The Dirac Live magic wand and great atmos demo

[ellisdj]

I was hired yesterday to go to someone's house and setup their dirac live in their Arcam AVR850.

I am pretty good using it but even I surprised myself with the transformation of the guys system.

Previously he had dirac live setup by 2 other people who didn't do a very good job compared to what you can do.

I turned his systems sound from nothing to talk about to something really special, listening to music and watching films is now a real experience for him. I was really impressed at the end and he couldn't believe the transformation.

I had previously thought dirac live is not a magic wand but it is when it's in the right hands.

It was also one of the best atmos demos I have had, I actually really want it now never have before.

His system was pmc twenty 23 front and centre and all Dali rears and heights.
Arcam AVR 850 with P429 for heights Oppo 203

 

[Q5]

I was hired yesterday to go to someone's house and setup their dirac live in their Arcam AVR850.

I am pretty good using it but even I surprised myself with the transformation of the guys system.

Previously he had dirac live setup by 2 other people who didn't do a very good job compared to what you can do.

I turned his systems sound from nothing to talk about to something really special, listening to music and watching films is now a real experience for him. I was really impressed at the end and he couldn't believe the transformation.

I had previously thought dirac live is not a magic wand but it is when it's in the right hands.

It was also one of the best atmos demos I have had, I actually really want it now never have before.

His system was pmc twenty 23 front and centre and all Dali rears and heights. Arcam AVR 850 with P429 for heights Oppo 203

Well done and sounds like you are both happy chappies. Keep up the good work.

 

[Sliced Bread]

Nice one Ellis. I had the pleasure of listening to an Arcam 390 with PMC 25 series speakers a little while ago. Great combination!

I like the idea of Dirac too. Although Yamaha’s YPAO is parametric I still find the 7 bands that bit too crude yet difficult to work with.

 

[ellisdj]

I agree with that parametric systems just don't give enough control outside of bass management.
What's crazy Back in the day YPAO didn't do any bass eq not sure if they do now.

Dirac is far more advanced and clever but still only as good as the user.
I have 're set up my own cinema system since doing that chaps as I learnt something new doing his to implement in mine.

I plan to do the HiFi setup next and see if I can eek more performance from it don't see why not

 

[Sliced Bread]

I agree with that parametric systems just don't give enough control outside of bass management. What's crazy Back in the day YPAO didn't do any bass eq not sure if they do now.

Dirac is far more advanced and clever but still only as good as the user. I have 're set up my own cinema system since doing that chaps as I learnt something new doing his to implement in mine.

I plan to do the HiFi setup next and see if I can eek more performance from it don't see why not

Best way forward…it’s a free upgrade J

YPAO does now also EQ the Subwoofer but I think it is just 4 parmetric bands, so I stick with the Anti-mode. In fact the anti-mode does such a good job that if I run YPAO with it engaged, the receiver doesn’t make a single adjustments J

 

[ellisdj]

it wont do with just 4 bands - 4 might be enough to get you out of real trouble but wont be enough to really dial in the most problematic area of sound reproduction in a room.

I tried for years to use minimal eq on subwoofers and get great bass but its really hard.

Antimodes are good products thats where I started but they dont give you enough control of the sound for me - I want total control of the sound balance of my system as thats how you dial it right in and work magic with it.

 

[MajorFubar]

Great work. I'm sure you also stressed the importance of getting the basics right in his room, such as speaker placement and acoustic treatment. When you're using digital EQ to correct the FR at such fine granularity, it's then fairly easy to unintentionally deviate the results massively, even by just shuffling furniture around or moving the speakers backwards/forwards by a few inches, unless the room is well treated.

 

[Sliced Bread]

it wont do with just 4 bands - 4 might be enough to get you out of real trouble but wont be enough to really dial in the most problematic area of sound reproduction in a room.

I tried for years to use minimal eq on subwoofers and get great bass but its really hard.

Antimodes are good products thats where I started but they dont give you enough control of the sound for me - I want total control of the sound balance of my system as thats how you dial it right in and work magic with it.

What do you use to EQ the sub?