zobsky Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 4 hours ago, jason str said: I thought of the same thing going over the websight, if i had tons of disposable income it may have been an option. Also, FWIW,... this product is priced more reasonably but still doesn't have the input flexibility that I would like to see. https://www.minidsp.com/products/opendrc-series/opendrc-da8 On the other hand, there's also this gizmo that can "minidsp-enable" any HDMI equipped 7.1 home theater receiver but it doesn't support some of the newer HD codecs, if i remember correctly. Unfortunate ... https://www.minidsp.com/products/ht-series/nanoavr-hd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 14 hours ago, zobsky said: The 4x10 HD is a bit too much $$ for me plus it doesn't have the input options that the 2x4HD offers. Like what? It's two RCA inputs, not sure what you mean. Realistically speaking the x10 stuff is a little misleading, two of those outputs are digital or something, you really just have a 4x8 on a 4x10. I was looking at a 10x10, the idea was to have enough for 7.1. I was wanting it for three active speakers plus two subs. I'd have to have four HD's and would end up spending $200 more than just getting the 10x10 plus it would be a big fat mess in the rack. I just don't want it to clip anymore, otherwise the normal 2x4 was all I needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 46 minutes ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said: I was looking at a 10x10, the idea was to have enough for 7.1. Looks like the $820(US) that I paid for a new Xilica XP-8080 was an extremely good deal (including PC-based software). The sound quality has been outstanding: http://xilica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/XP_Manual_v0300.pdf "Just sayin' " Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 34 minutes ago, Chris A said: Looks like the $820(US) that I paid for a new Xilica XP-8080 was an extremely good deal (including PC-based software). The sound quality has been outstanding: http://xilica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/XP_Manual_v0300.pdf "Just sayin' " Chris Looks feature packed but way out of my price range unless a bunch of work runs my way in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 That is a bit pricey. I guess if your into building speakers it could come in handy. Ok course we are getting into come complex setup to need this type of equipment. The I Nuke DSP amps have many of the same features as the Xilica for a much better price if you are going to need amplification as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 I use one XP-8080 to bi-amp my front three and to mono-amp my surrounds (5 surround channels). The sound quality is superb. It costs a lot less than a quality tube amplifier or tube preamp. Why would someone put so much money into tubes then skimp when it comes to probably the most important electronics area? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 Normally i run SS Class A power but this unit would be for a H/K receiver out in the shop. Maybe in the future if i decide to switch things up inside i may consider something more sophisticated. Goal right now is better crossover integration with the sub, EQ the peak out of the La Scala bass bin and time align the horn sub. The Pioneer VSX is OK but sounds lifeless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 4 hours ago, Chris A said: Looks like the $820(US) that I paid for a new Xilica XP-8080 was an extremely good deal (including PC-based software). The sound quality has been outstanding: http://xilica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/XP_Manual_v0300.pdf "Just sayin' " Chris Can you turn all the blinky things off? Looks like a lot of lights for home theater use. The additional bands are definitely interesting, MiniDSP only gives you five on the output, and another five on the input, but it starts getting weird if you combine them too much. 31 all in one spot sounds way better but I'm curious as to if it works the same. MiniDSP lets you control the slope of each eq point, Q I think they call it, which comes in handy when trying to smooth stuff out. Curious as to if this guy can do the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 49 minutes ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said: Can you turn all the blinky things off? Looks like a lot of lights for home theater use. The only light that's on during operation is the little low level yellow-green LCD display (...I'm typing while looking at it). It's very benign. The LED display on my Onkyo AVP and Oppo BDP-103 are much more obnoxious. The input and output channel buttons on the Xilica only turn on when you've selected a channel to edit, and when it boots up during power-up (about 5 seconds). 48 minutes ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said: Q I think they call it, which comes in handy when trying to smooth stuff out. Curious as to if this guy can do the same thing. Yes, all the parametric equalizers use "Q" or bandwidth (inverses of each other). There is a conversion table that Rane publishes in pdf and an Excel add-on. REW does the appropriate output for the type of equalizer model that you're using when you select the appropriate model within REW. It's very easy to set this up in the REW preferences. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khornukopia Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 On 1/6/2017 at 5:54 PM, jason str said: Great news, i will pick one up and give it a try on the good review. Have you had time to try the mini DSP? I am curious if the newer units are quiet, compared to some forum members comments about hiss from the first version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted February 14, 2017 Author Share Posted February 14, 2017 3 hours ago, Khornukopia said: Have you had time to try the mini DSP? I am curious if the newer units are quiet, compared to some forum members comments about hiss from the first version. Not yet, have a few other priorities to take care of first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horatio2 Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 I was an early adopter of minidsp, as it enabled me to solve some long-standing issues that I never could get right using pro-sound analog crossovers. But the early units, as remarkable as they were, had some issues. Particularly regarding the gain structure. I moved to the 2x4 HD and this was a breath of fresh air. The gain structure issues went away, the source selection and volume are now done by hand held remote, and the sound is stunning- quite sharp, detailed, and quiet. I run SET tubes on the top end (Altec 288's into EV HR6040 CD horns, the originals of Keele), and a big MOSFET amp on the bass horn, which is Khorn with opened woofer slot and