Looking to add MiniDSP to existing Pre-Pro for Dirac Live

[Deleted]

Howdy, 

My main objective is to add better room correction and have been eyeing Minidsp.com. Interested if anyone has any suggestions mainly which models. Here's my relevant system setup as information needed:

• Pre-Pro= Onkyo PR-RZ5100 has both XLR and RCA outs.
• Amp= Parasound Halo A31
  
• Subs= Two active subs with RCA inputs

The system is a 3.2 = LCR + two subs. I'd like to connect the existing Pre-Pro to a Minidsp which then feeds the signals into my amp and two subs. 

I'd like to use XLR throughout except for the outputs from the minidsp to the two subs which will require RCA. 

In other words I'd like to connect the Pre-Pro to the minidsp using XLR. And I'd like the minidsp to connect to the amp through XLR. I'd like the minidsp to connect to the subs through RCA. 

Here're two products I'm currently looking at. If you have any experience or suggestions please post!

www.minidsp.com/products/dirac-series/ddrc-88a
www.minidsp.com/products/streaming-hd-series/shd

[audiobill]

The SHD Studio should be good.

[megash0n]

Jul 19, 2020 10:00:59 GMT -5 @shimei said:

Howdy, 

My main objective is to add better room correction and have been eyeing Minidsp.com. Interested if anyone has any suggestions mainly which models. Here's my relevant system setup as information needed:

• Pre-Pro= Onkyo PR-RZ5100 has both XLR and RCA outs.
• Amp= Parasound Halo A31
  
• Subs= Two active subs with RCA inputs

The system is a 3.2 = LCR + two subs. I'd like to connect the existing Pre-Pro to a Minidsp which then feeds the signals into my amp and two subs. 

I'd like to use XLR throughout except for the outputs from the minidsp to the two subs which will require RCA. 

In other words I'd like to connect the Pre-Pro to the minidsp using XLR. And I'd like the minidsp to connect to the amp through XLR. I'd like the minidsp to connect to the subs through RCA. 

Here're two products I'm currently looking at. If you have any experience or suggestions please post!

www.minidsp.com/products/dirac-series/ddrc-88a
www.minidsp.com/products/streaming-hd-series/shd

While I like both of those products, unless you want to use Dirac, or have the upgrade capability, I think both of those are overkill. I assume you picked both due to the capability to run both XLR and RCA. If you have no intention of running Dirac, I would suggest considering a 2x4 XLR for your amp and 2x4 HD for the subs. The HD will give you more timing control as well. If the money isn't a problem, might as well make a splash with the Streaming HD. That one seems very flexible. EBay may have either for a better price. I've searched for the first one you linked. I'm currently evaluating whether or not to sell my RMC and buy an XMC-2 or something else. I'd prefer running a channel expansion card and Dirac Bass Control, but I'm not sure we will see either of those items this year. Once one invests in MiniDSP, it's harder to justify spending money on channel expansion cards.
Now, I'm reading your title again and realizing you said Dirac Live. Sorry for missing that. If I'm not mistaken, buying the streaming HD is cheaper than the other plus the add-ons. You can't run Dirac on anything less than what you listed with XLR negating my entire post. 😂😂😂

[Deleted]

Jul 19, 2020 10:23:45 GMT -5 megash0n said:

Jul 19, 2020 10:00:59 GMT -5 @shimei said:

Howdy, 

My main objective is to add better room correction and have been eyeing Minidsp.com. Interested if anyone has any suggestions mainly which models. Here's my relevant system setup as information needed:

• Pre-Pro= Onkyo PR-RZ5100 has both XLR and RCA outs.
• Amp= Parasound Halo A31
  
• Subs= Two active subs with RCA inputs

The system is a 3.2 = LCR + two subs. I'd like to connect the existing Pre-Pro to a Minidsp which then feeds the signals into my amp and two subs. 

I'd like to use XLR throughout except for the outputs from the minidsp to the two subs which will require RCA. 

