TOPIC:

I had my MiniDSP SHD for about 2 weeks now, and been having issues after issues. And what I can read on the other topic there is a lot of trouble. Am I right?

I still haven`t got any measurement in my setup because off new and new problems. And in my opinion I don`t want to recomend this product to others. Is maybe a very good product, but wih so much challenges there must be many people thinking the same as me?

What are yours opinion? Sorry for all the negativity, but im realy tired and exhausted of this product.

There aren't lots of problem and they seem to work fine for the majority of users.

What is common is for folk who can't get it working to be miserable, understandable given the cost, but no, faulty SHDs are not normal and solutions to issues can usually be found. Volumio and Dirac are from third parties so bugs sometimes occur in their interactions with an SHD. Even just the number of software packages to be installed in a certain order can cause problems if you don't c arefully RTFM.

Ok, just my impression. But good to hear that problemsare rare.

you're probably right it might only be the dirac wich is the problem. It`s only the dirac live making trouble now,

What does RTFM means?

Read The Flipping Manual would the polite expansion. Installation of all the software is complicated but the manual tells you what order to install the things in, which does matter for technical reasons.

Dirac communicates with the SHD Plugin through helper programs but relies on specific network ports being unused which is a weakness currently. That explains why it works best on a fresh operating system installation, since no other programs have been installed which may use the network ports Dirac and SHD need to communicate. There are ways of finding out which network ports are in use.

Dirac does tend to be updated fairly frequently to fix bugs communicating with all the various systems it has to work with. That's the positive view, the negative view would be that it can be a bit of a lottery whether any particular version fixes bugs on SHD and doesn't break use with SHD by fixing bugs for other systems but introducing bugs with SHD. The introduction of Dirac 2 was particularly bad so I ended up on the first version of Dirac 2 which actually worked and I haven't gone through the pain of updating anything since then.

I actually have two SHDs and imagine how much pain I had updating two PCs and two SHDs. Two fairly identical systems and getting one working would break the other etc. You just have to keep trying Dirac updates and crossing your fingers. Dirac being a third party products that is supposed to work with many many different systems from different manufacturers does seem to lead to most of the problems with SHDs and there is little MiniDSP can do about that once their end is working to Dirac's specification.

If the current Dirac version doesn't work, trying older versions can sometimes be worthwhile, they have all older versions on their site.

jarlet wrote:

Ok, just my impression. But good to hear that problemsare rare.

Bear in mind that contented users are much less likely to end up posting on forums such as this than those who have problems.

entripy: Thank you for a complementary answer. I will try older version and see if I can find a version that works

Ultrasoni: That`s true!

I've owned my SHD (Dirac 1 now running Dirac 3) since August 2019 and I empathize with the OP. Here are my thoughts and generalizations:

• I have found that working with Windows 10 is less problematic than MacOS. (I now have a totally dedicated cheap Windows 10 laptop which I bought used, just for SHD/Dirac)
• When having problems with Dirac, submitting a support ticket directly to Dirac is often times a quicker resolution than to miniDSP.
• If you can avoid Volumio, do so.
• I would not classify an SHD as a typical consumer product - an 80 page SHD manual AND a 48 page Dirac manual, both of which are essential reading, should tell you that.
• Print out a hard copy of both manuals, 3 hole punch, and put in a binder. Whenever you work with the setup/configuration have it close by.
• Before starting Dirac, get to know the SHD plugin first. Play around with changing outputs, PEQ, output levels. After that, set everything back to default.
• Whenever 3rd party involvement is concerned, expect new issues to emerge. Case in point, Roon. (I am not a Roon subscriber)
• REW is another essential skill set and you should get to know how to measure your room with it

I'm sure that for a new user, the above observations appear daunting, but perseverance will pay off. In the end, I have found the SHD to be the best audio product that I have ever purchased, and I go back to 1974 when I started in this hobby.

Disclaimer: my opinions only... I'm sure there are folks that will disagree with one or all of my observations...

All good points. I would only add that the SHD manual gets updated to describe new firmware features and more fault finding information so don't rely on a printed manual as gospel forever. It seems likely that manuals won't be need very often once you have a working setup though.

entripy: Thank you, I had a good reading. I have now printed out a copy of the manuals. And earlier today sent a e-mail to both dirac and minidsp. Dirac replyed fast and said I should ask minidsp. So I`m waiting for an aswear from them now.

But all in all, it seems that people are satisfy with SHD, it`s just a bit tricky to get started.

There's now a new software and firmware update which should hopefully solve many issues with Dirac 3 not finding SHD.

the product is excellent. I believe every serious hifi system should have a room correction device like this, unless your room is over 50m2 and you can avoid nasty modes in base, or you can afford 50k USD room treatment, which will consume 20% of your room volume (to damp base). I agree that it's not for consumers. You need to invest some time to find the way through the setup, which is not always in the manual, and the online support could be faster. Yet I'm grateful to the MiniDSP guys they offer this beast (room correction) for good money. I wouldn't use it as a digital preamp (Studio version) - at least in my system when I output from my DAC to active speakers directly, the base doesn't have enough punch and there is too much of it

I am very happy with mine. I would not recommend it to anyone who is not computer-literate, but after setup and knowing how it works it is easy and works well.