MiniDSP C-DSP 6x8 - New Audio Solution

[mumbles]

For fixing time delays , I believe we picked the furthest speaker which was the subwoofers and used that as the zero reference for each side.

That's the best way to do it... by delaying the rest of the speakers it will appear to bring the sub bass up front.

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[mumbles]

curious, how do you plan to input the test signal. 16 Stangs dont have the aux in :(

It appears BadDreams has the Premium Package, so should have a CD player... Find some pink noise tracks and burn to cd or buy some of the Autosound 2000 test discs if they can still be had.

 

[BadDreams]

There is also the USB port, I could put some tracks on a thumbdrive. What I ended up doing was using AudioTool on my phone to play various signals over the speakers. Its a little funky though.

 

[GTP]

REW uses much more advanced test signal than pink noise.
Not having aux in is a real problem for us acoustic test engineers with our fancy analyzers. We may have to patch into the amplifier input, and hope/assume that there is no EQ coming from upstream.

 

[mumbles]

REW uses much more advanced test signal than pink noise.

I'm all ears...

And Happy Birthday btw!

 

[gundam83]

I'm thinking of getting this. Do I need to get the miniDC Isolator?

 

[ForTehNguyen]

you dont need the isolator anymore with this according to the datasheet

 

[shahram72]

OK, you guys seem to know what I am trying to learn about. I used to do car audio, but never messed with DSP's. My last car had a time aligned stereo and it was great. Here is what I WANT to do and would appreciate some guidance. I am going to do this in stages to spread out the cost. Factory base stereo is better than expected but fidelity is poor to fair. First is a sub. I already have some stuff I would like to use. I want to get a zenclosures sub box for a single 10 firing forward. I already have a Kicker C-10 new in the box. For an amp, there are so many good solutions with crossovers built in, but if possible, I have a vintage hifonics Thor which has 400w mono (I know, overkill) that I would like to use. This was in my first car as a teenager and 2 subsequent cars so it has sentimental value to me. This is an old school amp so I need a device that has a line level converter, remote front control, and turn on lead. They make those, but not with a crossover, which I also need. I want as few devices in the chain as possible. So the bass is an easy solution, but I think the next stage will be building the front stage, and this will require another or the same crossover for the front, a small amplifier, and some decent quality separates. So it makes sense to me to get the devices that will work with my total project, instead of replacing things later. What would you guys do? Don't really have plans for the back for now, could just fade to the front a bit and I would never hear them. But I could replace those as well and I have some Alpine coaxs that are ok mid grade I could put back there. What to do? Is there a DSP that will act as a line level converter and a crossover?

 

[mumbles]

OK, you guys seem to know what I am trying to learn about. I used to do car audio, but never messed with DSP's. My last car had a time aligned stereo and it was great. Here is what I WANT to do and would appreciate some guidance. I am going to do this in stages to spread out the cost. Factory base stereo is better than expected but fidelity is poor to fair. First is a sub. I already have some stuff I would like to use. I want to get a zenclosures sub box for a single 10 firing forward. I already have a Kicker C-10 new in the box. For an amp, there are so many good solutions with crossovers built in, but if possible, I have a vintage hifonics Thor which has 400w mono (I know, overkill) that I would like to use. This was in my first car as a teenager and 2 subsequent cars so it has sentimental value to me. This is an old school amp so I need a device that has a line level converter, remote front control, and turn on lead. They make those, but not with a crossover, which I also need. I want as few devices in the chain as possible. So the bass is an easy solution, but I think the next stage will be building the front stage, and this will require another or the same crossover for the front, a small amplifier, and some decent quality separates. So it makes sense to me to get the devices that will work with my total project, instead of replacing things later. What would you guys do? Don't really have plans for the back for now, could just fade to the front a bit and I would never hear them. But I could replace those as well and I have some Alpine coaxs that are ok mid grade I could put back there. What to do? Is there a DSP that will act as a line level converter and a crossover?

The C-DSP 6x8 sounds like it is your best bet, and is a bargain at below $300.

If you are really interested in learning more about car stereo systems in general, I'd recommend going to DIY Mobile Audio http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/
It's a great forum with tons of really knowledgeable folks, I go by EeeDeeEye on the site.

Also, I see you are in SC... there is a big car stereo get-together in NC on April 9th that will have some of the best sounding cars your likely to hear, and friendly folks willing to give you demos. If you are interested, check out this thread on DIYMA; http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...meet-08-09-april-2016-near-greensboro-nc.html

 

[shahram72]

Thanks, will look into that AND the event. Looking at the DSP now. WOW! That thing does everything. And I totally get the instructions, routing of ins and outs from my time as a wanna be digital music artist. Looks like Ableton to me. But the remote in. I have to get something back there to switch this unit on and then it has a delay out for the other components.

