Hi,
Got the 2 x 8 last week and have just got it connected. It was very easy to set up. I have never had a minidsp before, but I was up and running in 10 minutes. The time consuming bit is the peq setting (hopefully it will appear below
). Hopefully there will be a REW integration or measurement import soon. I connected a pot. to control the volume. Had some problems getting it to work due to wrong info in user manual, but the minidsp team sorted this out very fast. When I get time, I will take the speaker outdoors to make better measurements. The speaker is an OB 3-way.
Normally I am using brutefir with Acourate filters and would like to compare it directly, but I need to do some modifications in my system to be able to use my standard 6 ch. poweramp. We'll see later.
Anyway, I used 3pc cheap stereo poweramps to have my first listening test.
English is not my native language, but I will try to explain.
It is easy to localise the performers and the sound is very dynamic and free from noise and distortion. I noted the you have to be careful with the peq setting so you don't go into digital clipping. (I had to turn down the output sliders a bit). Compared to my usd1500 brutefir convolver pc the depth of the soundstage is a bit less. The reason may very well be the poweramps.
This board has almost "no" delay so it is exellent for chinema use. All in all I am very happy with it, but I am missing a remote and display.
/Paal
Got the 2 x 8 last week and have just got it connected. It was very easy to set up. I have never had a minidsp before, but I was up and running in 10 minutes. The time consuming bit is the peq setting (hopefully it will appear below
). Hopefully there will be a REW integration or measurement import soon. I connected a pot. to control the volume. Had some problems getting it to work due to wrong info in user manual, but the minidsp team sorted this out very fast. When I get time, I will take the speaker outdoors to make better measurements. The speaker is an OB 3-way.Normally I am using brutefir with Acourate filters and would like to compare it directly, but I need to do some modifications in my system to be able to use my standard 6 ch. poweramp. We'll see later.
Anyway, I used 3pc cheap stereo poweramps to have my first listening test.
English is not my native language, but I will try to explain.
It is easy to localise the performers and the sound is very dynamic and free from noise and distortion. I noted the you have to be careful with the peq setting so you don't go into digital clipping. (I had to turn down the output sliders a bit). Compared to my usd1500 brutefir convolver pc the depth of the soundstage is a bit less. The reason may very well be the poweramps.
This board has almost "no" delay so it is exellent for chinema use. All in all I am very happy with it, but I am missing a remote and display.
/Paal
Attachments
@ Paal,
Glad to hear of your report of progress on your setup of the miniDSP 2x8. In answer to the couple of comments and questions you hinted:
- Yes REW integration will indeed be added to the miniDSP 4x10 plug-in in the upcoming free upgrade. We're just trying to combine features together. It will certainly help for your EQ'ing + measurement
- IR remote support is also scheduled in the development but we're trying to see what's the easiest to make it easily controllable by standard remotes.. Quite a bit of code on both the firmware side + software side, but it's scheduled so will eventually be out.
- Display: It's something we've been asked for and didn't include for keeping the cost down (i.e. cost of the display isn't the expensive part here, but more the FW dev.. Anyway, we hope to make the platform grow like we've been doing for the miniDSP over the past year and 1/2..
Hope this info helps,
DevTeam
Glad to hear of your report of progress on your setup of the miniDSP 2x8. In answer to the couple of comments and questions you hinted:
- Yes REW integration will indeed be added to the miniDSP 4x10 plug-in in the upcoming free upgrade. We're just trying to combine features together. It will certainly help for your EQ'ing + measurement
- IR remote support is also scheduled in the development but we're trying to see what's the easiest to make it easily controllable by standard remotes.. Quite a bit of code on both the firmware side + software side, but it's scheduled so will eventually be out.
- Display: It's something we've been asked for and didn't include for keeping the cost down (i.e. cost of the display isn't the expensive part here, but more the FW dev..
Anyway, we hope to make the platform grow like we've been doing for the miniDSP over the past year and 1/2.. Hope this info helps,
DevTeam
Hi DevTeam,
As a long time user of DSPs, I follow your development with great interest. Now that you have moved to 24-96k and if I understand correctly what you mean by 4 x10 plug-in ( 2x8 analog + 2x2 digital) the three most important things that I would like to see :
1) pre FIR phase correction on inputs (that will require far less DSP power and complexity than individual FIR magnitude-phase output channel filters
2) sharing biquads in some kind of a pool between filters and PEQ on output channels ( to allow to increase the number of PEQ available when lower order filters are in use) as 5 PEQ could be a little short sometimes.