In other words I'd like to connect the Pre-Pro to the minidsp using XLR. And I'd like the minidsp to connect to the amp through XLR. I'd like the minidsp to connect to the subs through RCA. 

Here're two products I'm currently looking at. If you have any experience or suggestions please post!

www.minidsp.com/products/dirac-series/ddrc-88a
www.minidsp.com/products/streaming-hd-series/shd

While I like both of those products, unless you want to use Dirac, or have the upgrade capability, I think both of those are overkill. I assume you picked both due to the capability to run both XLR and RCA. If you have no intention of running Dirac, I would suggest considering a 2x4 XLR for your amp and 2x4 HD for the subs. The HD will give you more timing control as well. If the money isn't a problem, might as well make a splash with the Streaming HD. That one seems very flexible. EBay may have either for a better price. I've searched for the first one you linked. I'm currently evaluating whether or not to sell my RMC and buy an XMC-2 or something else. I'd prefer running a channel expansion card and Dirac Bass Control, but I'm not sure we will see either of those items this year. Once one invests in MiniDSP, it's harder to justify spending money on channel expansion cards.
Now, I'm reading your title again and realizing you said Dirac Live. Sorry for missing that. If I'm not mistaken, buying the streaming HD is cheaper than the other plus the add-ons. You can't run Dirac on anything less than what you listed with XLR negating my entire post. 😂😂😂

Thanks, 
I notice the SHD has Dirac Live 2.0 and the DDRC-88A has Dirac Live 3.0. Also, the DDRC-88A has upgrades besides various connection types but also in Bass management. 

I'll talk to the company before ordering just to make sure but wanted help, suggestions, etc before speaking to someone there in order to have a better understanding. 

[audiobill]

Have you thought about really learning REW and using its filters with Roon convolution?

MUCH less expensive, and you'll learn a ton about your room and DSP generally.

[Deleted]

Jul 20, 2020 6:00:30 GMT -5 audiobill said:

Have you thought about really learning REW and using its filters with Roon convolution?

MUCH less expensive, and you'll learn a ton about your room and DSP generally.

I haven't. But to put things into perspective I only have an Ipad and no laptop nor computer to dedicate to the system. 

Wouldn't I need a PC, Laptop etc for the system to implement filters going that way?

The reason the minidsp products were appealing to me was that I learned I could use my ipad to go through the setup for Dirac and once done basically forget about it. 

[Deleted]

I just pulled the trigger on the Minidsp DDRC-88A with Bass Management. Looking forward to working with Dirac Live 3.

[Deleted]

Ordered two 36 foot long 2.0 USBs with repeaters for the mic and link up to my PC in another room.......

Then realized there's an available wifi adapter for the Minidsp DDRC-88A.

Looks like I'll only be using one of the USB cables for the mic after ordering the wifi adapter.

[Deleted]

I do not recommend minidsp products. Received my unit only to find out that to use it I had to unscrew the top cover, switch wiring connector, flash to another firmware....... The unit is a brick. Ridiculous for a brand new unit to be disassembled in such a way and firmware updated to use it. The unit is useless and not even a day old.

I purchased with PayPal and am pursuing that route to dispute and get my 1200.00 dollars back.

[audiobill]

Good to know, thanks.

[megash0n]

Jul 30, 2020 12:16:58 GMT -5 @shimei said:

I do not recommend minidsp products. Received my unit only to find out that to use it I had to unscrew the top cover, switch wiring connector, flash to another firmware....... The unit is a brick. Ridiculous for a brand new unit to be disassembled in such a way and firmware updated to use it. The unit is useless and not even a day old.

I purchased with PayPal and am pursuing that route to dispute and get my 1200.00 dollars back.

that sucks to hear, but the version you bought does require an update in order to run Dirac. Which, I'm pretty sure you knew thru all the discussions. In hindsight, maybe that SHD version would have been better? Will they ship you a new one?

[Deleted]

Jul 30, 2020 13:03:04 GMT -5 megash0n said:

Jul 30, 2020 12:16:58 GMT -5 @shimei said:

I do not recommend minidsp products. Received my unit only to find out that to use it I had to unscrew the top cover, switch wiring connector, flash to another firmware....... The unit is a brick. Ridiculous for a brand new unit to be disassembled in such a way and firmware updated to use it. The unit is useless and not even a day old.

