TOPIC:

Hello everyone. I'm very new to MniDSP. I have recently gotten back into audio after a hiatus. I used to be a dealer back in the days and times have changed. I sold off a good portion of my system over the years and time and money have allowed me to enjoy audio again. I'm looking to improve my 2-channel system and I came across the DDRC-22. My current system is as follows:

Sonos ZP90 > Peachtree Nova > Dali Helicon 400 MK2

The only other source I have is for TV and movies and is an Xbox One (optical output). I'm not too terribly interested in movies and TV sounding good, it's mostly music. Of course, it would be cool to do custom filters for movies, but that's not a real goal, just a bonus possibly. Eventually, I plan on possibly changing my speakers and adding a subwoofer or two or three.

For right now, the Peachtree just isn't the right thing to power the Helicons. They want a bit more power and control. It's also a little bright and harsh on top, which could be the room, or the amp. The Sonos is staying, I like the convenience (we have one in most every room), and streaming from Spotify or the NAS is just perfect.

Here's what I was thinking.... I was thinking of doing the DDRC-22DA that would take the optical from the Xbox and the Coax from the Sonos. I could play around with it for a bit, seeing how the room correction works, and just run it into the analog input on the Peachtree. I'm just curious what room correction could do for me. The next step would be to sell the Peachtree and replace it with a decent stereo amp. I would be using the DDRC-22DA as an input switcher, preamp, DAC, and volume control. So the system would be this:

Sonos/Xbox > DDRC-22DA > (amp) > Speakers

I'm still a little on the fence between OpenDRC and Dirac, but from what I've read on here, it doesn't seem like there's a contest between the two. You might be able to get more out of OpenDRC, but you'd only get there on accident, or with a lot of patience and tweaking. I have other hobbies like that, I don't need to be sitting in front of the stereo with a laptop all day. I just want it to work.

Does the DDRC-22DA perform adequately as a DAC?
Does the DDRC-22DA perform well as a volume control/pre-amp?

Eventually, I was thinking about bi-amping the speakers and adding subs, so I was looking at the nanoDigi to create a 2-way crossover for the main speakers, and ouputs for the sub(s). I was going to change out the card on the DDRC-22DA to a digital only, feeding a digital 2-channel output on the DDRC-22 to the nanoDigi. Is that how I'd do it? I am looking to possibly change to Magnepans, and go with an active crossover setup.

Am I understanding everything correctly? Thanks!

ping?

also, I'm deciding between Dirac and OpenDRC. It seems like they could get to roughly the same results, but Dirac will do so in a lot less time with a lot less effort. Is that an accurate statement?

@ Cowanrg,

Sure, we'd be happy to help with some ideas.. Sorry for the late reply, we missed your post.
- DDRC vs OpenDRC are 2 complete different technologies. You can't even compare them even though the hardware is similar. The DSP structure and the way the measurement are made (and filters generated) are not even close in a LOT of aspects.. So in that sense, you first need to define your needs (and budget..
- Yes, the DDRC-22DA is a DAC but not USB dac. It's Digital in (AES-EBU/SPDIF/TOSLINK) to Analog out. Please clarify what is confusing in our clear user manual + datasheet on that topic.. we tried to really clarify this..
- Yes, it's indeed a volume control preamp. See user manual for some details.
- How about using DDRC-22D, doesn't the peachtree has digital input? Maybe you can then do upgrades over time.. e.g. using the nanoDIGI later on for your 2 way speaker..

Just a thought.

DevTeam

A ministreamer will add usb functionality

I have the opendrc and the ddrc.. I bought 2 Da fp cards at $80 , so i can use them as dacs by swapping digital to digital cards out in the boxes..cheap option to add functionality

Dacs are great and the 2 units are transparent .. I only tried briefly but heard nothing amiss
I use acourateDRC which cost Eu70 with the openDRC
RC is amazing , providing you have done all the stuff like room treatments and placements first. Its not the silver bullet..but neither dirac nor acourate are complex to use

DDRC is actually more limited than opendrc in that the opendrc plugin has a peq section with all the frills that come with it.
dirac is dirac..the only fine tuning eq you can apply is with the target curve ..its not easy to do ab comparisons

openDRC allows you to tweak the eq via target curve BUT also allows the PEQ to be used in real time. Fiddle as you listen

My current setup is squeezebox to DDRC 22 to a Devialet D premier amp and Vivid audio Giya G1 speakers.