Review and Measurements of miniDSP SHD DAC, DSP And Streamer

[amirm]

I do have the unit. How would you like me to test that? See if it outputs full spectrum for 96 kHz with and without Dirac?

 

[Fitzcaraldo215]

I do have the unit. How would you like me to test that? See if it outputs full spectrum for 96 kHz with and without Dirac?

Yup, exactly. Test tones with up to 48k or higher frequency should tell the story.

 

[amirm]

Here you go. The response is identical whether Dirac is On or Off (@ 96 kHz):

Looks like everything higher is resampled to 96 kHz. Whether Dirac is on or off, using higher sample rates than 96 kHz does NOT increase bandwidth. This is 192 kHz for example:

I should say that I have not yet run Dirac. This is with the control panel setting Dirac On and Off. I will run Dirac calibration at some point and report back if anything is different.

 

[Fitzcaraldo215]

Here you go. The response is identical whether Dirac is On or Off (@ 96 kHz):

View attachment 15317

Looks like everything higher is resampled to 96 kHz. Whether Dirac is on or off, using higher sample rates than 96 kHz does NOT increase bandwidth. This is 192 kHz for example:

View attachment 15318

I should say that I have not yet run Dirac. This is with the control panel setting Dirac On and Off. I will run Dirac calibration at some point and report back if anything is different.

Excellent, Amir. So, their 96k internal sampling rate support applies to Dirac, too. And, well done miniDSP! This seems a very worthwhile product, though I have no personal use for it in my la la land of Mch. But, it might be very useful to those applying subs to their stereo systems.

 

[XpanD]

I'm wondering if you could stack and sync a pair of these for very fine control (e.g. three-way speaker crossover + sub). That could be pretty sweet, though pricey.

Thanks for yet another great review. I was really excited to see this up -- really interesting device. Might just pick one up for stereo sub integration + multi-source Dirac with my older multichannel setup. Most of my sources are stereo anyways, so I don't think I quite need full correction as much as I do smooth stereo sub integration.

 

[jorgen]

Hello Amir,

I am a stereo plus stereo sub user. Quad esl 63 and special constructed Quad esl 63 panels for bass (sub).
After my TactAudio TCS did not work anymore, bought the 2X4HD and liked the user platform but not the sound!
Now I have had the RME adi 2 pro in my system. Liked the sound but EQ high pass low pass too limited for my system. EX could not do 30hz to 50hz for the sub system.
After having read your review I feel that the new minDSP should have the same sound as the RME adi 2 pro?

Looking forward for your deeber test on the miniDSP SHD dac!

 

[miero]

Fortunately the highest level is below -120 dB so not an audible concern. But what a way to ruin great response of this DAC. I wonder if they had someone else design the DAC portion and they did not test it when in the same box as the DSP and display subsystem. These issues could have been avoided for the most part with some care.

FYI I tested S/PDIF input and it generated almost identical results so this is not due to USB input noise.

Oh wait, I don't remember if I disconnected the USB cable when I tested S/PDIF. I have seen in the case of Schiit Modi 2 Uber DAC that I need to do that or the USB connection still pollutes the output of the DAC. Will have to retest.

Have you retested this?

 

[Umlautica]

The SHD Studio preorders opened this week for $900 so now the question is if the the onboard DACs on the SHD Studio are worth the additional $300 to the customer.

I'm wondering if you could stack and sync a pair of these for very fine control (e.g. three-way speaker crossover + sub). That could be pretty sweet, though pricey.

If that's the goal, then the cheaper SHD Studio with an outboard digital crossover (eg: dbx DriveRack VENU360) would be as effective without the setup complications.

After having read your review I feel that the new minDSP should have the same sound as the RME adi 2 pro?

They use the AK4490 DAC which appears to be well implemented in both cases. It should be about as close as you can get.

 

[andreasmaaan]

If that's the goal, then the cheaper SHD Studio with an outboard digital crossover (eg: dbx DriveRack VENU360) would be as effective without the setup complications.

But the cost of 2 x SHD Studio + 2 x VENU360 would be nearly double that of 2 x SHD, and audio performance would likely be worse (although I haven't seen measurements of the VENU360).

MiniDSP is not at all complicated to configure as a crossover.

 

[Umlautica]

Andreasmaaan, sorry I should have clarified. I was suggesting a single SHD Studio and a single VENU360 for 6 active channels. This still leaves another digital output on the SHD Studio for another DAC/DSP. The VENU360 is just an example and I'm sure there are other DSP with more exotic DACs if that's what you're after.

I don't find the MiniDSP software complicated either but using more than one SHD opens up a can of worms for the DIRAC calibration, ganged volume control, time alignment, Volumo streamer, and presets.

After some point of cost/complexity though it makes more sense to use a small PC to run DIRAC, FIR filters, and routing to a large interface from MOTO or RME. Both of which are known to measure well.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Andreasmaaan, sorry I should have clarified. I was suggesting a single SHD Studio and a single VENU360 for 6 active channels. This still leaves another digital output on the SHD Studio for another DAC/DSP. The VENU360 is just an example and I'm sure there are other DSP with more exotic DACs if that's what you're after.

I don't find the MiniDSP software complicated either but using more than one SHD opens up a can of worms for the DIRAC calibration, ganged volume control, time alignment, Volumo streamer, and presets.

After some point of cost/complexity though it makes more sense to use a small PC to run DIRAC, FIR filters, and routing to a large interface from MOTO or RME. Both of which are known to measure well.

