Monoprice HTP-1 Home Theater Processor Review

[Vasr]

Yes.


Not sure how. I understand with the correct Q value and slope this might be achievable, but its a bit beyond my current level of expertise (or lackthereof)

I don't know the PEQ settings interface on the HTP-1 but like all PEQs it should provide for a low pass filter and high pass filter (but may restrict how many of each you can have). You will be specifying a center/crossover frequency and a Q value. The Q value and cascading of filters will give you the slope you need. Here are my notes on doing this in software peq
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s-a-8-ch-pre-pro-experiment.14785/post-462824

If you want to set it to your own custom crossovers for your scenario, on sub 1 you would specify a low pass filter with center at 80hz and a Q of 0.7071. For the sub 2 and 3 you would add a low pass filter (200hz, 0.7071Q) and a high pass filter (80hz, Q0.7071). These will give you 2nd order Butterworth 12db/Octave slopes. You can cascade them (use two identical filters) to get other type of crossovers and slopes. For the narrow range you want for the sub 2 and 3, you may likely want higher slopes on either sides.

While you can do the above in theory, whether it will work satisfactorily is a different story.

 

[jhaider]

Not the LFE. My current setup is Subwoofer 1: 80Hz, Subwoofer 2 & 3: 80 - 200 Hz. 2 & 3 are Rythmik FM8. I wonder if I set the crossovers on the physical units, will it auto-calibrate but the Dirac calibration screenshots on the manual don't show subwoofer FR as a selectable option on the right at all to confirm.

Basically you want full active crossover capability for each channel. Storm/Bryston offer that. It’s pretty trick: set xo and PEQ per channel, and combine into groups for Dirac as appropriate. I’m pretty sure Trinnov offers functionality such as well. Datasat might too. I think HTP-1 hardware could in theory do it but the software isn’t written to offer this capability.

 

[stunta]

Thank you for the responses. I feel like I should rethink my configuration and try to simplify it. Perhaps use the 3 subwoofers as such, cross over higher than 80 and see how it goes. If that works with my current Integra processor + DDRC-88A, the HTP-1 might be a good one-box solution.

@jhaider Spending upwards of 10K USD on a pre-pro doesn't make sense for my HT setup which is a basement room. If I had a proper cinema, I would consider it. The Trinnov does look like swiss-army knife type solution which I would consider if it was priced around 5K or less.

 

[markus]

Why don’t you summarize them here also?

Here you go: https://www.avsforum.com/threads/th...ith-htp-1-owners-thread.3112176/post-60102206

 

[Vasr]

Thanks for the user experience report. Of the type that objectively describes the user experience of living with it (rather than the flowery sound quality descriptions). This confirms my assessment of the unit by reading up on other reports as the best one to get in this class (even if I am not in that target market) for a unit that has all the features and one you can live with the easiest.

Unfortunate that the review here which is technically correct might discourage people from getting this one and say go for a JBL SDP-55 instead because of the slight "panther advantage". The subjective interpretations of the results and its tone here can often be at odds with the fitness of the unit for a purpose and also subject to implicit biases just like assessment of audible qualities.

 

[krizvi786]

Agree

panther should get a head. I just installed the htp-1 tpday and it beats the avm 60 in dialogue clarity which is crucial for me

still having some hdmi issues i need to figure out though

 

[stunta]

Here you go: https://www.avsforum.com/threads/th...ith-htp-1-owners-thread.3112176/post-60102206

Thanks. Its good to see someone from the Monolith team active on that thread.

 

[bigguyca]

Here are some pictures of the HTP-1.

 

[stunta]

Found out from avsforum that out if the box, the HTP can’t handle multiple subs elegantly and Dirac sees them all as one sub. One needs to shell out another $500 USD for the Dirac bass control software . I was seriously considering getting this unit but I am afraid there will more $urpri$e$ I might run into.

 

[jhaider]

Found out from avsforum that out if the box, the HTP can’t handle multiple subs elegantly and Dirac sees them all as one sub. One needs to shell out another $500 USD for the Dirac bass control software . I was seriously considering getting this unit but I am afraid there will more $urpri$e$ I might run into.

I don't understand your complaint. Can't you set independent PEQ per sub for manual optimization prior to running Dirac?

If you don't use DLBC and Dirac treats subs as independent sources, then everything will get screwed up. Treating subwoofers as separate sources is a terrible idea.

 

[Maconi]

Found out from avsforum that out if the box, the HTP can’t handle multiple subs elegantly and Dirac sees them all as one sub. One needs to shell out another $500 USD for the Dirac bass control software . I was seriously considering getting this unit but I am afraid there will more $urpri$e$ I might run into.

You do realize that's how Dirac works, right? lol

You have to pay for any plugins they sell for it (including Bass Control).

That's not the fault of the HTP-1 (and if you're trying to save money you're free to correct the subs yourself using the built-in PEQ and what not).

