Monoprice HTP-1 Home Theater Processor Review

[mant]

For the REW measurement I have not had time, could only AVM-70 and HTP-1 calibrate without changing the curve, the sound of the HTP-1 was for my taste, clearly better.
In the AVS forum, one has also had both devices and has also remained with HTP-1.

 

[tusing]

Absolutely insane that over a year later this is still the cheapest Dirac Live Bass Control solution. And for $4K you don’t even get HDMI 2.1!

 

[Mkaram]

Absolutely insane that over a year later this is still the cheapest Dirac Live Bass Control solution. And for $4K you don’t even get HDMI 2.1!

Yeah but dirac is what you're buying and buyers know that.

I use an NX9 projector so HDMI 2.1 is irrelevant.
Would I take it? Sure. But at the price point I have to choose between HDMI 2.1 and dirac.

 

[audioBliss]

People who buy processors typically want solid quality features and care less about beta features that look good on paper.

 

[Zooqu1ko]

[...]
But at the price point I have to choose between HDMI 2.1 and dirac.

The third option is obviously to wait until HDMI 2.1 becomes available. Arcam, Pioneer/Onkyo and Monoprice/MDS are all working on something.

 

[Sal1950]

Absolutely insane that over a year later this is still the cheapest Dirac Live Bass Control solution.

Is this level of Dirac Bass Control capable of eq on 2 or more subwoofers?

 

[Mkaram]

Is this level of Dirac Bass Control capable of eq on 2 or more subwoofers?

There is currently a bug in dirac bass control, in any implementation of the product, which affects multiple sub EQ. However, a few days ago Dirac released a beta build that fixes it, confirmed by many folks over at AVS

 

[Sal1950]

There is currently a bug in dirac bass control, in any implementation of the product, which affects multiple sub EQ. However, a few days ago Dirac released a beta build that fixes it, confirmed by many folks over at AVS

Thanks for the info, I was just curious. Audyssey been doing dual subs for 4 or 5 years now. With the popularity of multi subs it's way past time they got their act together in this area. It's otherwise great DSP software but I would never give up that important piece of the pie.

 

[audioBliss]

Not sure that the Bass Control software has a specific internal limit. The HTP-1 supports up to 5 discrete sub channels. You could put multiple subs per channel as well assuming they are in a very similar location and run DLBC on that. Very powerful software. I have tested the beta and it works. I can highly recommend the software(even in a treated room due to crossover optimizations and general time alignment). My room however only has treatment >300Hz and DLBC handles that beautifully. Actually kind of amazing.

I've been running multi-sub for the last 10 years even for 2-channel but to me the problem always comes down to that it still requires a well treated room. Yes, yes, having four subs even in an untreated room makes a lot of difference but DLBC for sure takes it to the next level. The notion that muli-sub solves all your bass problems is false.

 

[krizvi786]

I believe I see where you are getting hung up Amir. You are intent on getting 4Vrms into the analyzer. It appears that the designers did not account for your desire to test exactly at 4Vrms. The Amplifier Sensitivity setting defines the clipping point of the amplifier. There does appear to be a mistake here. The Amplifier sensitivity setting allows a range of 0.1V - 7.0V. However, anything over 4.0V does nothing.

I was able to get exactly 4.0Vrms by setting the HTP-1 volume to +1dB and the AP to -0.712dBFS.
View attachment 49973

You are not seeing any sort of DSP compression, you are clipping by setting volume to +10dB. If you want to ensure you reach 4V simply set volume to +1dB and test. With a volume setting of 10dB you shouldn't exceed -10dBFS to avoid clipping.

View attachment 49984

Is your setting Auto, indicated, or biased to get this curve?

 

[idratherusegoogle]

Amir, I'm confused. Perhaps you can explain a few things to me.

1. Why do you measure some AVRs using HDMI in and this one you used AES in? Wouldn't consistency in methodology provide a better comparison?
2. If 2.7v out is better than 4.0v out, and is what most other AVRs provide, and if that's the setting you used to get the rating that you're going to put in the overall ranking for this device, why did you continue to use 4.0v out for all of the other tests.
3. If there's an obscure setting that resolves the 15bit muting issue, why did you not re-run all of the tests with that setting enabled?
4. Likewise with the RMC-1 review you did where somehow it went from a low 90s rating to a low 100s rating. Why didn't you re-run all of the tests and update the review?

