TOPIC:

My equipment: Denon AVR S950H, Arendal 1723 Speakers, 2x HSU VTF-15H MK2 Subwoofers, LG Oled TV, Windows PC

Goal: Get the best sound from my speakers and subwoofers. Take some measurements, and learn the miniDSP.

Use case: I stream movies/TV with plex on the LG oled TV. I play games and stream movies/TV on the Windows PC.

Question: How would I get the best use out of the miniDSP? I'm trying to understand how I can physically wire the system as well. Should I just use it for the 2 subwoofers and let the AVR handle the 2 speakers? Or is it possible to have the miniDSP connect to both subs and speakers?

My current configuration: I've basically just run Audyssey on the Denon and use it as-is.

How would the miniDSP benefit me most, and what is the best way to wire it up?

My AVR connections

You can’t really use a minidsp for mains and subs where you’re using an integrated or AVR. Only way to have it for mains and subs is if you bypass the avrs volume control and use your minidsp as a preamp and your AVR as a power amp. 

best thing to do is use it just for subs. Send your sub output to the minidsp and use MSO on the minidsp to get both subs playing nicely with each other. Then run the avrs room correction. 

Thanks for replying. I thought that might be the case about only using the minidsp for the subs. Especially since I'm a complete novice. 

I've got it wired up that way now and I'm getting ready to proceed. Would you expect a "normal non-audiophile" person to be able to hear a difference after I do MSO on the minidsp? Assuming I do it correctly lol. Do you think it will be a noticeable improvement over my AVR?

MSO has a learning curve but it’s definitely worth it. Search Jeff Mery on YouTube. He has done some good tutorial videos. I watched them before using MSO and glad I did. Definitely worth the effort. 

Thank you, I'll check that out!

How did it go? I have almost an identical system to yours, other than having a different Denon AVR and different Arendal speakers, but use my system in much the same way with the same source (I also have a record player and Chromecast Audio). I was thinking of getting a MiniDSP with Dirac Live and running it given that I only have a 2.2 at the moment, but it looks like I can't do that with an AVR according to another commenter above. 

I want to get some accurate room measurements to know where my issues are, so I'll probably get the UMIK-1 mic either way and try to learn REW.