Some insights on the MiniDSP SHD

[ecwl]

On 1/30/2021 at 11:12 AM, redboat said:

My current setup seems fine and is nice and compact - I route all digital signals via optical or coax to my integrated receiver's AKM 4589 DAC - and I have no apparent room problems. But I do wonder if room equalization would make it even better. The room seems fairly well damped and is not overly square, so the resonances that exist in each dimension are at different frequencies.

 

Any opinions on if it makes sense to spend over $1k to insert a device in my chain and see of room correction makes it better? Thanks.

It’s actually hard to know if you have any room problems or specifically any bass problems related to the room or your speakers or even listening seat without actually measuring with a microphone.

But if you’re willing to spend $1k, depending on the age of the receiver with AKM4589 DAC, you may be better off upgrading the receiver and ensure the receiver has Dirac/Audyssey built in. That may be a much more cost-effective upgrade, than a dedicated room correction upgrade to your existing gear.

 

[ecwl]

10 minutes ago, redboat said:

Thanks. Which receivers do you recommend?

I’m partial to Dirac so it looks like the cheapest you can get would be the NAD T758 v3i which is more than $1000.

But most Denon receivers have Audyssey so one in your price range would be AVR X2700H.

 

But alternatively, if you’re reasonably happy with your system and don’t think you really need the room correction, maybe it’s cheaper just to buy a microphone first. MiniDSP UMIK-1 microphone is fairly cheap. If you get it and measure and found out your room indeed is fine, you might not want an upgrade at all. And then you can always sell the microphone to recoup some costs or keep it for future use. And you can continue to enjoy the sound that you have.