3) To import drivers mag-min phase response in the plug in software to allow immediate visualization of the overall response (driver + PEQ + filter) without having to measure the result each time. It could be an ASCII import to widen the usability.
Currently, I'm not aware of any DSP kit having implemented point 1 which I consider the most important.
Anyway, than you for bringing affordable DSP to DIY community.
Best regards from France
Jean Claude Gaertner
As a long time user of DSPs, I follow your development with great interest. Now that you have moved to 24-96k and if I understand correctly what you mean by 4 x10 plug-in ( 2x8 analog + 2x2 digital) the three most important things that I would like to see :
1) pre FIR phase correction on inputs (that will require far less DSP power and complexity than individual FIR magnitude-phase output channel filters
2) sharing biquads in some kind of a pool between filters and PEQ on output channels ( to allow to increase the number of PEQ available when lower order filters are in use) as 5 PEQ could be a little short sometimes.
3) To import drivers mag-min phase response in the plug in software to allow immediate visualization of the overall response (driver + PEQ + filter) without having to measure the result each time. It could be an ASCII import to widen the usability.
Currently, I'm not aware of any DSP kit having implemented point 1 which I consider the most important.
Anyway, than you for bringing affordable DSP to DIY community.
Best regards from France
Jean Claude Gaertner
Hi DSP people,
I ordered two MiniDSP's a while ago and am very much impressed by these little units; they sound well, measure well, and are a breeze to set up. The idea to work with different plug-ins for different uses is nice as well, although I would prefer a flat rate to download just anything you might need at that particular moment, or just to play with, but that is your business decision.
Now, I could not find any plug ins for the 2 x 8 on the MiniDSP site (nor much other information on the unit). Does this imply that the plug-ins for the 2 x 8 are included in the price?
Keep up the good work,
Vacuphile
I ordered two MiniDSP's a while ago and am very much impressed by these little units; they sound well, measure well, and are a breeze to set up. The idea to work with different plug-ins for different uses is nice as well, although I would prefer a flat rate to download just anything you might need at that particular moment, or just to play with, but that is your business decision.
Now, I could not find any plug ins for the 2 x 8 on the MiniDSP site (nor much other information on the unit). Does this imply that the plug-ins for the 2 x 8 are included in the price?
Keep up the good work,
Vacuphile
Hello Vacuphile,
Glad to hear that you're having fun with our miniDSP products.
The miniDSP 2x8 being a new product, there is always going to be some new information added over time (app notes, forum post) though at this time, the user manual is quite comprehensive. Most features to be released will be added to the user manual at a later time...
The plug-in for the miniDSP 2x8 (actually labelled 4x10) is indeed included in the price of the miniDSP board as an intro price for the new platform. Note however that this offer won't last as we start to add new plug-ins and will indeed be part of the cost.
Having a bulk cost of all plug-ins is indeed a good idea for some but may not serve others who are looking for the lowest price.. It's tough to please everybody!
Thanks for taking the time to post your project on our forum,
DevTeam
Glad to hear that you're having fun with our miniDSP products.
The miniDSP 2x8 being a new product, there is always going to be some new information added over time (app notes, forum post) though at this time, the user manual is quite comprehensive. Most features to be released will be added to the user manual at a later time...
The plug-in for the miniDSP 2x8 (actually labelled 4x10) is indeed included in the price of the miniDSP board as an intro price for the new platform. Note however that this offer won't last as we start to add new plug-ins and will indeed be part of the cost.
Having a bulk cost of all plug-ins is indeed a good idea for some but may not serve others who are looking for the lowest price.. It's tough to please everybody!
Thanks for taking the time to post your project on our forum,
DevTeam
I have the minidsp for a week now , after playing with the pecs and xovers i basicly endup with xover values very similar to the original xover from JBL (guess they knew what they were doing ). I have only good things to say about minidsp so far , very easy to setup , once rid of the pass xover the speakers show what they realy can do. After setting up the correct volume for the amps without equalizing ( i use 5 amps : 1 for each sub , 1 for woofers , 1 for mids , 1 for tweeters ) , i didnt even need all the pecs available. I´m still learning but if my speakers sound like that in only a week they should still improve a lot .
). I have only good things to say about minidsp so far , very easy to setup , once rid of the pass xover the speakers show what they realy can do. After setting up the correct volume for the amps without equalizing ( i use 5 amps : 1 for each sub , 1 for woofers , 1 for mids , 1 for tweeters ) , i didnt even need all the pecs available. I´m still learning but if my speakers sound like that in only a week they should still improve a lot .Do to concerns about configuration I haven't taken the plunge. Good thing too,as the new nanodsp seems to be a much better fit. I am building a desktop to serve the entertainment area. I didn't have s/pdif, but the new z77 board will have. A 2x8 will make it much easier and cheaper to go 3.1 also. I am wondering if optical cable from nano to mini amps in each speaker will work, as I will use a central external nano, and mini-amps to bi/amp each speaker.
