miniDSP - Q3 2022 Newsletter

Hello Visitor,

We hope you're doing well,

With a summer full of eventful news, we also have some to share! From a new member of the Flex series to brand new control software, we're pleased to announce new developments our team has been hard at work on. Hoping you all like it and we look forward to your valuable feedback in our forum and with our team. 

As usual, feel free to contact us if you have any questions, our team will be here to help! 

DevTeam

  miniDSP Flex Eight

It's the new kid on the block!

The Flex Eight is the latest member of the miniDSP Flex family of advanced audio processors. We’ve taken advantage of our flexible hardware architecture to cram a full eight channels of DSP and a world-class analog output stage into the compact enclosure.

With multiple stereo digital inputs and eight analog output channels, the miniDSP Flex Eight can implement active speakers up to stereo four-way. Our flexible 2x8 signal routing supports many other configurations such as two-way, three-way and multiple subwoofers. As always, a full suite of miniDSP’s tried and proven audio processing functionality is included: parametric EQ, IIR & FIR filters, crossovers, advanced biquad programming and delay on each output channel.

The Flex Eight has high resolution USB audio, S/PDIF (RCA and optical) and Bluetooth (LDAC/ aptX) digital inputs. An OLED front panel display and volume control/encoder knob provide easy control. On the analog output front, don't be fooled by its size — the Flex Eight is no slouch with 128dB(A) SNR and -111dB (0.0003%) THD+N. Last but not least, it is easily software-upgradable with a full-range stereo Dirac Live® license, the world’s premiere room correction system. Room correction for an active speaker system has never been easier. 

The miniDSP Flex Eight is the perfect solution for a modern compact integrated active speaker/subwoofer system and we've worked hard to make this magic happen without breaking the bank. You just need to let your creativity do the rest!

The Flex Eight is now available for pre-order on our webshop for 599 USD, with shipments of new orders scheduled to start by early September. Check out the datasheet for more details and stay tuned for our upcoming web manual. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

  miniDSP Device Console (DC)

Another exciting release is miniDSP's Device Console (DC): a brand new software platform built from scratch by our engineering team. miniDSP DC leverages a new UI paradigm for control of multiple platforms with one app. There is a lot for you to discover on this new build but here are some of its key features starting by an overview device panel. 

- One software does it all: The miniDSP Device Console is the only software you need for control and firmware upgrade of multiple miniDSP platforms. Under its Template Devices section, you can even test other products in demo mode. 

- Advanced EQ control: Our new EQ control panel gives you a better understanding of what each PEQ band does with a simple drag of an anchor point. 

- Preset Labels: By popular request, you can now give each preset your own label.

- Stay up to date: Last but not least, miniDSP Device Console uses over-the-air (OTA) updates to automatically update itself to the latest version whenever our engineers add features or fix bugs. It also checks for and automatically updates your device firmware! No more DFU tool for firmware upgrade, no more zip files. miniDSP DC does it all under one roof! 

- Cross-platform at its core: miniDSP DC leverages the latest HTML5 technology to cater for a bright future. Builds for Windows and macOS (both Intel and native ARM) are only the beginning!

We're initially rolling out miniDSP Device Console with support for the Flex Eight, but the other members of the Flex family, the SHD series, and the 2x4 HD and DDRC-24 will be following shortly afterwards. We will make announcements on our forum when they are ready, so stay tuned!

Please be aware that, unfortunately, some of our older platforms won't be able to transition to the Device Console, either because they don't have the necessary hardware interface or because they are approaching the end of their product life cycle. Thanks for your understanding. 

 SHD Updates

Finally, we are pushing new updates to the SHD series in our constant effort to extend our product life cycle with free upgrades. 

New Spotify plugin: As some of you heard, the Spotify plugin was temporarily unavailable on the SHD. The Volumio team has been working on a replacement and we're happy to announce availability of this new build. To use it, please make sure to uninstall the previous Spotify plugins, upgrade your Volumio build to v1.121 and search for v3.0.3 of the Spotify plugin for Volumio2. This plugin will handle native Spotify and Spotify Connect.

Tidal Connect: We've previously mentioned that we would say something when we're getting close... Well, we're almost there! After several weeks of certification work with Tidal, we're excited to announce that we're in the final stages! Tidal has a unit for testing and we're currently waiting for the certification process to finalize from their side. As usual, it is never a simple process for our DSP-based SHD Series compared to a simple streamer, but we're certainly excited about this new feature!

 News from the LAB

So what else have we been up to in the miniDSP Lab? 

- miniDSP's manuals go digital: Together with the release of miniDSP Device Console, we're excited to move our documentation and manuals to a web format. Easier to search, easier to update, easier to browse. The Flex Eight manuals will be the first to be published. Stay tuned to the product page and the forum for upcoming announcements.

- We feel the Flex Eight rounds out the Flex family nicely, and most of our engineering team is already busy on a brand new platform that is taking shape back in the Lab. We're always pushing to innovate in our niche and are very excited about this new work that we believe will be breaking through a few barriers! We hope we'll have more to say in the next newsletter.