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I've been following Tom's crossover thread and wanted to ask the gang what their thoughts were regarding experimenting with MiniDSP's?
There seems to be so many moving parts and endless experiments to be done, along with the cost of buying multiple caps etc, etc....
I am wondering what the downside is with experimenting with a miniDSP ? And how the results could translate to the design of a "permanent" crossover?
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I'm using a new MiniDSP (original 4x out) here for subs and tweeters. It's a lot of fun. Yes, you can adjust on the fly in real time while listening, including EQ etc. It's cheap so why not. But, don't expect much regarding sound quality from the simple DACs on board.I find that you also have to be quite careful that you do not run out of digital headroom. For example, if you use the 2V-in model, then 2V RMS input is 0db digital, or it appears that way to me. So, you can't then use any digital boost at all. All EQ must be subtractive. The alternative is to use digital attenuation at the input it seems, -10db for example would allow 10db boost afterwards. But, the device already has about 7db of attenuation, as 2V in equals 0.9V out (about -7db), both at digital max. So, if you used 10db of input attenuation, you would have a baseline of -17db, which is a lot. But, you can't boost the input signal to compensate, because that would drive the input over the 2V digital max. So, you would have to have analog line amplification afterwards. I'm having some difficulty here with level matching for reasons such as these.
You can use the nanoDIGI for digital processing only. However, I think I would use the SHARC board instead. It is only a little more expensive, and has eight channels plus a mountain of processing power including FIR capability. However, it only has I2S out. MiniDIGI needs a good eight-channel, I2S input DAC to mate with this. You could use the Twisted Pear Buffalo Sabre 9018 board, but then things get real complicated (and expensive).
One alternative is to use the MiniDIGI I2S-input Class D power amplifiers. These do 20W in bridged mode, and are $60 for two channels (bridge mode). I don't know how it sounds -- my experience with Tripath low-power Class D solutions basically were sucky -- but it would be a nice solution that would skip the whole DAC issue.
Edits: 04/30/14
Can you share the website or blog?
http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=hug&m=160168
nt
I'm using NanoDigi, and two stereo DACs (one for high, one for low). To my ears it sounds clearly best when clocked at 96kHz, so I'm up-sampling on a PC (with sox) rather than letting the NanoDigi ASRC do the work.
It's not completely ideal. For example, I can't sit on the couch with an iPad and change the crossover curves. And it doesn't integrate well with my measurement system, which right now uses a 744t. I guess that's what you get for cobbling things together.
The sound is really excellent. This is not just an experimentation tool, it's a permanent part of my system now.
I'm going to get the miniDSP shortly. One of great features is that using Room Equalizer Wizard (REW) software you can automatically generate the parametric EQ settings to flatten the measured response. I'm using the Dayton Audio UMM-6 USB mic directly into my laptop. A very simplistic and accurate solution.
I've featured how to do this on my blog however I'm using JRiver Media Center right now, but I'll transfer the DSP settings to the miniDSP once I get it.
I've tried flattening various speakers I have on hand using this method and it's amazing how much an improvement it makes to any speaker I've done. A flat frequency response does matter!I'm eager to see as well if the miniDSP can match the sound quality of a proper passive crossover.
I plan on getting the nanoDIGI 2x8 which requires you use a DAC for each channel, which is good because I want to use my own DACs. Also, I'm pretty sure that the miniDSP will use the master clock in my Hiface EVO usb interface, which is a high accuracy clock.
http://www.minidsp.com/products/minidsp-in-a-box/nanodigi-2x8-b
Edits: 04/22/14
I think an electronic crossover is the new prototyping tool of the 21 century. Even if you build up passive, the DSP based xo lets you compare multiple subtly different topologies before buying the parts.
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"When Khruschev said "we will bury you" I don't think he meant with surplus parts." zacster
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