miniDSP 2x4 HD Digital Audio Signal Processor, Analog, USB, Toslink Audio Source, 4 Presets Stored

If you have discovered this amazing device, have a use in mind and think you might somehow find a reasonable alternative that is not a POS designed for bad automotive audio then save yourself time and effort and buy it now! I questioned and researched for over a year to find nothing comparable. I found need for a miniature "little black box" multi-channel digital sound processor to use for with the accompaniment system of my player grand piano. My belief that it would be very easy to find because essentially the same circuitry is included in today's "basic" devices was utterly incorrect! My smallish town in the mid-west still--amazingly--has a true "hi-fi" store and even their salesman I've known since the 80s gave me a blank stare when asking about a miniature digital sound processor. My application requires only the basic functions of output channel equalization and input parametric equalization. My audio source is monophonic but the 2x4 nature allows completely independent adjustment of the two input channels which allows separately tailored parametric EQ from the inputs to be applied to the four independent outputs. One input channel has a parametric curve optimized to the single subwoofer channel in its proper space just ahead of the rear leg of the piano with the instrument itself diagonally spaced in the purposely designed band area of a very large room on the lower floor of a big ranch home. The second input channel has very little general parametric EQ but highly tailored EQ curves driving three channels that I call "presence," "depth" and "ambiance" all of which are either very carefully attached to the instrument or directly beneath on the heavy wool Oriental of the sort I consider an absolute sonic necessity outside of a carefully designed concert hall. I've been building and working with audio equipment all of my life and this is the most useful and smooth sounding device I've experienced since my first Heathkit Pro Series component (the awesome preamplifier) c. 1984. Certainly not cheap but considering I paid over $1,000 for a Yamaha DSP-1 in the 1980s it is a fantastic value. Since my system is fully contained to and beneath a physical musical instrument I have absolutely no reason to use the delay and other advanced features. If anything however I somewhat regret not buying the 4 x 8 version. Despite my monophonic input I'm operating six loudspeakers to include two pairs. My corner location has 30' or so of mirrored wall on one wall and another of wood and stone. With a couple more channels I could attempt to play some sonic games to reinforce what I can only call the sonic holograms that find performers I have heard in real life literally in the house. It's the sonic extasy I've sought all my life but never thought I could achieve--much less afford. Yoga beneath the treble section is sublime. Programming via the supplied software is simple and intuitive. The device itself contains the programming instructions for three (at least) system-wide settings that can be changed without direct connection to the computer. I had a problem with the first unit as it utterly refused to maintain connection to my older but top-of-the-line HP laptop. Service and communication was SUPERB! They replaced the original after truly good communication over a few days which seemingly eliminated the computer as the problem. The replacement still experienced communication failure but only rarely--think tens of minutes instead of rarely more than ten seconds--and I was able to properly transfer my settings (created off-line). Very shortly after I got a new laptop (Acer Nitro) and there has never been another communication failure. Operation over the last six months or so has been flawless. I have things power protected but this has been a CRAZY year for storms in southeastern Missouri and the power has experienced numerous "blip outs" and spikes.

The miniDSP is an amazing audio device that has allowed my Jamo S808 subwoofers to play in tandem with my Kali IN-5 studio monitors. After experimenting with multiple crossover filters and slopes, I finally settled on the mellow roll-off 24db/octave Linkwitz-Riley crossover filters. The revised filter settings allow my Jamo subs to blend perfectly with the Kali's without drawing attention to themselves. The miniDSP offers four presets that can be instantly reconfigured as desired, and once saved to the internal memory of the miniDSP, the presets are available via the (included) remote control. I have used the miniDSP both as a dedicated subwoofer crossover and as a high pass crossover for the Kali's. I did notice a slight loss of resolution with the miniDSP in the signal path vs. running the Kali's directly from the balanced outputs of the Fiio K9 AKM dac/preamp. This is largely due to the superior power supply, dac and analog section in the Fiio. I began to wonder if there was untapped potential waiting to be unleashed from the miniDSP. After doing some research I concluded a high quality linear power supply would be the most logical upgrade path to pursue. I purchased a Fiio/Jade Audio PL-50 (2023 version) linear power supply and aftermarket OCC copper dc umbilical cable. After just a few hours of use, I was stunned at the improvement in sound I was hearing from the miniDSP. I hear increased resolution with a deeper soundstage and zero noise of any kind. Bass impact is amazing now. EDM tracks have never sounded this good on the Kali's. It seems the Fiio PL-50 is the key to unlock the full potential of the miniDSP. You can clearly see in the picture I uploaded how massive the PL-50 linear power supply is vs. the miniDSP's stock wall-wart ac power adapter (sitting inside the copper umbilical cable). I am totally happy now and no longer perceive a slight loss of resolution when running the Kali's directly from the miniDSP's rca analog outputs. The extra $160.00 cost of the PL-50 and OCC umbilical cable is a no-brainer if you seriously want to elevate the performance of the miniDSP 2x4HD.