I purchased with PayPal and am pursuing that route to dispute and get my 1200.00 dollars back.

that sucks to hear, but the version you bought does require an update in order to run Dirac. Which, I'm pretty sure you knew thru all the discussions. In hindsight, maybe that SHD version would have been better? Will they ship you a new one?

Not interested. Customer support's number is in Hong Kong and doubtful that support speaks English. Not to mention there was an unseen 130+ charge by the shipping company for customs. 

I didn't do my research enough. 

The unit I bought could of have came with the update already indicated by a green sticker on the unit. It did not......

[megash0n]

Jul 30, 2020 13:09:46 GMT -5 @shimei said:

Jul 30, 2020 13:03:04 GMT -5 megash0n said:

that sucks to hear, but the version you bought does require an update in order to run Dirac. Which, I'm pretty sure you knew thru all the discussions. In hindsight, maybe that SHD version would have been better? Will they ship you a new one?

Not interested. Customer support's number is in Hong Kong and doubtful that support speaks English. Not to mention there was an unseen 130+ charge by the shipping company for customs. 

I didn't do my research enough. 

The unit I bought could of have came with the update already indicated by a green sticker on the unit. It did not......

sorry dude. I hope you can get your cash back.

[Deleted]

Jul 30, 2020 16:36:08 GMT -5 megash0n said:

Jul 30, 2020 13:09:46 GMT -5 @shimei said:

Not interested. Customer support's number is in Hong Kong and doubtful that support speaks English. Not to mention there was an unseen 130+ charge by the shipping company for customs. 

I didn't do my research enough. 

The unit I bought could of have came with the update already indicated by a green sticker on the unit. It did not......

sorry dude. I hope you can get your cash back.

Customer support was actually able to walk me through a process to recover the unit! There's an internal button which has to be depressed while accessing the unit from the software in order to successfully start the boot loader program to update the firmware. They've turned me around and I retract my previous statement which was made when I was very concerned over my purchase. 

[leonski]

you didn't want to deal with the Jumpers?

And yes, I TOO HAVE had to be talked out of that SAME TREE. I've since learned that people designed it and they are Just People. So if I can slow down, than I can usually work thru any glitch.

The EXCEPTION? I had a TOP END Cambridge Audio CD player. All sorts of features, including multiple digital inputs and some odd tech. It sounded fabulous EXCEPT it didn't like my Apple AirPort Express.

I fed the player a digital signal which periodocally made the MOST AWFUL noise. CA would NOT update the FW for free. The shop where I bought it even wanted a fee. So I went and bought a Null Modem cable.

And made sure I had the right software on my laptop....the only computer I owned or had access to which had a SERIAL PORT. I got right up to doing it and chickened out. CA would NOT help me if I bricked the

player. So I sold it at a LOSS and THAT pissed me off even more.

Makes me feel good about my thinking about the 2x4HD for my biamp project.

[Deleted]

Jul 31, 2020 0:49:48 GMT -5 leonski said:

you didn't want to deal with the Jumpers?

And yes, I TOO HAVE had to be talked out of that SAME TREE. I've since learned that people designed it and they are Just People. So if I can slow down, than I can usually work thru any glitch.

The EXCEPTION? I had a TOP END Cambridge Audio CD player. All sorts of features, including multiple digital inputs and some odd tech. It sounded fabulous EXCEPT it didn't like my Apple AirPort Express.

I fed the player a digital signal which periodocally made the MOST AWFUL noise. CA would NOT update the FW for free. The shop where I bought it even wanted a fee. So I went and bought a Null Modem cable.

And made sure I had the right software on my laptop....the only computer I owned or had access to which had a SERIAL PORT. I got right up to doing it and chickened out. CA would NOT help me if I bricked the

player. So I sold it at a LOSS and THAT pissed me off even more.

