Yesterday I saw, that MiniDSP lists the NanoAVR series under legacy products with an „EOL Jan 2020“. Their NanoAVR product site is removed, links into that site are dead:
https://www.minidsp.com/support/legacy-products
I believe that these devices were always underrated. They are great components for a modular Mch system, and provide the cheapest add-on entry into the Dirac world. They are still listed at resellers:
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/dsp-...i-audio-processor-71-usb-ethernet-p-9832.html
The NanoAVR HD has HDMI in-out and a DSP in the middle that works nicely with REW.
The HDA is the same with additional (!) 8 channel analog out by a mid-quality DAC.
The DL is an HD with built in Dirac Live which can not be upgraded and has no BM, DSP-REW support is dropped too.
The HD and the HDA (!!) can both be upgraded to a DL(A) with a Dirac kit which is still available, and has the same limitations as the DL:
https://www.minidsp.com/products/plugins/dirac-live-upgrades/nanoavr-hd-to-dl-upgrade-detail
In particular the Dirac upgraded HDA has then both: 8 mid quality analog outputs and (!) HDMI output as all Dirac manipulation is done in the digital domain.
Problems:
- Only accepts HDMI-LPCM. Most Players will do that, but not all boxes (FireTV, Apple, Sky..). Seems that only the Oppo player had a HDMI input, otherwise LPCM conversion is tricky, or impossible (Atmos). But Oppos are gone too...
- Only takes HDMI 1.4. That includes 3D but not real 4K. Hence for 4K one needs a separate Audio and Video path, either from a player with two HDMI ports or a specials splitter that provides a HDMI stream out of a HDMI 2.0 stream, like this one (not tested):
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07K5RKQB7...olid=1D3IQNXDY7L8N&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
- The NanoAvr seems to have a strange EDID signature or behavior that creates trouble. AN EDID emulator may have to be inserted in the HDMI connection. There are only two HDMI inputs, and switchboxes of some kind are therefore mostly needed.
- Using the NanoAVR means conversion of all inputs to HDMI.
I hope that there will be a replacement from MiniDSP or other news on this topic and it would be good if people posted what they heard about this. Otherwise I believe that this is, like the Oppo players, another discontinued great product that makes the Mch world poorer.
(I use a Dirac-HDA with an Oppo and an analog Mch Preamp, and break out 2channel Spdif from the Hda‘s HDMI output as input into a DAC)
https://www.minidsp.com/support/legacy-products
I believe that these devices were always underrated. They are great components for a modular Mch system, and provide the cheapest add-on entry into the Dirac world. They are still listed at resellers:
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/dsp-...i-audio-processor-71-usb-ethernet-p-9832.html
The NanoAVR HD has HDMI in-out and a DSP in the middle that works nicely with REW.
The HDA is the same with additional (!) 8 channel analog out by a mid-quality DAC.
The DL is an HD with built in Dirac Live which can not be upgraded and has no BM, DSP-REW support is dropped too.
The HD and the HDA (!!) can both be upgraded to a DL(A) with a Dirac kit which is still available, and has the same limitations as the DL:
https://www.minidsp.com/products/plugins/dirac-live-upgrades/nanoavr-hd-to-dl-upgrade-detail
In particular the Dirac upgraded HDA has then both: 8 mid quality analog outputs and (!) HDMI output as all Dirac manipulation is done in the digital domain.
Problems:
- Only accepts HDMI-LPCM. Most Players will do that, but not all boxes (FireTV, Apple, Sky..). Seems that only the Oppo player had a HDMI input, otherwise LPCM conversion is tricky, or impossible (Atmos). But Oppos are gone too...
- Only takes HDMI 1.4. That includes 3D but not real 4K. Hence for 4K one needs a separate Audio and Video path, either from a player with two HDMI ports or a specials splitter that provides a HDMI stream out of a HDMI 2.0 stream, like this one (not tested):
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07K5RKQB7...olid=1D3IQNXDY7L8N&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
- The NanoAvr seems to have a strange EDID signature or behavior that creates trouble. AN EDID emulator may have to be inserted in the HDMI connection. There are only two HDMI inputs, and switchboxes of some kind are therefore mostly needed.
- Using the NanoAVR means conversion of all inputs to HDMI.
I hope that there will be a replacement from MiniDSP or other news on this topic and it would be good if people posted what they heard about this. Otherwise I believe that this is, like the Oppo players, another discontinued great product that makes the Mch world poorer.
(I use a Dirac-HDA with an Oppo and an analog Mch Preamp, and break out 2channel Spdif from the Hda‘s HDMI output as input into a DAC)
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