I'm wondering if anyone has used or heard speakers made with the Dayton DSPB Series electronics as a DSP crossover and if so, how's the sound quality on them, both the options with and without included amplification.
I find the pricing to be very attractive - I've avoided going the DSP route in the past because it's been both more expensive than passive (at lower order XOs) and I don't have enough amplification channels. This product line seems to solve both of those issues, bringing the price basically to about the same level as passive with included amplification (DSPB-250 and KEB-100 for 3-way), or cheaper if you opt for no amplification (DSPB-K and DSPB-KE). I also love how flexible and easy to use it seems.
I hesitate to consider using these in a higher end speaker design though because at that price point I'm skeptical of the quality of the sound from the signal processing and amplification. Personally, I have difficulty hearing the difference between amps as long as one isn't absolute trash (don't think I could identify my class AB NAD C372 over my Onkyo receiver, which uses Op Amps, if using only amplification on each in an A/B test), but I've found that I'm pretty sensitive to different DACs.
So
1. How's the quality of the analog/digital conversion on this?
2. Is it worth using or should I really just go with minidsp or something else instead?
3. Are the amplification channels decent or do they fall into the trash category?
Any information is helpful 🙂
Thanks everyone!
I find the pricing to be very attractive - I've avoided going the DSP route in the past because it's been both more expensive than passive (at lower order XOs) and I don't have enough amplification channels. This product line seems to solve both of those issues, bringing the price basically to about the same level as passive with included amplification (DSPB-250 and KEB-100 for 3-way), or cheaper if you opt for no amplification (DSPB-K and DSPB-KE). I also love how flexible and easy to use it seems.
I hesitate to consider using these in a higher end speaker design though because at that price point I'm skeptical of the quality of the sound from the signal processing and amplification. Personally, I have difficulty hearing the difference between amps as long as one isn't absolute trash (don't think I could identify my class AB NAD C372 over my Onkyo receiver, which uses Op Amps, if using only amplification on each in an A/B test), but I've found that I'm pretty sensitive to different DACs.
So
1. How's the quality of the analog/digital conversion on this?
2. Is it worth using or should I really just go with minidsp or something else instead?
3. Are the amplification channels decent or do they fall into the trash category?
Any information is helpful 🙂
Thanks everyone!
Last edited:
Hi,
The DSPB-K board is based on the same chip as the minidsp 2x4, the ADAU1701. This chip has the ADC Dsp and Dac on board, so I expect both to have a very similar performance. The MINIdsp software may be easier to handle, but the DSPB-K is apparently more flexible (eg finer resolution on delays).
Best regards, Erik
The DSPB-K board is based on the same chip as the minidsp 2x4, the ADAU1701. This chip has the ADC Dsp and Dac on board, so I expect both to have a very similar performance. The MINIdsp software may be easier to handle, but the DSPB-K is apparently more flexible (eg finer resolution on delays).
Best regards, Erik
Thanks for the insight Erik! It's good to hear that the digital processing is high quality since that's probably the more important piece to me.
Now I just have to figure out whether to go with the dspb amplification, or buy a quality used multichannel amp!
Now I just have to figure out whether to go with the dspb amplification, or buy a quality used multichannel amp!
I have a mini 2X4 with the ADAU1701 and I didnt like its sound for some reason - by the time the music went through all the "to and back from digital" conversions - again - I assume. If only it was a simple USB DAC that happened to have DSP and 4 analog outputs...
I like the sound of my Zoudio amp. TI got something right in their "1-bit" power D/A converter, pretty much driving the speaker directly after converting the music data digital word into a PWM % - at > 700kHz. At least to my ears; others perception may vary.
I like the sound of my Zoudio amp. TI got something right in their "1-bit" power D/A converter, pretty much driving the speaker directly after converting the music data digital word into a PWM % - at > 700kHz. At least to my ears; others perception may vary.
I do wish the dspb had digital input. Seems senseless to convert to analog, then back to digital for the crossover, then back to analog again for amplification.