DSP Active Crossover

Most systems that use the Minidsp stuff are low end systems. I don’t know any high end speaker company that uses them (anyone?)......however, the latest Minidsps are very good. If you are just making a 2 way speaker like I have described then the ultimate version (using regular analog amps and not digital amps) would be using the digital only minidsp that costs $500 and add a better power supply and run out of it digital into the DACs of your choice. Use a serious DAC on the mid-tweets and a less expensive one on the woofs. This would compete against lots of super high end speakers. The DACs in the latest Minidsp are good but not great. Same with the dspNexus......just AKM DAC chips and op amps.....the same as $500 separate DACs. The dspNexus has the advantage of having more channels if you want to tri-amp or bi-amp plus subs. It would be great if there were a version of the dspNexus that had digital outs....so any system using it could be improved with better sounding external DACs. The Minidsp SHD has both analog outs and digital outs...but, it is a two way only.

See my post on 9-22 above for the link to my webpage that describes all this (recently updated).

Jaytor,

How is your active system doing?  How does it compare with the passive version?  Any tradeoffs?  My friend in Panama owns the very first Line Force speaker that Danny made and was made from Aluminum.  I just sent him a modded Peachtree Gan1 amp to use on the panels.  He modded the passive xovers with my suggestions.

Minidsp Flex's are way better than you think.  You can use two 4 channel out ones ($500 each) in parallel and get 8 analog channels out with both digital and analog inputs.....I  read that these newer units are using Burr Brown PCM1795 DAC chips....not confirmed.  These units run at 32 bit 96K unless you are using the option Dirac thang which operates at 48k.  The new Flex units run at higher bits and have better distortion, etc. than most of the older stuff.  Built in digital volume control and remote with several presets.  Here are some measurements:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/minidsp-flex-review-audio-dsp.30804/

The minidsp SHD (2 way digital xover) uses an ESS 9028 DAC chip......pretty good. The Audiophile Junkie (see his Youtube channel) uses this Minidsp SHD in his super system. I posted this on a couple of other threads.....but I cannot stop talking about this....so here goes again. This system will blow your mind to pieces and for practically nothing:

http://tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/DIY_Bi-amped_super_speaker.html

A two way system as described is actually very easy to  set up and configure.....As I say in the article.....even a 10 year old can do it.

mijostyn, Did you A/B the minidsp SHD with the latest DEQX in the same system using all the same gear at the same time? "clearly the best" can only be known by serious listening tests. If you did do a serious A/B.....what were the sonic differences? The Minidsp is $1300 with standard mic.

The SHD also has digital outputs that can drive the fantastic and super transparent modded Peachtree GaN 1 amps. A bi-amp system using two modded Gan 1 anps and the SHD should be super duper and cost less than $5K.....so all you need is drivers and a baffle......the SHD can take analog inputs (like a phono stage), is a Roon ready streamer has digital inputs including usb drives and has analog outs as well as the digital outs....all volume controlled. Super versatile.

Of course, the SHD is only a two way xover.....so complicated systems need something else unless one can daisy chain or parallel the minidsp units. Don’t know if that can be done.

I don't understand how you were using a Tact for bi-amping.  Does it have analog line level outs?  Or is this a digital out for subs?  Or two sets of digital outs?  And how were you using the SHD?  Analog outs or digital outs?  And if you are using digital outs what external DACs were you using?  Graininess in what configuration and compared to what?

BTW......I am pretty sure you would get much cleaner bass if all the servo woofs were all facing forward.  Does not make sense to have two facing backwards.  Even Rich Hollis is doing it the way I suggest....so did GT Audioworks (who now uses other non servo woofs....but all facing forward)

https://positive-feedback.com/show-reports/lone-star-audio-fest-2023/

Jaytor,

Given how good your DAC, preamp and passive crossover are......I can see moving to a stock electronic xover as being just a side ways or lowering quality move.  The analog input and output stages are just op amps in the Danville (nothing like the analog stages in your preamp!!!).....and how good are the power supplies and routing and wires and jacks?  It is not made anything like the preamp you made or the DAC you have.  You are removing an excellent passive simple crossover for a way more complex and not as well done thang.  A better A/B would be to use the Danville as the DAC and preamp, as well.  Therefore you are not as much adding something but just changing.  You would then have no external DAC, no external preamp, and no analog cables between them.  You just run the digital signal directly into the Danville and then through their DAC and output stages and then right to your amps.  This is how Rich Hollis is using the Danville.  He uses no preamp or external DAC....he gets some pretty darn good sound.  And if you modded the output stages of the Danville you would then get even better sound.

This is why I am such a fan of digital amps.  You have no DAC, no preamp, no analog cables and you also have no analog stages on the output of the crossover or normal analog amps with feedback (or no feedback).  The digital signal from your source goes directly to the chip in the digital amp and then the PCM is converted directly to PWM and then drives the GaN output stages that drive your speakers.  By using two stereo digital amps you can bi-amp using the Minidsp Flex of SHD and you can build a two way speaker that is out of this world transparent.....because it has no analog crossover and has these low distortion digital amps (sonically low distortion)......all drivers mounted on open baffle and driven directly without connectors from the amps.....this is unheard of simplicity.  Of course, you have a 3 way speaker system with servo amps so going this way would make it way more complicated.....so this would not work for you.  I am sure you have seen my webpage that describes what I am talking about.  This is world class amp/speaker system for $6K.  If you wanted to go bigger you could run 6 12 inch woofers per side on their own baffle and run 8 planars in a long line source on another baffle fo another $2K.  Imagine the impact and transparency of such a monster.......and still only $8K or so.  We are talking 6 12 inch woofers and 8...eight inch planars per side.....open baffle, fully equalized and time aligned.....would blow you away...........just like your current system.....but look at the cost difference!  The only thing you would not get with such a system is super low bass like with the servos.  

Here are a few suggestions to make you current analog xover better.

1. Change the foil coil on the input of the midrange to a 12 gauge version (looks like 14 gauge? is what you are using?  Also, you need to go into the inside of the coil (all coils you use) and out the outside....or the outside to ground if used as a shunt.  I like the Jantzen 12 gauge wax paper coils.  Mundorf has some newer foil coils that are damped as well.

2. Change the Erse coil to a copper foil coil.  Even in a compensation circuit it still makes the same difference.  Erse coils are veiled....big time.

3. Change your speaker input connectors to WBT copper nextgens and cut off most of the solder tab in the back.  Then remove those massive speaker banana posts from your speaker wire and form the end of your speaker wire into a loop and tin it and wrap it around the WBT jack or make your own tinned hook out of 14 gauge VH audio cryoed ofc wire that you use as a spade.  This is much more transparent than what you have.  Even better would be to hardwire your speaker cable directly to the wires in the crossover....or use my plastic clamp system as shown on my Peachtree GaN 1 page.  I have not used any speaker connectors on any speaker or amp in over 40 years.

You could also try my Ground Enhancers and Music Purifiers on the input of your xover....mucho better sound for practically nada moolah.

Whatever you do....please....have fun.