Dirac Live® is unique in that it improves the impulse response throughout the listening area, not just in a particular zone. A loudspeaker’s impulse response affects staging, clarity, detail and all spatial aspects of the sound. However, they do provide a medium level explanation of the system on their website, quoted here:īy using mixed-phase correction we can enable impulse response correction. I won’t pretend to be versed in the algorithms that are running behind the scene and Dirac themselves aren’t willingly providing the engineering level details. What makes Dirac Live work is complicated. The ideal result is a speaker that acts as true to a point-source (single object emanating sound) as it can within the limitations of the speaker itself, of course. You use a microphone and measure the system response at various positions (depending on the goal) and DL will take it from there. Depending on the application it can be used to measure and correct a basic 2-channel stereo or a 7.1 surround sound system. It works to adjust speaker response issues in both amplitude and time based on the speaker response and room’s influence. In a nutshell, Dirac Live (DL) is an automated room correction utility. This review will focus on the combination of the MiniDSP + Dirac Live. The above information comes from the product page here:
#DIRAC LIVE TUTORIAL FULL#
On the output side, 12 RCA outputs combined with a full eight channels of Dirac Live processing make the C-DSP 8x12 DL adaptable for active crossover systems as well as multichannel/surround installations with subwoofer integration. Comprehensive I/O includes six differential low-level analog inputs for low noise pickup, high-level inputs for connection to head units with power amplification, and stereo SPDIF and TOSLINK digital inputs. Dirac Live® room correction, a 400 MHz SHARC floatingpoint processor and 32-bit AKM converters with –107 dB THD+N specification deliver pristine high-resolution audio in any cabin environment. MiniDSP is proud to introduce the new flagship C-DSP 8x12 DL in-car digital audio processor. The C-DSP 8x12 with Dirac Live takes the MiniDSP 8x12 v2 and adds the following features:
#DIRAC LIVE TUTORIAL LICENSE#
As capable as the MiniDSP C-DSP 8x12 is on its own, what really steps things up to the next level is the addition of Dirac Live (add-on cost of $400 for the license and UMIK-1 measurement microphone). Then there’s the inclusion of a remote for preset selection and subwoofer volume control. With the 6 analog inputs and 12 analog outputs, it’s more than capable of taking a 2-channel input signal and splitting that up to 3-way active (tweeter/midrange/midbass) + subwoofer and still have enough channels to incorporate differential rear fill for those who want to do that. There are the staples of what we in car audio (and home audio) have come to adore such as time delay, level adjustments and parametric EQ. On its own the C-DSP 8x12 is an excellent product and the $499 MSRP makes it even more enticing. Fast-forward to now, August 2019, and I am holding the future almost literally in my hands with the MiniDSP C-DSP 8x12 with Dirac Live. Though, at the time it was not quite ready for full scale implementation for the car audio market, it was an exciting glimpse in to what the future may hold. I tested an original MiniDSP 2x4 way back in 2010. This product’s inclusion of Dirac Live takes what was normally a tough and arduous task wrought full of confusion for newcomers and transforms it in to a relatively easy to use package with incredible results.įor some number of years now, MiniDSP has been producing some very affordable, yet powerful products for home and car audio enthusiasts alike. And, obviously, as with anything relating to audio in a room, your results may differ from mine.ĭSPs in car audio are a necessity. My discussion in that regard will only be intended as supplemental. I have linked various documents for that purpose.
#DIRAC LIVE TUTORIAL HOW TO#
While this review is intended to provide insight in to the use and subjective opinion of the end result of the MiniDSP with Dirac Live, it is not intended to be a full tutorial on how to tune with Dirac Live. This can be purchased directly from or through Parts-Express.
Up for review is the MiniDSP C-DSP 8x12 with Dirac Live.