New integrated from miniDSP: SHD Power

[dwkdnvr]

The new V2 remote is now available for sale.

I wonder whether there are updated Harmony codes for at least sleep/wake. Harmony integration was instrumental in keeping the wife happy, and since I use an external streamer (squeezebox), I don't have a pressing need for the Volumio integration at this point.

 

[TimW]

I wonder whether there are updated Harmony codes for at least sleep/wake. Harmony integration was instrumental in keeping the wife happy, and since I use an external streamer (squeezebox), I don't have a pressing need for the Volumio integration at this point.

I've been wondering about this myself since I also use a Harmony remote with my SHD setup. But I find the programming process of the Harmony to be a PITA and I avoid it at all costs. Who creates the Harmony codes anyway? Users or Logitech?

 

[speedy]

My SHD Power looks like it'll be here on Monday. Looking forward to giving this thing a try and hopefully eventually getting it to @amirm

 

[McFly]

Studio monitors?

In that case you just use the miniDSP: SHD Studio Model

 

[speedy]

My SHD Power looks like it'll be here on Monday. Looking forward to giving this thing a try and hopefully eventually getting it to amirm

It actually arrived today, but I probably won't have time to play with it until this weekend.

 

[FrantzM]

It actually arrived today, but I probably won't have time to play with it until this weekend.
View attachment 72590

Nice Looking!

 

[dkinric]

Needs more knob.
Really interested to see how the amp measures

 

[Karu]

And if it holds up to pushing it to limits...

https://www.minidsp.com/forum/shd-series/17521-my-shd-power-is-broken

 

[speedy]

I decided to do the basic setup last night and hooked it up to some spare speakers. No issues so far; I've been listening to it all day long (streaming from Roon). I haven't ran Dirac yet or done any critical listening, but it seems like it might be winner for my needs.

Now, I need to find some equipment to fill the rack with

 

[dkinric]

Your rack to equipment ratio is impressive.
These are "some spare speakers" you had lying around? Looking forward to hearing your (purely subjective and highly room dependent) impressions of Dirac before and after.
Are you still planning on getting it to Amir for testing? Seems much easier to drop ship direct to him new, then he pays to ship it to you. I would have difficulty giving up new equipment once I got it. I sent him the Musical Fidelity integrated he tested, but ended up having him return it due to mediocre results.

 

[speedy]

Your rack to equipment ratio is impressive.
These are "some spare speakers" you had lying around? Looking forward to hearing your (purely subjective and highly room dependent) impressions of Dirac before and after.
Are you still planning on getting it to Amir for testing? Seems much easier to drop ship direct to him new, then he pays to ship it to you. I would have difficulty giving up new equipment once I got it. I sent him the Musical Fidelity integrated he tested, but ended up having him return it due to mediocre results.

Haha, yeah, the speakers are from an old home theater configuration and they've been sitting in my closet for the last couple years. I'm planning on ultimately setting the SHD Power up in a different room with a different set of speakers after Amir plays with it. Amir is local so it's easy to for us to exchange gear.

I already know that I love what Dirac is capable of. I have a Monolith HTP-1 in my home theater setup and an NAD T777v3 in my family room; both are running Dirac Live 2.0 and I consider it indispensable. The SHD Power sounds great so far without Dirac Live 3.0 ran yet, but I'll run it tomorrow when I have a few hours to play with it.

 

[TimW]

I wonder whether there are updated Harmony codes for at least sleep/wake. Harmony integration was instrumental in keeping the wife happy, and since I use an external streamer (squeezebox), I don't have a pressing need for the Volumio integration at this point.

I got the Harmony Remote working with my SHD to turn it on and off now. All I had to do was change the power settings and modify the start and stop sequences.

 

[speedy]

I spent this morning configuring Dirac on the SHDP and all is well so far.

Subjectively, the device meets my expectations. Dirac and the form factor are the main attraction. I'd really like to hook it up to some even better speakers, but am too lazy to do this for now since I'll be disconnecting it and loaning it to Amir soon.

This is less of a statement about the SHD itself and more of Dirac Live, but Dirac is excellent when configured properly. Dirac is definitely not an instant/automatic/easy/beginner solution which is too bad for a lot of potential customers; the default curve sounds mediocre/bad in most situations. I've been playing with Dirac for a few years and am still learning about how to use it properly in certain situations. It's nice how the remote for the SHD Power allows you to toggle Dirac on/off instantly for comparing; the difference is significant even in the mostly ideal (small/carpeted) room I'm listening in.

One thing I haven't figured out yet though is how to take advantage of the Dirac Live 3.0 Bass Control features. I'm planning on asking about this on miniDSP's forums since I wasn't able to figure it out.

 

[Karu]

Not possible (Dirac bass management) for the SHD Dirac enabled devices. And so far SHD has kept mum if or when it might be. But as it involves a bigger rewrite of their firmware, the hopes are low.

 

[speedy]

Not possible (Dirac bass management) for the SHD Dirac enabled devices. And so far SHD has kept mum if or when it might be. But as it involves a bigger rewrite of their firmware, the hopes are low.

Thanks for sharing. It sounds like Dirac's Bass Control isn't ready for prime time based on what I've been reading. It's unclear to me how much of this is due to errors from manufacturers or Dirac themselves. Regardless, it would be nice to see in some miniDSP products in the future when it's proven to work as intended.

 

[hollis]

the default curve sounds mediocre/bad in most situations.