I'm new to all of this so I don't understand your method yet and I'm just trying to wrap my head around it.

Thanks.

 

[krizvi786]

Yeah but dirac is what you're buying and buyers know that.

I use an NX9 projector so HDMI 2.1 is irrelevant.
Would I take it? Sure. But at the price point I have to choose between HDMI 2.1 and dirac.

i have HTP-1 and turn off dirac. I dont like how it sounds - go figure!

 

[Flak]

i have HTP-1 and turn off dirac. I dont like how it sounds - go figure!

It can happen, we will be pleased to try to help if you'll open a ticket on our HelpDesk:
https://confluence.dirac.services/display/DLS/Dirac+Live+Support

 

[idratherusegoogle]

It can happen, we will be pleased to try to help if you'll open a ticket on our HelpDesk:
https://confluence.dirac.services/display/DLS/Dirac+Live+Support

Flak, you literally just sold me on Dirac. Way to focus on great customer experiences.

 

[Sal1950]

i have HTP-1 and turn off dirac. I dont like how it sounds - go figure!

Over the years I've had experience with a number of DRC software and never found when I took the time to apply it correctly that I didn't prefer it's results? I'd take Flak up on his offer, what have you got to loose?

 

[database]

It would be nice if we had the SINAD vs Measured Level for the HTP-1 that the more recent reviews have, I'm curious about the performance below 1.8V which is where my HTP-1 level is at during 99% of real life usage. Instead, this is what we can estimate based on the results of the four output levels that were measured. There's not enough data to make any estimates below 1.8V.

And here's how that compares to some of the more expensive processors.

The HTP-1 is a good option if you don't need a massive amount of output, and outperforms these other processors at 2V (and maybe below 2V if we had that data). The NC400s take 2V input to reach max output so they're a better match for the HTP-1 than these other processors.

Obviously SINAD is just one metric. But the HTP-1's SINAD performance is great when paired with the NC400s and you don't need to go above 2V.

 

[hmt]

Does it even matter? SINAD is 105 db with 1.8V. That's enough.

 

[peng]

It would be nice if we had the SINAD vs Measured Level for the HTP-1 that the more recent reviews have, I'm curious about the performance below 1.8V which is where my HTP-1 level is at during 99% of real life usage. Instead, this is what we can estimate based on the results of the four output levels that were measured. There's not enough data to make any estimates below 1.8V.

1.8V during 99% of real life usage? Do you sit far away, listen very loud and have very low sensitivity speakers?

For me, on average I might push near 15 dB below reference so my pre out would be 0.36 V during THX movie peaks and 0.036 V on average so my 99% point would be below 0.36 V for sure. I sit 10.5 to 11 ft from the front speakers. If I listen to reference level then it would hit close to 2 V but only during the highest peak levels.

 

[database]

1.8V during 99% of real life usage? Do you sit far away, listen very loud and have very low sensitivity speakers?

For me, on average I might push near 15 dB below reference so my pre out would be 0.36 V during THX movie peaks and 0.036 V on average so my 99% point would be below 0.36 V for sure. I sit 10.5 to 11 ft from the front speakers. If I listen to reference level then it would hit close to 2 V but only during the highest peak levels.

99% percent of my real life listening listening is below 1.8V, like you.

 

[jhaider]

Has anyone else's HTP-1 entered a Monolith screen doom loop recently? Mine did a couple days ago. I think what happened (I was not home) was, we had taken a vacation and I had turned the UPS we use for the computers in the audio signal chain (any modern AVR or AVP is basically a computer with fancy sound cards) off while we were away. There was a storm and the power went out while the HTP-1 was powered down in fast start mode. But I'm not sure if I had turned the UPS back on or not.

To make matters worse, this doom loop occurred when I was again out of town for a couple days. Nobody else in the house would know how (or would be inclined to do even if they did know how) the restore procedure, which requires use of a software on a specially formatted microSD card. I had the card prepped because mine this issue in ca. December 2020. I was under the impression that the problem was caused by a bad (maybe beta?) FW and had been fixed.

Also, save your HTP-1 configuration as a .json after doing a new Dirac calibration. I had last saved mine in April but made substantial changes after the DLBC fix was implemented in Dirac Live v 3.1. The Dirac slots were populated by the configurations I had in April. To add insult to injury, all of my "liveproject" saved Dirac files seem to have disappeared. So I guess I'm going to have to waste time this weekend recalibrating. So frustrated.