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miniDSP Tide16 - Holy Grail with 16 Channel Atmos/DTS:X, high SINAD

rzrike said:
Y’all are out of your mind if you don’t think $3500 with ART included is not a highly competitive price for this pretty niche class of product. Honestly when I clicked on the email, I was expecting it to say $5-6k.

Of course the actual quality of the product, not the manufacturer’s promises, remains to be seen. For instance, I do hope they manage to provide a decent remote as mentioned by someone else. The one that came with my HTx is like a $1 Alibaba piece of generic plastic. The pause/play button doesn’t even do anything (I assume it works with their streamer devices).
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This is a little more niche and not well known but it is quite easy to control minidsp via raspberry pi either through automations and custom graphical user interfaces with minidsp-rs. It's possible to source detect by input watching an AVR and auto switch minidsp presets accordingly. The remote is a joke though the Flex HTx remote is the same one that is included with the 2x4 HD. Not that SINAD matters ....but having a SINAD higher than a Trinnov processor has got to say something indirectly about its build quality.
 
rzrike said:
Does anyone know if this will be able to connect to a music server (via SMB or similar) or use Qobuz/Tidal Connect like the SHD devices? Is it a Roon endpoint? I see that it has ethernet. Not a big deal, can always just connect a Wiim Ultra, but I’m curious if they put all that in there. Will be nice to control the device on the miniDSP control center over the network rather than with a direct USB connection (I assume this is possible).
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I could not find any report / spec of it being a streamer. I don't think it is. Not sure about the smb.
 
Keith_W said:
(This conversation was regarding loading your own FIR filters into MiniDSP)

I don't think this is true for Dirac enabled MiniDSP devices, although I could be wrong. The MiniDSP that I borrowed had FIR on the input stage, which was locked by Dirac. I couldn't figure out how to upload my own FIR into the device. As for this device, I would also be paying for a Dirac license that I will not be using.
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You are correct if my memory serves me correctly, some MiniDSP devices allow you to upload your own FIR files if Dirac is not enabled. With the Flex HTx, though, you cannot, presumably because it does not have the processing power to handle FIR on all 8 channels.
 
What are they thinking? It is a DOA AV product if your hdmi only have 18Gb/s while HDMI2.2 with96Gb/s is at the corner

I think the best use case will be just using the eARC port for audio receiving.

HDMI 1.4/2.0b compliant

Resolution: 4k60Hz UHD, 18Gb/s input/output capable
 
rzrike said:
Y’all are out of your mind if you don’t think $3500 with ART included is not a highly competitive price for this pretty niche class of product. Honestly when I clicked on the email, I was expecting it to say $5-6k.

Of course the actual quality of the product, not the manufacturer’s promises, remains to be seen. For instance, I do hope they manage to provide a decent remote as mentioned by someone else. The one that came with my HTx is like a $1 Alibaba piece of generic plastic. The pause/play button doesn’t even do anything (I assume it works with their streamer devices).
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If I were to build a surround sound system that needed more than 8 channels, the Tidal16 is the DSP unit I would use for audio, assuming there is not some really bad news that comes out about it. I don't think there will be, though. I had a SHD and currently use a Flex HTx. I have been very impressed with both of them.
 
Caps are unnecessary.

Have we resolved whether it's 2.1 or not? I couldn't keep up. Reddit appears to be convinced it is not but that might be an echo chamber effect. I'm not smart enough about video to know.
 
Mort said:
Caps are unnecessary.

Have we resolved whether it's 2.1 or not? I couldn't keep up. Reddit appears to be convinced it is not but that might be an echo chamber effect. I'm not smart enough about video to know.
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miniDSP's specifications state the following:

3 x In, 1 x out HDMI switch, HDMI 1.4/2.0b compliant
Resolution: 4k60Hz UHD, 18Gb/s input/output capable, 24/25/30/50/60fps
 
HDMI 2.1 naming scheme is a mess, you need to check what kind of feature or resolution supported on this device as they are no longer mandatory to support a specific bandwidth which is important as a. AV hub
 
Let's be real the target market is cinemaphiles or audiophiles. Last I checked movies are not 120fps. Any serious gamer is probably using headphones or a nearfield setup anyways. Not only that just plug source directly to display for 120hz and passthrough audio.
 