a much high motor strength woofer. And enclosed sides. All of this to the good, and measurements back it up. Best of all, the sound. The large format old-school CD horns (not the slotted CD horns- those are another kettle of fish) and drivers enable to address some of the long term issues with the Khorn, and the time alignment under active enables imaging that has to be experienced to be believed. I would have no regrets going the minidsp 2x4 HD route as a suggestion, if you are doing a two-way biamp. Hard to beat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zobsky Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 11 hours ago, horatio2 said: I was an early adopter of minidsp, as it enabled me to solve some long-standing issues that I never could get right using pro-sound analog crossovers. But the early units, as remarkable as they were, had some issues. Particularly regarding the gain structure. I moved to the 2x4 HD and this was a breath of fresh air. The gain structure issues went away, the source selection and volume are now done by hand held remote, and the sound is stunning- quite sharp, detailed, and quiet. I run SET tubes on the top end (Altec 288's into EV HR6040 CD horns, the originals of Keele), and a big MOSFET amp on the bass horn, which is Khorn with opened woofer slot and a much high motor strength woofer. And enclosed sides. All of this to the good, and measurements back it up. Best of all, the sound. The large format old-school CD horns (not the slotted CD horns- those are another kettle of fish) and drivers enable to address some of the long term issues with the Khorn, and the time alignment under active enables imaging that has to be experienced to be believed. I would have no regrets going the minidsp 2x4 HD route as a suggestion, if you are doing a two-way biamp. Hard to beat it. I've said this a few times already. The minidsp 2x4HD is superior to the classic 2x4 (which I owned previously). It's not noisy and has a ton of options .. I just wish minidsp would come out with a "2x6HD" BTW, what does opening up the woofer slot net you - you're altering the throat compression ratio? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horatio2 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Opening the slot means going to the original throat dimension. I don't recall off hand, but the later models were something like 3X15, and the original models were more like 6x15. You can search on motorboard and find some of the traffic on this. A lot of the later (~mid 60's and beyond- sure others will chime in who know and can recite the particulars) klipsch production work was to fit woofers that would reach to 400 Hz. I went back to the original concept which was to use a very strong motor and the old motor board. Measures a bit more sensitive, and somewhat better low end, while the response near 400 Hz is not as good. I cross at 300 so I really don't care what the response around 400 looks like- would rather cut the compromise the other way. This is a great system in a 2-way configuration, provided you have the right top end setup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 Had some time now to evaluate the Mini DSP 2x4 HD and the end result is positive, dips, peaks and crossover for subwoofer integration are easily taken care of with a few clicks. Minuses are some driver trouble with Windows 7, i had to disengage driver enforcement by pressing F8 at startup and Windows still wanted to search for drivers but ended up just downloading from the provided software and everything went smooth from there. Very happy with the purchase. Floor noise is minimal and positives far outweigh the negatives. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zobsky Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 15 hours ago, jason str said: Had some time now to evaluate the Mini DSP 2x4 HD and the end result is positive, dips, peaks and crossover for subwoofer integration are easily taken care of with a few clicks. Minuses are some driver trouble with Windows 7, i had to disengage driver enforcement by pressing F8 at startup and Windows still wanted to search for drivers but ended up just downloading from the provided software and everything went smooth from there. Very happy with the purchase. Floor noise is minimal and positives far outweigh the negatives. Thanks for confirming my views 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 On 3/28/2017 at 4:36 PM, jason str said: Had some time now to evaluate the Mini DSP 2x4 HD and the end result is positive, dips, peaks and crossover for subwoofer integration are easily taken care of with a few clicks. Minuses are some driver trouble with Windows 7, i had to disengage driver enforcement by pressing F8 at startup and Windows still wanted to search for drivers but ended up just downloading from the provided software and everything went smooth from there. Very happy with the purchase. Floor noise is minimal and positives far outweigh the negatives. Somehow missed this thread. Mine comes tomorrow. Not sure what I will be doing with it since I really need a 3way but I'll give it a try and maybe gang a second after I get used to the software. 22 hours ago, zobsky said: Thanks for confirming my views Two believers. Excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 23 hours ago, zobsky said: Thanks for confirming my views On 3/28/2017 at 4:36 PM, jason str said: Had some time now to evaluate the Mini DSP 2x4 HD and the end result is positive, dips, peaks and crossover for subwoofer integration are easily taken care of with a few clicks. Minuses are some driver trouble with Windows 7, i had to disengage driver enforcement by pressing F8 at startup and Windows still wanted to search for drivers but ended up just downloading from the provided software and everything went smooth from there. Very happy with the purchase. Floor noise is minimal and positives far outweigh the negatives. Are you using it with digital or analog inputs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 37 minutes ago, pzannucci said: Are you using it with digital or analog inputs? Analog at the moment but may switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 On 3/30/2017 at 9:08 AM, jason str said: Analog at the moment but may switch. Got mine this past weekend. They sent the wrong power / plug so ended up using a old router's 12vdc adapter. Once I got past the Win 7 driver signing problems and understanding what they were talking about in manual (pages show right and left things like that which you have to set) it worked very very well. The 2x4 HD version seems to sound much better than the descriptions of the original and it's noise floor problems. A no-op for the asking price. BTW, this is with a toslink connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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