TOPIC:

I use a MiniDSP DDRC 22D for DIRAC Live in my three way active system . There are details of all the components in the DIY thread I made so will not bore everyone with a full details here .
The system has not been working for about four months due to various issues but these were fixed last week and instead of my usual blitz through method of putting things back I went very carefully doing a single thing such as fitting all the cables per day , check all crossover settings and DSP settings etc . Thins went really well and yesterday I got music which was a plus but more important the sound was great .

Now today was the day to do a new full DIRAC Live session to finesse the system . Firstly I rest the DDRC 22D and flashed the firmware with the latest version . I then went to the DIRAC Live site and downloaded the latest 3.3.3 software . Then set up and went through a Focused Image session which went well and then I generated a Filter . This took quite a long while and the unit was in the initialling stage for at least three minutes . It did then generate a filter but unlike all my previous sessions the curve shown was an almost complete flat line and not like the normal DIRAC suggested curve which is similar to a Harmon House Curve . There were also no adjustment point dots showing . I found the buttons to generate the adjustment points and then adjusted the curve as I prefer it and things were great .

What I would like to know has anyone else come across this using the new software ? Is this a deliberate change of direction by DIRAC ? Not a problem if it is I never used the set filter anyway and know what to do to get things working as I want them to . But wondering if this has changed or perhaps I just had a random freak session in which case will set aside another day and do a repeat session and see what happens.

Today, for the forthcoming hifi show, I installed Dirac 3.3.3 on a spare laptop (so I didn't mess up everything on my main laptop) and I noticed exactly the same. I noticed this on the Dirac webpage:  

• New auto target curve that is tailored to your sound system

Thanks Ed

It is always good to have someone else confirm you are not seeing things or going mad . Fully read the DIRAC pages on Auto Target Curve and that they have decided to change their automatic offering in order to assist new users and make it much easier for them to just accept the generated filter with no alterations .

Truth is they may well be right and their suggested filter may well sound better and more accurate than the one I changed it too . So in a spirit of looking for knowledge and enlightenment I am going to run another full session tomorrow and this time I will just use the new generated curve and put it as another preset on my MiniDSP DDRC 22D . Once this is place it is easy to switch using the remote from one to another and see if i can hear the differences and more important if I prefer their choice or mine .

You've got to keep messing with the curve!

@Bencat

Dirac indeed added their new target in v3.3 .. 

---

Dirac Live 3.3.02022-04-11Features

• A new and unique algorithm that tailors the target curve to your room and sound system.
• A new way to set the target curve (the old way still available).
• Reduce size of Dirac Live projects.

---

It's meant to make sure that speakers are not overstressed when trying to follow an arbitrary curve. This new method follows a bit more the generic response of the speaker. i.e. trying not to get it to do things it probably shouldn't..  

You can still import the target curve that you enjoyed before?  Editing the target curve remains an important step. Each system is unique. 

DevTeam

Thank you for the confirmation please understand it was just a question from me at a difference I noted . As I said the ability to change things has not changed and is still as comprehensive as before and does allow you to mess things up then get them back to a starting point . It is just that now things are starting from a different place .

So as I ignored the original curve because I was not aware of this change instead of saving it for listening to in one of the spare presets I will now have to do another full session and see what the sound is like compared to what I have set .

As there seems a little bit of interest here will let everyone know the results .

I think I will do likewise - I need to mess with my setup anyway, so it seems like a good plan to save the new profile to a different preset & see how it compares.

Right found a nice window of time as Linda my wife went to get her eyes tested so house nice and quiet so was able to get a full new DIRAC Session completed . Just to be clear this was the shortest focused session as there is only my one chair in this small room which is the listening point . Below is a picture of the standard curve that was generated by DIRAC and looking at it you would think that it was just a very flat curve . Saved that and then added it to slot 2 of my pre sets . The pervious session I did with my own adjustments was in pre set 1 and after saving the standard curve file I made suitable alterations again to the standard curve and put that in pre set 3  then saved that version as well .

So something very strange is going on here as I have had real flat curves used before both in my own system and in at least one other . In both cases the end listening result was a very dry and bland sound that seemed to lack energy and was not very engaging to listen to . Started off with the session I had done previously and used the track Celestial Echo by Malia . Played much as I expected and there was wonderful air around the recording plus some quite deep bass and lovely clear vocals . So I patted myself on the back for having done a very good job .

Next up the same track using the standard curve , despite what I thought when viewing the curve (well straight line really as there is little deviation ) there was still an excellent and detailed bass with added texture to the notes you could hear the decay of the reverb placed around them . Imaging was better and came out in to the room more .

Then tried the third filter which was just me playing with the standard first thing i noticed on this was it was louder than the standard and i had to reduce the volumes . Now the bass was more but perhaps a little too much but the vocals were more forward and driving the music more .

I am not trying to decide a best here as Ed has stated chasing the curve is an addiction and I think there is great deal more to gained from this to get the exact balance of additional bass and the naturalness of the standard curve .

What I do have to say is that DIRAC have got it just about spot on for the casual user who just wants to do a run through and improve their system then forget it as the standard curve is more than acceptable in fact much better than that and anyone using it would not be feeling strong inclinations to change it . In fact it sounds wonderful which is what it is all about . Sadly OCD music lovers like me will always take the option of fiddle and try and improve which given the scope of DIRAC could be a never ending series of adjustments and listening . Hope this helps and can not wait for others to give this a try and let us all know what they think .
 

Great feedback of your journey @ Bencat! 

Target curve editing is indeed addictive (especially for some that may be around you and keep hearing sweeps in the living room... .. but then again it's fun to be able to try many different "voicing" so easily..  

The Harman curve is a natural slope down.. there are few versions of it that are tuned for more/less boost I think over the years.. 
Maybe it's also related to the type of music content you're listening to? 

have fun! 

Devteam