TOPIC:

Hi all, Maybe this is obvious, but not to this DSP newbie-

Just got the minidsp SHD room correction dialed in and it sounds great.

But there's always a "yes, but..."

I have an acclaimed higher-end DAC and I'd like to realize its full potential. But I know the SHD operates at a max of 32/96khz. Do I gain any sonic/resolution benefit from the DAC if I run the SHD into it? And do I lose the benefits of the DSP?

the Path I'm envisioning would look like this:

DIGITAL SOURCES

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SHD (digital output 1-2)

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(digital input) DAC (analog output)

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analog crossover

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amps

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3-way speakers

It seems like this would avoid any reduced rate A/D or D/A conversion late in the process, which (if I understand correctly) renders an excellent DAC redundant.

But I'm still unclear about whether in this path, does the DAC do its stuff, or is it already defeated by the upstream limitations of the SHD? And on the other hand, would the huge benefits of the DSP still come across?

Thanks for any help-

Tim

Since you have all the parts I think you should just try it and let your ears decide.

If I understand your points, the only thing that changes is using an external DAC instead of the internal SHD DAC. All the Dirac room correction and SHD DSP remains the same, it just comes out of a different DAC. Well that's all it is conceptually, in practice the devil is in the details of digital connections, resolution and sample rates.

Personally I think the SHD DAC is great. It measures well and is superbly neutral as I believe DACs should be.