What are your opinions of DSP's for speakers

Willywonka

I too am curious about DSP, tweeks, Baach filters, etc.

At Axpona I spent a lot of time in the Theoretica room, to try and understand their Baach4Mac.....and left more confused than when I went in. This will take more digging.

I also spent quite a bit of time, and did purchase a Synergistic Research PowerCell 8SX (to which they through in a lot of extras as a show special) and some pink power cables.....they were with Scott Walker. I need to spend more time here as well, but Ted Denny's demos were eye opening. That being said, the system was probably north of $300,000, but so were many others

I will not be doing this for myself, but I again heard a few "all in one" speaker set ups that were ridiculously good.....these included built in DACs, amps, streamer, DSP, speakers, etc. If I was downsizing or just starting out, I would stongly consider one of these options

The Dutch and Dutch 8C was very impressive, as it has been every time I've ever heard them. I think a pair of 8Cs (NOT THE MONITORS), runs about $15,000

The Grimm Audio LS1C all in one were brilliant (once I got them to mix up the music), it had the matching subwoofer as well. They were being driven with only a Grimm MU1......and I thought were great. A pair were around $24,000, unless you went with the top of the heap bE version......but the demo system was the standard system

Willywonka

It's true there are compromises for a "relative" budget product like the Dutch & Dutch 8C, but I did leave this year thinking I liked them more than the last few times I've heard them......and this year are adding the Baach filters. If someone wanted a simple all in one with really good sound, they are a good option. For someone downsizing for any of many reasons (age, weight, room size, simplicity), it's worth a listen......as are the Grimm LS1Cs (or any other LS1 version), which I thought were more "HiFi" than the 8Cs, but double the price. I never expected a Grimm MU1 and a pair of all in one speakers to create that sound

DSP, signal cancellation, Baach, Synergistic Research, Bybee, QSA, Acoustic Revive, Puron et. al, are offering very interesting solutions. I am going to continue to spend a lot of time learning more in 2025, as I also think these technologies have promise. I choose to have an open mind, and will only judge (positive or negative) when I have personally had a chance to hear them myself.

At Axpona this year I sat through several demos over 2 days in the Synergistic Research/Scott Walker room with Ted Denny (yes I know), and it's the first time some their tech has really gotten my attention. I've noticed slight but noticeable improvements in past experiences, but this time parts of his system made large improvements.

Ted started with everything he brought being active (12 or so components), and slowly turned them off one at a time so we could notice their effect. For me his PowerCell SX, Active Ground Block SX, SX level power cables, and a couple of acoustic tweaks were impressive. Scott Walker had what I though was an excellent deal on a PowerCell bundle (PowerCell 8 SX, Euphoria power cable, UEF Purple power receptacle, Purple Fuse, and carbon fiber receptacle cover). My music room is still several months away, so none of it will get installed and tested until this fall I suspect.

I have much to learn, but am looking forward to the ride