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Reviewed by Russell Williams, 1st October 2012. This is the best subwoofer EQ device I've tested to date. That it goes so far beyond that is, quite simply, brilliant.
Read the full review...
Read the full review...
Question -I assume these formats relate to the USB input only?
Most USB audio devices support only PCM (of varying bit-depths, sample rates and number of channels), and any audio format decoding is performed on the PC. Anti-Mode 2.0 Dual Core is no different, so what formats the DSP's decode with their ROM firmware is more or less irrelevant when USB is concerned.
Buy the Anti-Mode 8033 then. It's about £200, but it only does subwoofers.Great review, I'd love one of these to sort out my problem room but sadly it's about £500 more than I'd be prepared to pay for such a device.
Hopefully someone will come up with a much cheaper alternative soon.....Hopefully
I don't know is the short answer, as I've yet to try it. My prior experience was of the stand alone Audyssey unit that seemed to work wonders with film, but had nothing to do with music making. I've yet to hear an automated unit that applies EQ across the entire frequency range that sounds any different, but reports on XT 32 seem to indicate that it's very capable in this regard.Good review again Russ
I have a question for you. Taking the manual functions out of the equation for a minute, and going from a pure auto cal perspective, how would you say this compares to multi eq XT32. I am wandering if this device is worth investing in for someone that has that Audyssey system already, and only wants a fire and forget eq solution.
So in what context is the unit limited to these formats then?
The only caveat to that for me would be if you happen to have xt32 in your system already. Some processors are now carrying this system, and if you do have that, there is also the pro kit one could add. These two things seems to be in direct competition now. Ive used Audyssey plenty and its always impressed, and working on all speakers it definitely an added bonus IMO, but the lack of any manual tweaking means the AM definitely has a major appeal in that regard.I don't know is the short answer, as I've yet to try it. My prior experience was of the stand alone Audyssey unit that seemed to work wonders with film, but had nothing to do with music making. I've yet to hear an automated unit that applies EQ across the entire frequency range that sounds any different, but reports on XT 32 seem to indicate that it's very capable in this regard.
But you can't buy XT 32 on it's own, so the comparison is somewhat moot.
I can only compare to the SVS Audyssey unit and based on my experience of it and the meaurements, I'd lean toward the Anti-Mode. That it offers solutions to rooms that don't enjoy a preset idea of correct, only seals the deal in my book.
Russell
PBK and ARC are the same thing in all practical terms, so if you had both, there's little point in running both. The EQ results of PBK/ARC and the Anti-Mode are very similar, from having tried both in this room.I'd love to see a shoot out between XT32, plus pro, vs PBK, vs ARC, vs both Antimodes, purely for single sub calibration.
As an aside, do ARC and PBK work in the time dimension as i cant find much info about this on the web, and i still wonder if there is a bit of an overhang with my sub. Should get REW going really i suppose but im never confident i get the levels set properly.
Thanks Russell as ever for your informative and enjoyable write up.
"A point worth noting is that the VS8053 can only handle license free digital codecs, which means WAV (PCM & IMA ADPCM), Flac and Ogg Vorbis" As an aside, ALAC has been open source for a while now so I wonder why that is not in their list of formats.
Question -I assume these formats relate to the USB input only? Being a bit thick here but I assume my ALAC music from my Apple TV2 via optical out will be fine. I am happy with my anti-mode 8033 but am trying to understand if the Dual Core would easily let me equalise my 2.0 and 2.1 listening but still handle the .1 in my 5.1. I use an AV9 processor with active fronts. I have checked out the connection examples here DSPeaker-Anti-Mode 2.0 Dual Core connection examples but am still not clear.
Hi all. I am still not sure when the formats quoted come in to play, or if the Dual Core would/could equalise my 2.0/2.1 speakers, as well as the subwoofer in 5.1.
Reviewed by Russell Williams, 1st October 2012. This is the best subwoofer EQ device I've tested to date. That it goes so far beyond that is, quite simply, brilliant.
Read the full review...
Thanks for the detailed review, Russell.
You state that the Dual Core does not handle 24/96 inputs. However, my Dual Core does take all digital files up to and including 24/96 (though not 24/176/192). I have it connected to the output of my Squeezebox Touch via Toslink, and it performs quite well in my main system (see my prior post for the connection scheme). I'm not sure if the Dual Core then transcodes down, but 24/96 files actually sound better than when played through my former DAC, a Cambridge Audio 840-C.
Guido F.
Thanks for the info. This parallels what the DSPeaker site says, as well as my experience with files up to 24/96. It's still not completely clear to me what actually happens to such files, internally, as they are processed by the DC. But the resulting sound is excellent in all respects.From the tweekgeek.com site:
DSpeaker Dual Core - Anti-Mode 2.0 Dual Core
What is the sampling frequency on S/PDIF, analog and USB?
The S/PDIF receiver supports the standard PCM rates 32kHz/44.1kHz/48kHz plus 96kHz with upto 24 bits, whatever comes from the source. The S/PDIF receiver can also be configured to support 192kHz. We are not sure if 192kHz will be enabled in the first firmware version.
Analog input rate is by default 48kHz.
Technically, USB Audio supports several configurations from 44.1kHz/32-bit through 192kHz/16-bit. The most useful rates will be provided, the default is 44.1kHz/48kHz with 24 bits.
The audio processing is performed in 32-bit domain, so 24-bit with 48kHz rate is optimal.
What USB version does the USB DAC mode support?
The hardware is USB 1.3 (Full Speed), several USB Audio configurations can be supported. The default is 24-bit 44.1kHz/48kHz
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They also told me on the phone that USB reception will be upgraded in future firmware iterations so that very hi-rez files can at least be played back. However, they did say that it wont SOUND better, given that their DAC process will still use local clocking and still upsample everything to 6.1mhz.
I do have one question though that has not been answered anywhere. When you run the "typical" correction, what frequency range is impacted? Is it up to 250hz or up to the full 500hz that is possible in Advanced mode. I think there was a youtube video where this was discussed...
I use a Dual Core to equalize my 2.1 system. See attached connection scheme.