TOPIC:

I have had a miniDSP SHD Studio for about 2 years. All was going well until I upgraded to Device Console: it is now 3 months that I cannot do room caibration with Dirac.

The problem is the following (I have actually partially copied this description from this forum as someone else had the same problem a long time ago but miniDSP support says it’s “an old thread” and I should disregard it !; in any case it’s unclear how the previous forum user solved the problem):
When I run mic volume calibration the left channel (Dirac 1) performs normally and shows a mic volume; when I play the Dirac 2 test tone I get pink noise from the right loudspeaker with the same loudness but the mic volume indicator bar does not appear, as if it is hearing nothing (to be precise, it shoots up for 1 second, then comes back down and stays at 0). Fast forward to doing the first calibration: I get good sweep tones from both speakers but upon completion the app says Low Signal-to-noise level error. This is not the actual case (no noises or hum in room). I have increased the master volume to dangerous levels, and I have pushed the mic gain bar to the top: the Dirac cursor does not go up (or, again, to be precise, it shoots up for less than a second when you start calibrating, then it shoots down to 0 and stays there) 
I have a simple 2-channel system.  

Mini-DSP support says:
”a) PLease make sure that your PC is connected to internet so you can get the latest update
b) Click CHeck now, you will get a warning that a new DSP/XMOS license is here
c) Click Update XMOS firmware, then click Update DSP firmware
d) Click Reset ALL to default all. You shouldn't need any further configuration. Is your setup a simple STEREO setup? Please clarify your setup. 
​e) Make sure that you're running the latest Dirac live version (V3.4.4) .”

I have done this A HUNDRED TIMES ! And the problem is still there.

Out of desperation I got in touch with Dirac where Flavio Fellah told me he did not know what is going on, to ask miniDSP and to try to do a factory reset: I cannot find any procedure for a a factory reset; I mentioned it to support but they ignored it. I actually don’t know if it is possible and/or sensible to do it.

Has anyone ever experienced this issue and resolved it ? I would be really grateful for any advice.
 

Have you reinstalled the USB driver and console software?
Are you using a Umik1 or 2 microphone?

Have you selected the Umik mic on the first screen after Dirac launches? Can you post a screen capture?

I had a similar problem that turned out to have a lot to do with the quality of the USB extension cable I used with the bundled cable - I replaced it with a single 10 ft (3m) meter cable and that solved the problem. (I also had similar problems with my Umik-2 mic and replaced the cable with a single longer one and no further problems.)

The behaviors are odd and misleading when they occur.

Note the current version of Dirac 3 is something like 3.6.6 and it works better than the previous versions.

I put my smart phone in airplane mode or leave it upstairs when doing a calibration, I have gotten low SNR or even had a measurement abort from time to time due to interference from the phone.
 

Hi kevinkr,

Thank you very much, I appreciate your advice.

I eventually cracked it only thanks to George Ahlborn of Deer Creek Audio, who sold me my miniDSP Studio and gave me proper support, i.e. he helped live remotely. It took him 5 minutes to notice that my Umik-1 was broken: that’s it, that’s what it was. Shame that lots of toing and froing via email with miniDSP support did bot get anywhere near the cause. I really think that in more unusual cases they ought to give remote support: it woukd actually make it easier and quicker for them eventually.

Excellent news! And it makes sense given the odd behaviors. Glad it ended up well.

My one experience with MiniDSP went OK, although I figured out the problem on my own. The products are complicated and there seem to be a variety of things that can go wrong with no real obvious cause. A troubleshooting guide would be worthwhile and could probably apply to several products.

I guess I am going to keep that spare umik mic in the event I have similar problems in the future.

I had an SHD for more than 4 years and a Studio now for nearly 6 months and have not had a lot of problems that were not entirely of my own doing.