@ Lduarte,
Glad to hear that you're happy with your miniDSP 4x10Hd! Moving to an active setup is indeed requires a bit of time to get all the crossover frequencies + tuning right. Doing a couple of measurements with REW combined with a simulation crossover tool (e.g. ACD tools from Charlie) would be the way to go.
DevTeam
Glad to hear that you're happy with your miniDSP 4x10Hd!
Moving to an active setup is indeed requires a bit of time to get all the crossover frequencies + tuning right. Doing a couple of measurements with REW combined with a simulation crossover tool (e.g. ACD tools from Charlie) would be the way to go. DevTeam
Dear miniDSP,
I am currently running studio monitors from a very high quality DAC/Preamp (SNR>130).
I am building twin subs, and can't decide b/w the 2x8 or 2x4balance for bass management/crossover. For the most part, the 2x4 is perfect, but it seems, at least by the spec sheet, that the 2x8 has higher quality output (better SNR and lower distortion).
How relevant is this? I really do not need the 2x8, but don't want to degrade the DAC output too much either. Do I have a reason to be fearful of the 2x4?
Secondly, can the 2x8 also be powered by USB like the 2x4, and does the kit version come with a power supply, or just the barebones PCB sans the digital i/o and the potentiometer.
Thanks in advance.
I am currently running studio monitors from a very high quality DAC/Preamp (SNR>130).
I am building twin subs, and can't decide b/w the 2x8 or 2x4balance for bass management/crossover. For the most part, the 2x4 is perfect, but it seems, at least by the spec sheet, that the 2x8 has higher quality output (better SNR and lower distortion).
How relevant is this? I really do not need the 2x8, but don't want to degrade the DAC output too much either. Do I have a reason to be fearful of the 2x4?
Secondly, can the 2x8 also be powered by USB like the 2x4, and does the kit version come with a power supply, or just the barebones PCB sans the digital i/o and the potentiometer.
Thanks in advance.
@ Medped,
Sorry for missing to answer to your email. In answer to your question, if you want to use your existing high end DAC, I guess that you could always use the nanoDIGI 2x8 (all digital DSP with SPDIF in/out). Then you can use your own DAC.
The miniDSP 2x8 has indeed better DACs than the miniDSP 2x4. Please read the user manual, questions like powering are all described in great detail.
DevTeam
Sorry for missing to answer to your email. In answer to your question, if you want to use your existing high end DAC, I guess that you could always use the nanoDIGI 2x8 (all digital DSP with SPDIF in/out). Then you can use your own DAC.
The miniDSP 2x8 has indeed better DACs than the miniDSP 2x4. Please read the user manual, questions like powering are all described in great detail.
DevTeam
I've been playing with the 2x4 DSP in a box for a while. Is there anything I can do to minimize the white noise?
The unit is a real joy to play with and it is used in our LAB to find the optimum filtersettings. Its impressive how fast and easy you can change the settings on the fly.
When the noise is reduced we can use it in our production for active speakers where we now mimic the settings found in an opamp based active filter. We would perfer to use the minidsp bare board as it would allow optimizing production units when fully finnished.
The unit is a real joy to play with and it is used in our LAB to find the optimum filtersettings. Its impressive how fast and easy you can change the settings on the fly.
When the noise is reduced we can use it in our production for active speakers where we now mimic the settings found in an opamp based active filter. We would perfer to use the minidsp bare board as it would allow optimizing production units when fully finnished.
The noise spec of the 2x4 is very good, so it might be your power supply. Look for a low noise regulated linear PS. You can test out the potential improvement using batteries...
-Charlie
Have the noise results reported at the following link (see Reply #113) for the 2x8 board been encountered by anyone else?
New miniDSP 2x8 / 4x10 card
New miniDSP 2x8 / 4x10 card
I believe that noise is nominal for the 2x8/4x10 card. It's the result of the noise shaping used within the system architecture and not abnormal for this device.
It seems when I made those measurements I have just confused folks with the results. That was not my intention.
Depending upon power amp gain and speaker sensitivity this noise is (probably) not even audible.
Cheers,
Dave.
It seems when I made those measurements I have just confused folks with the results. That was not my intention.
Depending upon power amp gain and speaker sensitivity this noise is (probably) not even audible.
Cheers,
Dave.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.