Makes me feel good about my thinking about the 2x4HD for my biamp project.

Lemme post the actual instructions. I'm sure you'll see the techy stuff behind their post which I found impressive, I mean I've had bios flashes go bad on computers and resolved the issue by swapping out a good bios chip from a running computer and replacing the bad and then once started replace the chip back to the bad flashing it back to life. The fact that this hardware has this built in is in my opinion impressive. 


Then follow these steps:



1. Power off the DDRC-88 unit, connect DDRC-88 to PC with USB cable.



2. Open DDRC-88BM software, select from the top menu bar: "Restore" → "Upgrade Firmware" → click the "Yes" button, a firmware upgrade tool will pop-up.



3. Press-and-hold the white button on top of the miniSHARC (the upper square add-on board, see DDRC-88BM_mini_white_button_on_sharc.jpg attached in this email) and apply power again, the firmware upgrade tool will show "Device attached", if you see this, you can then release the button.



4. Follow the steps in user manual p.55 (for Windows, see section 9.4.1 steps 6 ~ 9) or p.57 (for Mac, see section 9.4.2 steps 6 ~ 9) to do the firmware upgrade using the firmware file ENC_DDRC88BM_Ver2.2x_SS.hex (available in your downloaded plugin zip package).



5. In the DDRC-88BM software, click the "Connect" button to connect again.



Note: In case the external usb port at the back of the DDRC-88A box cannot work, you can also try connect PC to DDRC-88A's mini-USB port directly with a USB cable to try to connect with DDRC-88-BM plugin, see DDRC-88BM_mini_usb_port_on_sharc.jpg attached in this email.



Hoping this info helps and feel free to contact us if you have further questions.

[leonski]

That ain't bad.....IF you follow the directions.

for my CAMERA?
It shipped with FW 1.01 or some such. Almost immediately complaints were HEARD about some features. Nikon issued I think 2.0 than 2.1 than finally
3.0 which included eye focus for PETS. It works and will follw a moving pet or camera motion. Autofocus has come a LONG way.
right now? I just was notified that 3.1 is available with a few more incremental improvements. Including support for CFExpress memory. Can you say $$$$?

1. Format memory card (XQD, not SD or CF) in the camera.
2. Download the new FW to your computer. I put it on thedesktop where it's easy to find.
3. Put the file in the folder created by the format....a simple drag and drop.
SAFERLLY EJECT card from your confuser.
4. Install card in camera and go to the menu tools, FW Update and press go.

IU've done this a coupe times and it i easy. Not at all like dealing with the CA 850 or whatever CD player.

[Deleted]

Jul 31, 2020 2:04:46 GMT -5 leonski said:

That ain't bad.....IF you follow the directions.

for my CAMERA?
It shipped with FW 1.01 or some such. Almost immediately complaints were HEARD about some features. Nikon issued I think 2.0 than 2.1 than finally
3.0 which included eye focus for PETS. It works and will follw a moving pet or camera motion. Autofocus has come a LONG way.
right now? I just was notified that 3.1 is available with a few more incremental improvements. Including support for CFExpress memory. Can you say $$$$?

1. Format memory card (XQD, not SD or CF) in the camera.
2. Download the new FW to your computer. I put it on thedesktop where it's easy to find.
3. Put the file in the folder created by the format....a simple drag and drop.
SAFERLLY EJECT card from your confuser.
4. Install card in camera and go to the menu tools, FW Update and press go.

IU've done this a coupe times and it i easy. Not at all like dealing with the CA 850 or whatever CD player.

I was just informed as a result of our dialogue Minidsp is editing out the necessity of having to update the firmware in the online manual. The process is actually outdated in the online manual, the actual device doesn't come with a physical manual....... the updating only needs to be done for very old model/versions. 

[leonski]

As part of my duties when I worked semiconductor manufactureing, I had to maintain documentation. Procedures were IT and not to be disobeyed.

So I can attest to the fact that keeping such paperwork both accurate AND up to date can be a daunting task.

[audiobill]

So how does it sound, Shimei?

Thinking about the SHD for room correction.