Wouldn't it have been better to leave off DIRAC so we don't pay tariffs on software we can add from within the US.
 
Mort said:
Wouldn't it have been better to leave off DIRAC so we don't pay tariffs?
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I don't think it would matter because the company is based in China
 
thcdru2k said:
AVR control of delay is an order of magnitude below miniDSP. .01ft vs .01ms But to each their own...
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Full transparency, I haven't had an AVR in years but 0.01 ft and 0.01 ms are pretty much the same thing.

speed of sound = 1125 ft/s

1 ms = 10^-3 s

0.01 x 10^-3 x 1125 ft/s = 0.011 ft

Also, you are only getting 0.01 ms delay at 96 kHz sample rate as one sample is 1 / 96000 x 10^3 = 0.010 ms. At 48 kHz (like the Tide16 runs at) you can only do 0.02 ms. Still good enough IMO but important to be accurate if you are comparing device capabilities.

Michael
 
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thcdru2k said:
Let's be real the target market is cinemaphiles or audiophiles. Last I checked movies are not 120fps. Any serious gamer is probably using headphones or a nearfield setup anyways. Not only that just plug source directly to display for 120hz and passthrough audio.
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Sorry, but 120Hz is not only used by competitive gamers sitting at their RGB lit computer desk (those kinds are typically way beyond 120Hz these days), it's a standard feature on consoles. I would not get an AVR/AVP without it. Yes, you can bypass it and just use eARC, but then why buy something clearly designed as a video hub that you can't use? Maybe they could make a cheaper version without the HDMI switching.
thcdru2k said:
I don't think it would matter because the company is based in China
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What? Tariff is a percentage of the price of the device. By baking the licensing into the product, you are essentially paying tariffs on the licensing. If you could purchase the licensing separately, and the product was cheaper, then you wouldn't pay tariffs on those costs.
 
People are saying this is expensive, but these will be connected to a constellation of Genelecs? Or 12-channels of Purifi Eigentakt/ Benchmark AHB2/ McIntosh/ Bryston?

The custom $50-100k home theater installers will love this precisely because it does a lot while not being the Denon that the client can find at the local Best Buy.

I think MiniDSP made the right choice going way upscale (but I won’t be getting one).
 
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kyuu said:
Sorry, but 120Hz is not only used by competitive gamers sitting at their RGB lit computer desk (those kinds are typically way beyond 120Hz these days), it's a standard feature on consoles. I would not get an AVR/AVP without it. Yes, you can bypass it and just use eARC, but then why buy something clearly designed as a video hub that you can't use? Maybe they could make a cheaper version without the HDMI switching.

What? Tariff is a percentage of the price of the device. By baking the licensing into the product, you are essentially paying tariffs on the licensing. If you could purchase the licensing separately, and the product was cheaper, then you wouldn't pay tariffs on those costs.
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I was thinking of the device itself my bad
 
darth said:
Nice product. But alas no digital outs and them tariffs :(

I am willing to give up on my quest for digital only setup but let's see what this ends up costing in reality.
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Yeah for now I’ve settled on an extra adda step for my active crossovers but chosen a unit with high enough SINAD I can tell myself it doesn’t matter
 
kyuu said:
What? Tariff is a percentage of the price of the device. By baking the licensing into the product, you are essentially paying tariffs on the licensing. If you could purchase the licensing separately, and the product was cheaper, then you wouldn't pay tariffs on those costs.
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That is correct, but it will cost MiniDSP $0 to remove the Dirac license and sell it separately for US customers. Hopefully that's what they will do.
 
I wonder if this device will be able to display it menus as an overlay upon the current video stream?
(This is a nice feature that most AVRs offer).

On that topic, one of the minor annoyances of using eARC (e.g. to overcome the lack of 4k 120Hz with a games console) is that connection via eARC prevents you from being able to see such menu overlays.

Hopefully the web interface will be good enough for that to become the main method of remote control. (Allowing you to operate it without needing the menus to be displayed on the tv).
 
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