What are your opinions of DSP's for speakers

Thanks for all of your opinions. This has been very informative and given me much to think about! Lots of pro and cons for both sides.

As has been stated already, DSP is an abbreviation of Digital Signal Processing, and it can be implemented in different ways for different purposes. Most here refer to it as a means for digital room correction in listening environments with troubled acoustics, in the context of "consumer or budget audio equipment" (often multi-channel setups), and as an additional process/measure on top of an existing system - typically with passively configured speakers. There’s the gist that DSP is a sub standard approach to fixing problems in a cheap and convenient fashion, and while it can do that it can also - depending on the specific DSP units' design, construction, function and implementation - be a lot more in true state of the art systems. 

@mikelavigne wrote:

DSP is a tool. it’s neither good nor bad. and can make perfect sense when it is the best approach to solve the problem.

A DSP can serve the sole purpose as a digital, active crossover as well, so it’s not only a "tool" but can as well act as an integral, necessary part of a speaker system - prior to amplification.  

but DSP is not free. it costs musical essence.

Compared to what, a passive crossover? With a quality, outboard actively configured DSP in place of a passive crossover (with no other function than that), no. A passive crossover in itself isn’t transparent either, far from it, and it meddles with the amp to driver interface to boot; that’s the double detriment of passive crossovers.

i do not know anyone who uses DSP in a 2 channel system. and have not heard a DSP system for 2 channel that i like.

In what function were the DSP’s used in these 2-channel systems? 

There aren’t a whole bunch of quality DSP’s around, admittedly, and most of them are from the pro sector (that scare off many audiophiles) like XTA, ACX (formerly known as Xilica), DBX and LabGruppen. DEQX makes some cool stuff as well, and is expensive. It’s also worth mentioning, again, that outboard, quality DSP’s can be implemented in most any setup context replacing passive crossovers, albeit with the need for more amp channels to feed each driver section.

Being the über-connoisseur in 2-channel audio reproduction that you are, Mr. Lavigne, and with a passively configured system that no doubt bowls over most of what any of us around here will likely ever get to experience, I’d be interested to learn of your findings with an actively configured and DSP-based setup where the DSP acts as nothing else than a digital, active crossover (i.e.: sans digital room correction) in place of the passive crossovers. Maybe you’d be let down by the outcome, but if so then only because your approach with a passively configured speaker system is so all-out that there’s no digital crossover equivalent readily available. Most however don’t come from the same place (and even so the sonic ceiling can be very high), and that being the case a quality digital XO/DSP for active config. - from my chair - will be the lesser evil compared to a passive context. 

@phusis 

agree that DSP is more than room correction, and can be the right choice for an all digital DIY horn system, assuming you have the skills to execute it, where you have active crossovers. especially where you are using modestly priced digital sources. you have nothing to lose. you have not invested in expensive uber digital with an expensive analog output with signal path purity you are trying to protect. so your performance priority is a digital output to your crossover. it can be one path to great sound on a modest budget.

i’m no expert on the result of such an effort, so it would be unreasonable of me to question your end result. i’m sure it has some amazing attributes.

i have heard the Avant-garde Trio G3 with the I-tron current amplification and it does some amazing things. it does have an analog crossover. but the approach has much in common as far as the directness of the sound.

could i live with it every day? not sure.

Compared to what, a passive crossover? 

i have visited audio shows for 3 decades and heard many all digital active systems and none have ever really got my interest enough to leave a strong impression. but there were many winners and solid sounding set-ups. but honestly not sure i gave them the time of day as i’m a confirmed analog guy and signal path purity is first and foremost to me, and i have spent a couple decades building and tuning a room to support the analog signal path approach. 

so to be fair i don’t know what i don’t know about high level DSP efforts. maybe someday i’ll get bowled over. 

but when i look at my investment in great sources with amazing analog outputs i am skeptical DSP is ever going to do it for me.

as a side note, i have an unused Xilica crossover new in a box sitting up stairs in my barn attic i was going to use with my -3- Funk Audio 18.0 subs with my Trinnov processor for my separate Home Theater system. but turned out that my subs each had a great on board AllDSP crossover so never needed it. i do view the Trinnov as an ultimate product both for room correction and as a crossover so obviously i'm a DSP fanboy big time. horses for courses.

My Emerald Physics 2.8's were designed to be used with DSP. I think it was one of the ways in compensated for the bass loss endemic to an open baffle design. Instead of using what they provided, which was okay, I got the DSpeaker X4, a fairly sophisticated stand alone DSP unit. When i used it for bass at under 250 hertz, it really did a nice job of smoothing out the bass in my problematic room. I very much appreciated its good work. But when I allowed it to be used in the higher frequencies, I was always ill at ease. It changed something for me - but I also allow that it could simply been a bias that colored my perceptions.

Anyway, with my new speakers (I went from open baffle to horns), I do not use DSP, and sold the X4. I am happy this way. 

Keep the DSP in the bass, and I suspect you might be pleased with what it does.

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