotify and Tidal Connect, but a complete disaster for anything else.