So with this unit, I should get a 4 channel amp to power all 4 speakers, with separates up front, but I should also be able to use it now for just the sub, no? Is there something in the back to use as a remote turn on lead?What this device does not have is a remote sensing turn on from the high level inputs. And I can't find any pictures or info on the included wired remote. Looks like I can't use it as a subwoofer level, but I could make a few presets with different levels of bass. one for normal, on for bass weak music (Faith no More needs a boost), total differeent x-over and settings for classical or jazz. Do I get it right?

 

[mumbles]

So with this unit, I should get a 4 channel amp to power all 4 speakers, with separates up front, but I should also be able to use it now for just the sub, no? Is there something in the back to use as a remote turn on lead?What this device does not have is a remote sensing turn on from the high level inputs. And I can't find any pictures or info on the included wired remote. Looks like I can't use it as a subwoofer level, but I could make a few presets with different levels of bass. one for normal, on for bass weak music (Faith no More needs a boost), total differeent x-over and settings for classical or jazz. Do I get it right?

You'll want to use the crossover in the DSP for the front separates, not the passive one that comes with the speakers. Doing this will allow you to time-align both the tweeters and the mids separately.

Yes, you can use it just for the sub for now. Don't time align the sub though, set it to zero distance. Then when you delay the front speakers, all the signals reach your ears at the same time... it has the effect of making the subbass seem like its coming from the front.

For the remote turn on lead, you can tap into the blue/white wire in the cable run under the rear deck by the right rear speaker, or you can run a wire from fuse 23 which turns on with the stereo and shuts off when you open the door.

I haven't seen what the remote looks like either, but you have the right idea about using presets.

 

[shahram72]

How about the Kicker Front stage? Looks like it's much simpler and will do what I want and I like the control remote it comes with for how I want to use it. It has a very simple time alignment that may be sufficient for me. Also has simulated surround which is cool, and is $100 cheaper. The mini DSP is superior for sure, but so is the GT, and I have a V6. And I'm not going to bi amp the separates up front, more complexity than I want. I just think that I'm not going to use the miniDSP to it's fullest. What else is out there. IS there ANY way to get a true DTS-CD 5.1 setup in my car. I know it would require a remote source. There is room for a center channel in the dash.

 

[mumbles]

How about the Kicker Front stage? Looks like it's much simpler and will do what I want and I like the control remote it comes with for how I want to use it. It has a very simple time alignment that may be sufficient for me. Also has simulated surround which is cool, and is $100 cheaper. The mini DSP is superior for sure, but so is the GT, and I have a V6. And I'm not going to bi amp the separates up front, more complexity than I want. I just think that I'm not going to use the miniDSP to it's fullest. What else is out there. IS there ANY way to get a true DTS-CD 5.1 setup in my car. I know it would require a remote source. There is room for a center channel in the dash.

It's all about what you want to get out of your system... you mentioned having a time-aligned system in a previous vehicle, so it sounds like your fairly serious.

There's not much out there for out vehicles, but if you really want DTS 5.1, then check out Alpines PXA-H800 which is roughly $800 with the required controller. In my last car, I had DTS and could watch video as well, which I really miss!

 

[gundam83]

You'll want to use the crossover in the DSP for the front separates, not the passive one that comes with the speakers. Doing this will allow you to time-align both the tweeters and the mids separately.

Yes, you can use it just for the sub for now. Don't time align the sub though, set it to zero distance. Then when you delay the front speakers, all the signals reach your ears at the same time... it has the effect of making the subbass seem like its coming from the front.

For the remote turn on lead, you can tap into the blue/white wire in the cable run under the rear deck by the right rear speaker, or you can run a wire from fuse 23 which turns on with the stereo and shuts off when you open the door.

I haven't seen what the remote looks like either, but you have the right idea about using presets.

Hmm I already have my components and components amp. Can I use the passive crossover on the components with the minidsp? I'd hate to buy a new amp. Unfortunately its a two-channel amp so I can't take the passive crossover out of the occasion and run it active.

 

[shahram72]

Just realized my base stereo has a time alignment feature, and it works! Called "occupancy mode". Problem is, if I use it with a sub, the left and right will be slightly out of phase and that will get translated to the sub and might make it not sound tight.

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