First streamers featuring Dirac Live®

[flak]

 

The first high performance streamers featuring digital room correction by Dirac Live® have just been announced by miniDSP and raise the bar for high definition audio streaming.

The larger SHD is housed in a full rackmount enclosure (one rack unit) with an OLED front panel.
It features AKM 32bit chipsets and a wide range of input sources including: Volumio player running on Quad Core ARM, Multichannel USB audio, Digital (AES-EBU/SPDIF/TOSLINK), Analog (RCA/Balanced). All 4 x outputs are available as SPDIF out and XLR & RCA out.

For those who already own a DAC and want to stay all digital, the SHD Studio offers exactly that. Its compact enclosure with an OLED front panel also houses a headphone amplifier and has all the bells & whistles of its big brother but without the analog section.

Music streaming can be controlled by iPhones and Android smartphones by using apps for the embedded Volumio audiophile music player.
These streamers run headless so one controls them from a browser or some other device (mobile, tablet etc.)

Preliminary info here: https://www.minidsp.com/products/streaming-hd-series/shd-series

 

Flavio

[PorkChop]

This looks like the one-box solution I've been hoping for.  Because it has analog out, that means it's doing the rendering too, correct? 

 

Excuse my ignorance, but does this mean I can go digital straight to DAC/preamp/speakers without needing another computer in the mix?  If so, I'm not following how to configure for multichannel playback.  Would a MC DAC like the Exasound be recognized properly using spdif in?

[left channel]

@PorkChop yes apparently it has a little Raspberry Pi computer of its own inside, and will connect to your DAC via coaxial or optical. It runs Volumio, which can access streaming services or locally stored music (on your network or a USB drive), and can be controlled via Android and iOS devices on the same network. Volumio is a music-focused operating system that is very popular with the DIY crowd. We'll have to wait for more information to learn if the experience is plug-and-play, but somehow I doubt it will be that simple.

[Kal Rubinson]

3 hours ago, PorkChop said:

Would a MC DAC like the Exasound be recognized properly using spdif in?

No.  You would need to use the USB connection.  S/PDIF cannot support uncompressed multichannel.

[Fitzcaraldo215]

On June 9, 2018 at 10:51 AM, PorkChop said:

This looks like the one-box solution I've been hoping for.  Because it has analog out, that means it's doing the rendering too, correct? 

 

Excuse my ignorance, but does this mean I can go digital straight to DAC/preamp/speakers without needing another computer in the mix?  If so, I'm not following how to configure for multichannel playback.  Would a MC DAC like the Exasound be recognized properly using spdif in?

I am not following the Mch playback either.  I thought 4 channels went out with Quad in the '70s.  Today, you need at least 6, maybe 8.  That is before getting into Immersive 3D, which is a different ballgame, sensibly not addressed by this device.

 

If your source is a PC and you wish to use a Mch Exasound with 5/7.1 Mch source material, as Kal and I do, I do not see what this device adds to the party.  It only clutters things up and seriously hamstrings them.

 

I do go straight from PC to Exasound to amps/speakers now in  Mch, using JRiver and Dirac Live on the PC.   It works quite satisfyingly.  This device would be beyond useless to me.

 

 

[left channel]

@PorkChop I missed the "MC" part of your question. Multichannel over S/PDIF seems to be a black hole of confusion I am not going near... Anyway seems to me the exaSound PlayPoint would be a better match there in many ways. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

 

@Fitzcaraldo215 as I'm sure you know, streamers are for getting your PC out of the room. I might be happy with a fanless/noiseless PC in the same area. But otherwise for the purpose of remoting a source there are simpler solutions than this SHD thing. I wonder if it would be possible to send a multichannel signal via a Sonore ultraRendu. But wow, just thinking about creating a remote MC music setup is giving me a headache. ?

[Fitzcaraldo215]

Understood.  I am fortunate in being able to connect with my Exasound DAC from a standard, tower PC in the next room via a hole in the wall and 5 meter USB and HDMI cables.  So, direct connection and none of the problems of hooking up to a client in the listening room,  and no added expense for a "silent" PC either, I am happy to say.  No PC fan or disc noise, either.

 

But, still, a PC client claiming to do Mch, but with only 4 channels?  Not a winning proposition, in my view.  

 

[dziemian]

At first I liked this device as it had all the options I needed. But then ....4 channels?  Even if you listen to stereo plus subs there is a growing tendency to use multisub setups. 8 channels is minimum. I had a Deqx unit which had a 6-channel dac and because of that I had to switch to minidsp nanoavr with htpc  (jriver+dirac ). Again 4 channels are useless nowadays. 

[beerandmusic]

dsd?

[Kal Rubinson]

8 hours ago, beerandmusic said:

dsd?

Of course, not.

[rodrigaj]

Four outputs: two to the speaker amplifier(s), two to the headphone amplifier.

 

The SHD is a preamp with streaming, DAC, DSP..., etc.

 

What bothers me is Volumio. I have not experience with it, but would rather not be tied to one player.

[flak]

These units are designed for stereo playback and my understanding is that the two additional outputs can be used for subwoofer integration similar to the one detailed here:

https://www.minidsp.com/applications/digital-room-correction/ddrc-24-for-2-1-system

(if placed symmetrically one can connect a second sub to output 4)

or eventually for two way active crossovering as detailed here:

https://www.minidsp.com/component/content/article?id=283

 

I have no hands on experience with them but up to 48 dB/octave crossovering seems interesting to me.

Flavio

[aaa]

On 6/10/2018 at 4:25 PM, Fitzcaraldo215 said:

I am not following the Mch playback either.  I thought 4 channels went out with Quad in the '70s.  Today, you need at least 6, maybe 8.  That is before getting into Immersive 3D, which is a different ballgame, sensibly not addressed by this device.

 

If your source is a PC and you wish to use a Mch Exasound with 5/7.1 Mch source material, as Kal and I do, I do not see what this device adds to the party.  It only clutters things up and seriously hamstrings them.

 

I do go straight from PC to Exasound to amps/speakers now in  Mch, using JRiver and Dirac Live on the PC.   It works quite satisfyingly.  This device would be beyond useless to me.

 

 

4 Channel output is  perfect for 2.2 stereo.  

[Fitzcaraldo215]

2 minutes ago, aaa said:

4 Channel output is  perfect for 2.2 stereo.  

Yes, now I get it.  Also, testing of this device at ASR forum reveals it is pretty good, setting new, higher standards for miniDSP.  I think it may be a good solution for many who have been frustrated with proper sub integration in stereo.

 

I don’t need it, since I am already doing Mch using bass management.