Ah I see, i'd misunderstood you and was focusing on the fact that Xpan needed min. 7 channels. And yes, I think ultimately computer + multichannel DAC is the most cost-effective solution.

What PC/Mac software would you use for the crossover filters and individual driver EQ?

 

[Umlautica]

What PC/Mac software would you use for the crossover filters and individual driver EQ?

Rephase along with BruteFIR or EqualizerAPO for filters. Dirac or REW for correction.

 

[Krunok]

When doing room correction, can this device compensate for lack of linearity of the bass in 20-40Hz regin when driving the speakers that have bass response of say -15dB at 20Hz and -10dB at 30Hz?

 

[XpanD]

After some point of cost/complexity though it makes more sense to use a small PC to run DIRAC, FIR filters, and routing to a large interface from MOTO or RME. Both of which are known to measure well.

I'm doing something similar right now, though with an old receiver and some routing help from Equalizer APO.

Some pics:
http://www.expand.rs/eapo_main.png
http://www.expand.rs/eapo_wip.png

This setup works pretty well, but I'd like to add back Dirac at some point (still got a stereo license, need to see if I can maybe upgrade to surround) and cutting back on the overall complexity wouldn't be a bad thing, either.

My current ideas are to either add Dirac + stereo subs to the stereo front channels through a solution like the SHD (surround speakers are in a much more favorable position, and need less help), or to go with something like the NAD T758 v3 and add an outboard crossover there, somewhere. Alternatively, if I can upgrade my Dirac license I may be able to get that to work with my current E-APO setup, although I'll be keeping the complexity.

Adding an external crossover would probably make for the simplest solution, though I'm a bit scared of going that route again -- my old analog crossover nearly blew out my subs at one point, spiking the outputs when I accidentally shut it down ahead of the power amps. Removing it from the system also dropped the noise floor a bit, which was a nice bonus.

I'm still doing my research, but it's good to have a few more options. Thanks for all the feedback! I'll keep at it, pretty fun stuff to just be messing around with.

When doing room correction, can this device compensate for lack of linearity of the bass in 20-40Hz regin when driving the speakers that have bass response of say -15dB at 20Hz and -10dB at 30Hz?

I'm not sure how it is for internal versions of Dirac, but the PC version has a configurable pre-amp that drops the output level by a maximum of 8dB to avoid clipping from boosts. If I understand things right, that's going to be the limit of the boosts Dirac will apply. It would probably be best not to exceed that anyways, since you'd be putting a lot more stress on the driver/amp by boosting even further.

 

[amirm]

When doing room correction, can this device compensate for lack of linearity of the bass in 20-40Hz regin when driving the speakers that have bass response of say -15dB at 20Hz and -10dB at 30Hz?

If by that you mean level variability, then yes, it can. It will of course observe this in the context of your room and seating/measuring positions. Dirac is a far field correction technology (not speaker/driver correction).

 

[Krunok]

If by that you mean level variability, then yes, it can. It will of course observe this in the context of your room and seating/measuring positions. Dirac is a far field correction technology (not speaker/driver correction).

Sure, all clear, thank you.

 

[parasiticCapacitance]

After some point of cost/complexity though it makes more sense to use a small PC to run DIRAC, FIR filters, and routing to a large interface from MOTO or RME. Both of which are known to measure well.

Can you recommend a DAC for PCs that works with Dirac, multichannel (2.1 or maybe 2.2 later)? It did not work with my soundcard, which is why I was looking for the minidsp devices.

Could someone who has the device please measure the standby power consumption of the SHD? In the minidsp forum somebody measured it, it was 11W, which seems high.

@amirm: thanks for the awesome review!

 

[amirm]

Can you recommend a DAC for PCs that works with Dirac, multichannel (2.1 or maybe 2.2 later)? It did not work with my soundcard, which is why I was looking for the minidsp devices.

Could someone who has the device please measure the standby power consumption of the SHD? In the minidsp forum somebody measured it, it was 11W, which seems high.

@amirm: thanks for the awesome review!

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the kind words.

I just measured the power consumption and it varies between 10 and 12 watts at idle. So the 11 watt number seems right.

 

[parasiticCapacitance]

Thank you for measuring that quickly!

I was waiting for the SHD because of the better DAC. I don't need the streamer (and I am not yet convinced that it will work well either, my experience with Volumio so far was not the best) I only need the DRC. The DDRC24 would have DRC too, but the DAC scored worse in your review and has lower specs (I believe you reviewed the 2x4 HD, which is a DDRC24 without Dirac). Based on your experience, do you think the difference is audible? I don't have a high-end setup (KEF LS50 + SVS SB2000 sub).

Does anybody know whether stereo DRC will work well for a 2.1 setup? Is there a big difference compared to a setup where the sub is corrected seperately?

 

[Krunok]

As I suspected and feared though, the unit came with no software and no way of downloading any! My HD unit came with some redemption code to get the necessary software. I could not find any such thing in the box and without it, the folder for SHD downloads on miniDSP website comes out blank. The website says it even comes with a license code for Dirac which I did not find.

@amirm, have you managed to resolve this ridiculous problem?

Btw, the procudure described in the user manual looks pretty straight forward to me. Is it not working?

If you purchased your product from a miniDSP dealer, you will receive a coupon together with the product. Redeem this coupon and select the Plugin Group “Dirac Series” at the link below:
https://www.minidsp.com/support/redeem-coupon

The User Downloads link is visible from the dropdown menu at the top right of the website page:
Navigate to the Dirac Series section and then to SHD Software. There you will find a single download containing all software. Download this file and unzip it (on Windows, right-click and select “Extract All...”; on Mac, double-click).