Narukama

Hi Youreye, Thanks for the information. I will set up my system in around 2 months from now. I will post my before/after calibration. Thanks again.

I already ordered from miniDSP and since there was no option I guess my UMIK-1 will only be suitable for measuring room only which is what I solemnly intend to do (for now) This is my 1st mic purchase & obviously it is more complex than I thought. Thanks all.

Thanks iago, however I'm still confused because here: Dirac Online Store. UMIK-1 USB Measurement Microphone It says that it is provided with a unique calibration file based on the serial number to ensure accurate measurements. so since the calibration file is based on unique serial number i assume each UMIK-1 is calibrated properly. Or this calibration file is generic? thanks for the explanation.

Hi, I read in DIRAC website there are 3 recommended microphone for DIRAC: 1. miniDSP UMIK-1 microphone around $75 2. XTZ Microphone Pro around &170 3. Earthworks M23 around $459 + Phantom Power? My question is, if DIRAC is used for 2 channel audio system and 5.1 HT, using those 3 microphones, would the sound quality end result (after being optimized by DIRAC) be quite different? Or the result will be the same since all the microphones are calibrated? If there will be a difference in sound, what one should expect by using affordable UMIK-1, medium price XTZ and expensive M23? As a newbie I don't mind invest in M23 but only If the end result would be significantly better than say the UMIK-1. I really appreciated if someone would explain to me in layman term and surely hoping to hear from someone who has tried those 3 microphones. Other brand and type suggestion as additional option are also welcome and needed. Thanks and Cheers, Narukama

Actually I plan to cross my subs at 120Hz/24db & 50Hz/24db. It doesn't mean L sub crossed at 120Hz and the right at 50Hz. They would be crossed at the same point depends on the material source for example those subs will be operated in stereo at 50Hz for music playback. But those same subs will also be used in mono in 5.2 configuration when I watch movies. My subs both are SVS SB13-ULTRA. I required 2 different LPF because I use different LR speakers. For music I use a pair of Dynaudio Confidence C1 Signature and for movie I use 5 Paradigm MilleniaOne speakers. So I plan to bypass the internal SB13's XO, EQ, etc and perhaps will only adjust polarity if needed. If I don't bypass the SB13's XO then I have to set the XO at 50Hz for music. For movie I could set the XO at 120Hz using my AVR. But that means everytime I switch the sources I have to manually turn the SB13's XO on for musicc & off for movie. I am too lazy to do that and it's dangerous because my 11 y.o. kid would also use my audio/HT system. So that is the whole reason why I need one external XO with stereo subs output or two XO with one sub output. I didn't tell the whole story because it would be a very long letter & my main objective is only to know whether Dirac could be used to delay a certain freq range (group delay?) to compensate/time align my subs and mains (if the external XO and SB13's DSP cause high latency). This information will also be useful if in the future I use wireless transmitter and receiver and I know at least one device that has 27ms latency! Convert that to ft and you can imagine what my room would look like. To answer your question why I don't want to high pass my mains through Berh, there are 2 reasons: 1. most of my music files are 24/96-192 and quite many DSD which goes to a DSD PCM DAC which sound I really love. Going through Berh means another AD-DC conversion process which also down sampled any music beyond 96Hz. As good as Berh ADC-DAC is, I doubt it would sound anywhere near my current DSD PCM DAC. So you're right, I don't want to sacrife the sound from my Dyn C1. I Don't mind to compromise the bass sound quality from the subs though. I believe my ears couldn't tell the difference anyway. 2. It should be obvious by now that I use 2 different type of speakers. Anyone has any idea how to time aligned my subs and LR mains speakers? I prefer to do it in my comp by using a software, plug in or whatever else because I want to preserve the sound quality produce by my DAC and Integrated amp. Thanks for reading this long letter. Cheers, Narukama

Thanks for the info Flavio.

Hi all, please bear with me because I will describe my system first before go to my question. I plan to try Dirac as my DRC. I use win 8 and JRiver 19 as a player outputting 2.0 channels since my DAC ionly accept 2. 0 channels input and outputting 2. 0 as well. My set up is pretty simple. Laptop - USB - 2ch DAC - unbalanced RCA - integrated amplifier (with LR outputs) - the mains speakers has passive XO and connected by speaker wires from speaker terminals in the integrated. However for my stereo subwoofers the chain is a little different : preamp LR output - Behringer DCX2496 (active crossover with stereo subwoofers output) - powered subwoofers. Again the Behringer would be used srictly as an active XO for strereo subwoofers only. It won't have any connection to my mains at all. I want to run my mains "full range" without HPF and let their natural drop off naturally. My concern is the Behringer's latency. I don't know the exact number yet but expect to get reply from Behringer soon. But that's kind of not the main point. My point is if the latency too high that I have to move the subs closer to my sitting area, I can't do that without involving a divorce lawyerr LOL. Here is the main question, assuming the Behringer's latency is 5ms and I cross the LPF at 120Hz/24db, would I be able to apply 5ms delay for frequency above 120Hz (hopefully I could set the slope to 24db also) using Dirac to compensate the delay caused by Behringer? Or perhaps JRiver could do that as well? Assuming eiter Dirac or JRiver could do group delay but not be able to set the slope below 120Hz) Am I correct to say hat means all my speakers are time alligned,? What will happen on the over lap freq around 120Hz? My mains are small ported monitors which roll off around 100Hz with 24db slope. So there is a considerably huge 20Hz gap between 100-120Hz and some freq bellow and above those points (the over lap freq down slope). So I imagine if my subs are delayed because the latency from the Behringer while my mains are not delayed I don't think I would get good sound. Am I correct to expect that the sound near the XO LPF point would be bad? Would anyone kindly explain in layman terms how the sound will be affected. Such as the sound near that freq would has "echo" or maybe they would out of phase and produce cancelation or that group delay would create deep null/peak in my freq response, etc? And again could DIRAC solves my problem? Note: I apologize for my writing errors and wrong technical terms. Feel free to correct me. My native language is Indonesian and I'm very new in home audio / HT hobby also don't have EE knowledge at all. Cheers, Thomas Narukama

Flavio, I'm a prospective buyer. If I buy the current 24/96 version now and later the 24/192 comes out, will it be a free update or a little charge or I have to buy the 24/192 Dirac as a whole and uninstall the 24/96 version? Thanks, Thomas

Thanks again Marc. Now that I know I don't need USB card such as SOTM I will look into mini pc with ssd and no fan to avoid mechanical noise that plaque my current laptop and reduce the OS function to bare minimum. Narukama

Thanks Marc for the explanatio. Beside the silent mechanical operation of CAPS, how does clean power from linear psu or battery will benefit me if my DAC doesn't require power from USB input? Is the data sent through USB is "polluted" by "dirty" power such as jittered? I guess my question is if I use a regular but powerful and silent laptop that is operated with its battery would produce the same SQ as CAPS v3? I mainly interested in using USB connection which should be available in every laptop. Thanks.

Hi all, I am a newbie without computer knowledge. It's time for me to replace my old Intel Centrino laptop (win 7 64bit, Jriver 19) and buy a dedicated computer (laptop or desktop) as my audio player. Files are stored in NAS. I consider to buy CAPS v3 Zuma from Small Green Computer but I do have some basic questions. I have a DAC (Lampizator L5 + DSD) with asynchronous USB connection and the USB chip has its own psu so it doesn't require power from USB input. Question is, in my DAC case would using CAPS yields to better SQ compare with regular computer (assuming the regular computer is also silent). Thank you all.