Good to know. Can you expand any on what you dont like about their default curve? Most of my Dirac 2.0 experience comes from upgrading a DDRC-24 from 1.0 to 2.0. I found I had to fiddle with target curves a ton with Dirac 1.0, but Dirac 2.0 the default curve is actually usable (and sometimes preferable). This was with a Parts Express Solstice MTL build and a HSU VTF-2 in a very reverberant living room.

I'm a Sean Olive fan myself. Flat and downward sloping is my jam

I just got a SHD Power as well and have been playing around with it and some prototype line array proof of concept boxes. Right now I am running the speaker outs to two DIY 12" subs, and the ch 3,4 outs to a separate amp and some 4x 3.25" driver full range boxes. The great part about this test is, the full range 3.25" drivers need a ton of eq both for highs and lows, so I am really asking a lot out of Dirac.

 

[speedy]

Good to know. Can you expand any on what you dont like about their default curve? Most of my Dirac 2.0 experience comes from upgrading a DDRC-24 from 1.0 to 2.0. I found I had to fiddle with target curves a ton with Dirac 1.0, but Dirac 2.0 the default curve is actually usable (and sometimes preferable). This was with a Parts Express Solstice MTL build and a HSU VTF-2 in a very reverberant living room. I'm a Sean Olive fan myself. Flat and downward sloping is my jam

I occasionally like the default curve as well. I usually prefer a few different calibrations with Dirac though:

1. Lifted bass at the lower limit with an increasing slope until ~100-140hz. Then flat all the way until the speaker's natural HF roll-off. Follow the speaker's natural HF roll-off.
2. Lifted bass at the lower limit with an increasing slope until ~100-140hz. Then flat all the way until the Schroeder frequency. Set the upper curtain at the Schroeder frequency.
3. Lifted bass at the lower limit with an increasing slope until ~100-140hz. Then follow the inside average of the speaker's natural in-room response (stick closer to 0db).

#1 is my favorite and works best in my experience with flat (well made) speakers.
#2 or #3 seem to work well for me with speakers that have significant "coloring".

I just got a SHD Power as well and have been playing around with it and some prototype line array proof of concept boxes. Right now I am running the speaker outs to two DIY 12" subs, and the ch 3,4 outs to a separate amp and some 4x 3.25" driver full range boxes. The great part about this test is, the full range 3.25" drivers need a ton of eq both for highs and lows, so I am really asking a lot out of Dirac.

Sounds like a lot of fun. Let us know how it goes.

Weird question though... have you had any issues with a faint chemically/burning smell coming from you SHD Power? Mine is working great, but it had a bizarre scent coming from it for the first 3-4 days that seems like its now going away. miniDSP asked me to send it back to them so they could look at it and I might take them up on that so I can have them ship the replacement directly to Amir.

 

[hollis]

Thanks for those curves. Perceptual bass boosts for listening lower than reference, totally makes sense. I've been starting to play with that lower Dirac cut-off curtain, and just letting the subs go hog-wild below 30hz or so. In my car I think the lower curtain is at 40 or 50hz even, let there be boom! Theres so much low end road noise that one needs to crank the sub to hear it over all that anyway.

As for the smell, yes! I can confirm I had a smell as well. Initially I had wired in the subs and the mains in parallel on the each amp ch (thats why Dirac in the graph above is showing a full range response on L and R). That would be a load slightly greater than 4ohm, but class D and low volumes, I thought I could hack it. Smelled that after a few tracks and promptly unplugged everything. Wired it back as 4ch with an aux amp. Havent smelled a thing on day 2 or day 3. Its been about a week. Havent even turned the bugger off yet actually.

 

[Olli]

One thing I haven't figured out yet though is how to take advantage of the Dirac Live 3.0 Bass Control features. I'm planning on asking about this on miniDSP's forums since I wasn't able to figure it out.

WRT bass management I just recently thought about an interesting idea to time align drivers in a MCH stereo system when using the SHD line of MiniDSP products (that allow to set Gain, Delay, Polarity and PEQs for multiple output channel in the routing matrix independetly per channel, e.g. 2 subs and 2 mains) and some REW measurements within the tool “Multi Sub Optimizer” (MSO).

MSO does not only allow you to align multiple subs, but to also integrate (multiple) subs with Mains: https://www.andyc.diy-audio-engineering.org/mso/html/tut_main_2.html

See a schematic sketch of the SHD plugin (https://www.minidsp.com/images/documents/SHD Series User Manual.pdf)

and an application note on how to apply MSO to a MiniDSP product: https://www.minidsp.com/applications/home-theater-tuning/ddrc-88a-multi-sub-optimizer .

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

For a month or more now, I've been thinking of doing something similar with
my miniDSP SHD. In the same room, I have an Oppo HA-1 headphone DAC/Amp.
Yeah, I was a little dissapointed when the HA-1 didn't test so well here.

In my case, I could run either analog or one of the digital outputs from the SHD to
the HA-1. There are some folks using the miniDSP EARS to calibrate (sometimes
with Dirac Live) their various headphones. Anyhow, thought it might be a fun
experiment.

Just an update. I did the above, connecting to the HA-1 via RCA SPDIF.
Preset 3 is the result of using the Dirac Live method given in miniDSP's app
notes. Preset 4 uses PEQ filters and a low shelf bass boost designed in REW.
Both sound good and was easy to implement.