The following point form article will summarize the basic concepts of our product line and will hopefully answer most basic questions about our products.
miniDSP + Plug-in + I/O
Before getting into the details of our highly customizable combo, here is some basic knowledge you should know about the miniDSP kits, the I/O cards and plug-ins.
miniDSP are equivalent to a PC motherboard. They have a micro-controller(equivalent of a CPU), a digital signal processor (equivalent of a PC sound card), some memory (volatile and non volatile similar to the RAM and hard drive) and finally some connectors to potentially upgrade the system. They are the brain of our system.
Plug-ins are equivalent to the Operating System (OS) of a PC. They control the system and allow interfacing with the settings of the DSP. Similar to how a PC without an OS isn't of much use, you must have a plug-in to have an operating miniDSP.
Input/Output (I/O cards) are equivalent to the PCI cards which could populate a PC motherboard. They are the input and output section of the processor but with a twist since they could also operate on their own. miniDSP I/O cards can only be used for miniDSP kits since miniDSP in a box cannot be upgraded.
So far so good? Then let's move on to some nitty gritty details.
miniDSP kits 101
The miniDSP concept is to provide a low cost DSP board for a multitude of audio applications (system tuning, digital crossovers, source switching, advanced filtering.. etc). It's a complete solution that works out of the box and doesn't require any programming knowledge. In a point form format, here are specifications you should remember:
A miniDSP does not require driver installation or any sort of programming knowledge to get it working. Double click on the plug-in install software and you'll be ready to control your board in few mouse clicks.
A miniDSP only requires a PC connection for configuration. Once the product properly configured through the mini-USB connection, you can disconnect the board and let it run on its own. Using a simple phone mini-USB charger or external DC power supply is all you need to get your miniDSP up and running.
A miniDSP is designed to keep its last settings and automatically reload them at bootup.
A miniDSP is not a Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for DSP programming. For more information on why, check out our FAQ at the following link.
Plug-ins can only control a single miniDSP at a time. If more boards are used in a system, users will need to plug the USB between boards to get control over them.
Finally, for those wanting to customize their products, miniDSP kits are DIY/OEM friendly. From the ground up, our boards were designed to fit in a wide range of applications. From a signal processor with I2S input/output for your custom preamp, a digital crossover for your custom plate-amplifier or simply an addition to your digital audio setup, miniDSP gives you "carte blanche" to implement your design ideas. If you want a plug&play solution, miniDSP in a box is your alternative.
Control, Manage, Upgrade your system from a simple mouse click
At miniDSP, we understand that building a system is an ever changing process where ideas and the product may evolve. With miniDSP products, your hardware can evolve along with your ideas. Using the concept of plug-in, one can easily re-use one board for a different application with a simple click. What used to be a crossover, may turn into a digital audio switcher. A unique feature that greatly differentiates our boards from so called "fixed" architecture DSP products or even analog crossovers.
Managing configurations could not be simpler thanks to our "Save", "Load" configuration features. Backing up your current configuration, sharing with your friend your best EQ setup or simply creating multiple "mood settings" is just 2 clicks away.
Our plug-ins also go through their own product life cycle. While our team refines and improve plug-ins, all users enjoy free upgrades to the latest features. A pledge to our customers that we are working hard to improve our products and do not have a short term philosophy.
Here is an example video showcasing real-time, live control of the DSP settings from one of our plug-ins (2way PEQ 2.1)
Pick & choose I/O cards for your miniDSP kit projects
Note: Following section only applies to miniDSP kits. miniDSP in a box are not meant to be upgraded with I/O cards.
Similar to how one would buy a PC motherboard and select the PCI cards that best fit his system, miniDSP kits can be upgraded and configured with different I/O cards. All configurations are done by a software file residing in the plug-in folder. Some of you may want digital inputs while others will need balanced inputs. Put it simply, the perfect audio product is far from a real product for most audio DIYers... No matter how well we try fulfilling your expectations, there will always be someone asking for an odd feature that others may not want to pay for. Our answer to this problem is to let you pick & choose the I/O configuration and plug-in you need for your application.
The following I/O cards are currently available for mix & match configuration or as standalone modules for your custom audio project:
miniDIGI: The perfect fit to input your SPDIF/Optical signal to your board. Fitted with a Sample Rate Converter (SRC) to process digital audio sources, no matter what type of sampling rate.
miniAMP: Targeting a complete all-in-one, fully digital processed amplifier solution for active speakers, this credit size I2S all digital audio amplifier complements nicely the miniDSP product range.
and much more to come in the coming months...
Stay tuned for an exciting year!
Where to go next?
Now that you have a clear understanding of the product, time to move on to the brain of the system:
- the miniDSP kit if you want to build your custom project
- the miniDSP 2x4 if you want a plug&play solution.