 

[stunta]

I might have to think about this a bit more. I see 3 subwoofer outputs on the unit so I assumed that the included Dirac capabilities would handle all the outputs. Would we be having the same discussion if the center channel was not Dirac-enabled unless an additional paid plugin was installed?

What am I missing? I am pretty sure I am missing something.

I don't want to do manual EQ which is why I want Dirac.

 

[Vasr]

I might have to think about this a bit more. I see 3 subwoofer outputs on the unit so I assumed that the included Dirac capabilities would handle all the outputs. Would we be having the same discussion if the center channel was not Dirac-enabled unless an additional paid plugin was installed?

What am I missing? I am pretty sure I am missing something.

I don't want to do manual EQ which is why I want Dirac.

This comes from Dirac's business model. They have Dirac LE, Dirac Live Full and DLBC that they treat as different upgradeable tiered products like most PC AV or Malware software. Dirac has decided in its product differentiation that treating subwoofers independently is part of DLBC and not Dirac Live. They can charge the full license to the manufacturer and have them pass it on to the customer in its price or they can let only the users that need it upgrade paying additional.

Right now, the struggle is to get some of these devices that advertise Dirac to incorporate DLBC even if you paid for it additional. DLBC was not available until recently. So, HTP-1 and others went out without DLBC, but they couldn't possibly price the unit for features not yet present. So, they seem to have to taken the upgrade yourself option but the unit will support it being DLBC-capable.

If you purchase a unit that only comes with Dirac LE (like the newly announced top end Rotel), you would have to buy Dirac Live AND DLBC (assuming they support the latter).

 

[TimoJ]

I might have to think about this a bit more. I see 3 subwoofer outputs on the unit so I assumed that the included Dirac capabilities would handle all the outputs. Would we be having the same discussion if the center channel was not Dirac-enabled unless an additional paid plugin was installed?

What am I missing? I am pretty sure I am missing something.

I don't want to do manual EQ which is why I want Dirac.

I believe stock Dirac will still handle and correct all 3 outputs separately, like it always has done (haven't verified this since I have DLBC). But it's a known fact that it gives bad results. Dirac is not taking account bass summing of the 3 subs. So users have been using just one output and split it to all subs (and used MiniDSP and MSO to timecorrect subs if they are not equidistant). DLBC is the new development that fixes this, it tries to combine all subs as a one no matter how subs are located. And does a very nice job! This is not just a HTP-1 issue/problem. Only JBL SDP-55 (and Stormaudio) includes DLCB in the purchase price.

 

[krizvi786]

Question for the folks here:

should i set apple tv 4k input to Auto, biased, or indicated? Want to avoid any muting.

thanks

 

[markus]

Found out from avsforum that out if the box, the HTP can’t handle multiple subs elegantly and Dirac sees them all as one sub. One needs to shell out another $500 USD for the Dirac bass control software . I was seriously considering getting this unit but I am afraid there will more $urpri$e$ I might run into.

I might have to think about this a bit more. I see 3 subwoofer outputs on the unit so I assumed that the included Dirac capabilities would handle all the outputs. Would we be having the same discussion if the center channel was not Dirac-enabled unless an additional paid plugin was installed?

What am I missing? I am pretty sure I am missing something.

I don't want to do manual EQ which is why I want Dirac.

You want something which someone else offers so you gotta pay for it. Doesn't sound like an entirely new concept to me

Anyhow, if you want to use regular DL then you have to get your 3 subs onto a single channel. Otherwise DL will optimize each sub separately which results in inferior performance compared to the single channel sub cluster case. If you have DLBC then connect each sub to its own channel on the HTP-1 and you'll get superior results. Price of admission: $500.

 

[stunta]

The minidsp DDRC-88A that I currently have has the optional DLBM that I paid $100 for on top of the unit cost. I thought this was same/similar to DLBC but upon further reading, it looks like DLBC is a more advanced version that does some things automagically which might explain the price difference.

So bottom line is that in the multi-sub scenario, the HTP-1 is really $4500 for best results.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[TimoJ]

The minidsp DDRC-88A that I currently have has the optional DLBM that I paid $100 for on top of the unit cost. I thought this was same/similar to DLBC but upon further reading, it looks like DLBC is a more advanced version that does some things automagically which might explain the price difference.

You have BM-option, it has nothing to do with Dirac. It's just MiniDSP's own bass management addon used for bass routing and filtering.

 

[stunta]

You have BM-option, it has nothing to do with Dirac. It's just MiniDSP's own bass management addon used for bass routing and filtering.

My bad . Thanks for correcting me - I have been getting my brain knotted up with all this.

 

[stunta]

I also read that they are working with Roon to get the device certified (Roon will stop streaming to non-certified devices) and apparently you can then stream directly to the HTP-1 and use its internal DAC. That is one less box in the rack.

Regarding subs, the HTP-1 actually supports 5 subs which is pretty nice for larger theaters.

Overall, this looks like the best value in pre-pro currently.