Dirac Research AP20--> SOTA?

[Raul GS]

I have been trying to get some info on this processor, sadly it seems it is quite difficult to find people using them or retailers demoing them. It has many qualities I have been searching for in an SSP, but sadly have been ignored by the industry (I guess my needs are too far from most people's requirements). The company seems to driven by science, which could bode well for their design. I love the fact that it has 16 digital and analog channel outputs that can be independently eq'd and x-overed. The specs below give an idea of the product. Anybody here have any experience with them?


Engineered to deliver
precise reproduction of both analog
and digital sources, the AP20 leverages the power of 6 Analog
Devices 400MHz DSPs. The AP20 offers 16 channels of digital
and 8 channels of analog inputs coupled to the 16 digital and 16
analog outputs. In addition to 1 S/PDIF and 2 TOSLINK inputs,
the AP20 features 4 HDMI 1.3b inputs with Blu-Ray HD decoding
and active loudspeaker crossovers.

Each of the 16 channels Include
• 31 bands of 3rd octave equalization
• 3 bands of parametric equalization
• Channel gain & phase inversion control
• Individual Bass & Treble controls
• Variable delay line adjustable from 0ms to 1000ms
One of the Most Compelling Features
of the AP20 is the
inclusion of Dirac Live® room optimization technology. Dirac
Live® is a state-of-the-art digital room correction technology
that improves the listener experience by correcting for room
modes and anomalies using high-resolution filter technology.

Configure once and never touch again. The result - improved
musical staging, clarity of dialogue and an enhanced listener
experience.

 

[Ron Party]

IIRC, Mark Seaton previous posted something about this SSP.

 

[Carl_Huff]

Sorry that I didn't see this thread sooner. I was the lead engineer on the AP20 for most of the products development. I conceived the product and am intimately familiar with it. I've just come back from 'THE Show' in Las Vegas where we demonstrated the AP20 with reissued ESS AMT loudspeakers. The combination was well received. What can I tell you about it? If you are interested in buying one, I am a dealer. I'd be glad to sell you one.

 

[RBFC]

Carl,

Welcome to the forum! There have been many good comments buzzing around the net about the Dirac. If you would please give us a more detailed description of the unit, we would ask you to post it in the Manufacturer's Forum here under "General Discussion". This will make it easier to find for our members.

Thanks,

Lee

 

[audioguy]

I am actively considering one of these. While I am quite taken with my Integra 80.2, particularly how it fixes low, middle and upper bass, it is not perfect. I am used to a preamp that when the volume is cranked up with no source material, the speakers are dead quiet. The 80.2 does not qualify in that regard. Actually, not even close. The TacT does a much better job.

None of the high-end pre-pro's that I have looked at utilize the kind of room correction I am most comfortable with (except the TacT, AP20 and maybe the Trinnov based products but I'm not familiar with all of the platform that Trinnov runs on). Most use some form of parametric EQ, either automatically applied or customized. In my experience, NONE of those approaches do as good a job dealing with bass ringing as do solutions that are time based correction systems (like Audyssey and Dirac Live). And even all time based solutions are not created equal. The bass correction from my 80.2 for two channel is clearly superior to that of my TacT 2.2XP -- which was a huge surprise to me.

Also, rumors have it that the ADC and DAC hardware in the AP20 are of a very much different and higher caliber.

My investigation continues. I would really like a single product that was as good for 2 channel as it was more movies so I would no longer need a separate preamp.

 

[amirm]

As you may know, we have had a long discussion on this product in another forum. My net of it is that these guys do understand room correction. I am less convinced of its DAC and analog performance. That "rumor" about it having good DACs has come from one person with next to no credentials in making such an assessment. The bit I have heard from their designer is that they were cost conscious given the 16 channels of it they had to deploy.

That said, it is slim picking when it comes to HDMI processors with high-end EQ. So I can't blame you if you move forward with it . Me, I am waiting for the new Lexicon. If its EQ is as good as what I am hearing in JBL Synthesis, that would be superb. But it is not here and how knows when it is going to ship.

 

[audioguy]

Well the good news is that if the DAC's are not that great, the AP20 provides digital outputs for all channels so I could use my Benchmark DAC or something else that is above what the AP20 provides. I don't know of any other SSP (maybe Meridian) that provides digital out. My Casablanca did but I was under the impression that they would not provide digital out of the higher resolutions.

And since the AP20 also provide digital in, I could use a high quality ADC (Benchmark makes one of those as well) and, at least for stereo, have about the best available.

 

[amirm]

That is a sound approach . BTW, here is the comparison of the DAC in AP-20 as provided by TI (i.e. may be different in real product) vs measured Benchmark DAC performance:

As you see, the benchmark is quite a bit better (numerically that is).

 

[amirm]

Roger Dressler (ex-dolby expert) just evaluated this box. He like the EQ (although he could match it manually with a PEQ by using the same curve). However, he could hear the noise from this product from 6 feet away. I am trying to clarify it with him but it appears that his speakers have 86 db SPL sensitivity. If so, then that is a very noisy product in my book. He makes the argument that you won't hear the noise at your listening position. But in my book if a box has such high noise floor, I have little confidence in the rest of its sonic abilities (putting aside its good EQ characteristics).