One of the best buys in hifi. Everyone with a desktop music system should get one. The possibilities with this device are endless. Great performing Dac? Check. Parametric EQ? Check. All kinds of inputs, easy to use software, can be used with REW for room equalization (if you have a calibrated measurment mic). All that and all of the cool setups you can use this for. High pass filter your main speakers and have 2 stereo subwoofers, with eq for your room. Custom build your own speakers and use this as an active 2 way crossover. Eq your computer speakers and eq your headphones on a seperate amplifier. This product for what it does is in a league of its own for the price.

This is a very useful product that allowed me to do so many cool setups. First of all the DAC quality is very well. I think it's the same XMOS chip that's used in many more expensive products. This unit has two digital inputs miniUSB and toslink and two aux inputs an 4 aux outputs. This allowed me to connect two pairs of loudspeakers. You can control all the presets with a remote control, big help! The unit itself is pretty cheap for this functionality. It allows to do room correction using many open source solutions. Although I went with proprietary Dirac Live software. To get it working on this miniDSP you need to pay extra $240 for a license at minidsp.com site. When you need to update firmware and then Dirac Live software will be activated. Dirac is a lot more user friendly than most DIY room corrections, I was able to easily setup house curve. That said you need to buy a UMIK mic to do any room measurements. It feels that the manufacturer strongly supports DIY and open source communities. That is a big ideological plus. Their software was easy to use and I haven't got any bugs along the way. The box doesn't look very awesome from design standpoint, so you maybe want to hide it under desk. Well, if it would have cool design, they would sell it for over $500, so I like it as is.

This is a great little DSP (Digital Signal Processor). I use it to X-over my Magnepans to my subwoofer and as a PEQ (Parametric Equalizer) to flatten out the response in my listening room. I've read that some owners have experienced noise with their 2x4HD as well as a finicky USB connector but I have not had an issue with either. When I purchased the unit I considered running it off a rechargeable 12V lead acid battery if I ran into any noise issues. I'm happy to say that the stock Power Supply works fine and is dead quiet. I even A-B'd the PS against the battery and could not hear a difference between the two. The only thing I don't like about the unit is the front & rear mounted RCA jacks. I wanted my 2x4HD to be more like one of my stereo components so I pulled the guts out of the box and placed them in a small metal enclosure (9"x7"x1.7") I purchased from the DIY Audio Store. This allowed me to place the power LED and IR remote sensor on the front panel and move all the connections to the rear. Recommended.

Very useful, highly configurable audio filter and interface. You can add up many combinations of custom parametric and level filters at multiple crossover slopes on any of the 4 outputs. I'm using it to run custom stereo signals to a subwoofer and filtering at -24dB/octive below 26Hz for a live band, since there is no useful content from their instruments near that low, other than noise. This increases the headroom and power handling. I'm using outputs 3 and 4 (set to full range) to drop professional line level: 1.23 volts ( +4dBu PA signals that are quite loud, down to consumer line level: typically -10dBV (0.316 volts) to work with a Tascam digital recorder. Otherwise the PA record outputs distorts the recorder. I've had 2 issues. One time on power up it forgot the settings and had no output. Eventually I found a firmware update that fixes a bug where it occasionally mutes itself and stays that way. 2nd issue: the one I received is very fussy and hard to connect with a computer. I spent a whole day before getting the software to connect even once. It turned out that only ONE of the 12 USB cords I had would work with the miniDSP, and it had to be on a certain port on my laptop. No other combination works and this is repeatable. That is a future concern. The other 11 USB cables and ports are fine but they don't work on this device for some reason. Once it's programmed you don't need USB unless you're using it as a USB interface, need to adjust the parameters or view signal levels. I don't hear any noise, hiss or digital artifacts on mine. I may run it through the function generator and sweep from 20Hz to 20Khz and check it with the oscilloscope just to see. Lastly, I wish it had a power switch. Whenever I set up for a band I have to make sure and not connect the power cord because it WILL turn on, since you can't turn it off. It needs to remain off while all the amps and cables are being connected so I end up finding and messing with the cord cord later to turn it on - assuming you can still find 1 small cord after 5 guys move all their gear around in a huge pile of speakers, cables and equipment. It would be much better to have a power switch so I can connect it and have it ready to go. Note that the power LED is not connected to the input DC power. It only comes on 5-10 seconds later after it boots up.

This allows me to set digital crossovers as well as have bass management for my preamp that lacks a dedicated subwoofer output. I use it to set an lpf on my subs and a hpf on my mains and eq my dual subs. Well worth the price. I also purchased the Dirac upgrade but found I got better results with REW and Rephase. MiniDsp support is fantastic and answered any questions I had.

I was able to eliminate the DAC and my EQ and my Crossover all in on shot . I t also got rid of a bunch of digital noise created by separate devices with cables and connectors . This is for my computer desk . Two satellites and a sub . This little guy is very versatile . I seriously doubt you will be able to find any thing at present 2021 that sounds better / Has the ability to tune you system for the money .....