User manual
miniDSP Ltd, Hong Kong / www.minidsp.com / Features and speci fications subject to change wi thout pri or noti ce 35
5 USING THE DDRC-88A AUDIO PROCESSOR
Once the desired correction filters have been downloaded into the DDRC-88A audio processor, the computer is
not required and can be disconnected.
5.1 CONFIGURING SOURCE EQUIPMENT
Because of the effect of the Dirac Live algorithm, the settings required in source equipment may differ to the
settings used prior to deploying the DDRC-88A.
5.1.1 Level trims
Dirac Live aligns the gain of all channels. The level trims of all channels should therefore all be set to the same
value (typically 0 dB) in the source equipment.
If you have used the 5.1 Speaker System or 7.1 Speaker System configuration and find that your subwoofer is
much too loud, it may be that your source equipment has applied a 10 dB LFE alignment gain. A quick solution is
to reduce the subwoofer trim level by 10 dB. For more information, see LFE alignment gain on page 44.
5.1.2 Subwoofer channel gain
If your source equipment has a switchable 10 dB gain on the subwoofer output, your choice will interact with
the system configuration chosen in the Output & Levels tab.
If you chose the Custom System configuration, enable the 10 dB of gain.
If you chose the 5.1 Speaker System or 7.1 Speaker System configuration, disable the 10 dB of gain.
For more information, see LFE alignment gain on page 44.
5.1.3 Bass management
If you are using bass management, follow the instructions of the equipment manufacturer to reconfigure bass
management after performing your Dirac Live calibration. The bass management settings that you had prior to
including the DDRC-88A in your system may no longer be valid due to the changes in system response
introduced by Dirac Live.
5.1.4 Delays/speaker distance
Dirac Live calculates the relative delays between all channels and corrects for any differences. In the source
equipment, all delays (or equivalently, speaker distance) should therefore be set to the same value , so that the
delays calculated by Dirac Live are effective.
5.1.5 Room correction and EQ
Turn off any room correction in the source equipment. Dirac Live performs a full set of sophisticated room
correction optimization algorithms, and “adding” additional room correction in the source equipment will not
improve the result, and quite possibly make it worse.
EQ that is being used for room correction should also be turned off. If EQ is being used for subjective tuning,
note that target curves (see Designing your target curve) can be used to create different filter sets for different