Dirac is my choice on the Marantz AV10

[Paul McNeil]

I previously posted about troubles with Audyssey calibration of my Marantz AV10 (https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/marantz-av10-calibrated-by-audyssey-lacks-bass.128490/). Long story short I had to boost the bass almost 10dB to get a flat curve and there was some attenuation of the known extension of two of my subs, SVS 13 Ultra cylinders. I was not impressed, but using the phone app was an improvement as I could limit the correction to frequencies below 500 htz.

I just spent almost $800 for Dirac Live Full and Bass Control. And after spending a huge sum on the AV10 my wife was skeptical. Hadn't I already purchased a Ferrari?

Well I'm happy to say I am very pleased with the initial results from Dirac. I'm attaching a before (red) and after (green) REW

curve. I didn't do any tweaking. The other three subs are Klipsch THX and the speakers (this is a stereo measurement) Revel Performa F226Be.

My subjective thoughts: 1) clarity (my wife no longer asks for subtitles); 2) speaker disappearance, especially in surround modes; 3) big bass with definition, it's to die for; and 4) a wide, deep and layered soundstage.

 

[mehew06]

Choosing Dirac on the Marantz AV10 is a great decision! Dirac Live is known for its advanced room correction capabilities, which can significantly enhance the audio quality in your listening environment. It analyzes the acoustics of your room and adjusts the sound output accordingly, resulting in clearer, more balanced audio playback. With Dirac, you can enjoy a more immersive and accurate listening experience, making the most out of your Marantz AV10 amplifier.

 

[Paul McNeil]

Choosing Dirac on the Marantz AV10 is a great decision! Dirac Live is known for its advanced room correction capabilities, which can significantly enhance the audio quality in your listening environment. It analyzes the acoustics of your room and adjusts the sound output accordingly, resulting in clearer, more balanced audio playback. With Dirac, you can enjoy a more immersive and accurate listening experience, making the most out of your Marantz AV10 amplifier.

Well now instead of a Ford, yes, I do believe I have a Ferrari! But why did I have to pay more than the Ferrari price!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Do you also have the Audyssey graph superimposed with the Dirac graph?

That’s one advantage of the Marantz/Denon? You can compare Dirac vs Audyssey?

 

[Paul McNeil]

Do you also have the Audyssey graph superimposed with the Dirac graph?

That’s one advantage of the Marantz/Denon? You can compare Dirac vs Audyssey?

Sure!

 

[Paul McNeil]

P.S. I could fix this, simply by adjusting the bass upwards, from Audyessy settings of minus 10 dB, please see this link to Audioholics...https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/marantz-av10-calibrated-by-audyssey-lacks-bass.128490/

 

[PENG]

As I mentioned many times before, they are both effective if tweaked, but Dirac is more effective for those who don't want to tweaked with the app.

Of the 3 popular, and relatively affordable RC, I would rank them as follow:

No tweak: DLBC better than Audyssey better than Anthem ARC Genesis

With minimum tweaks, Same order, but Audyssey and Anthem ARC would be closer.

With hours of tweaks, by those who know what they are doing: DLBC, Audyssey, ARC Gensis

That's based on verified results in my rooms, using REW/Umik-1 mic plots, multiple mic positions.

If based on subjective measurements, that is owner's ears/brains:

ARC Genesis would be the best, but we all know what subjective measurements mean right.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

As I mentioned many times before, they are both effective if tweaked, but Dirac is more effective for those who don't want to tweaked with the app.

Of the 3 popular, and relatively affordable RC, I would rank them as follow:

No tweak: DLBC better than Audyssey better than Anthem ARC Genesis

With minimum tweaks, Same order, but Audyssey and Anthem ARC would be closer.

With hours of tweaks, by those who know what they are doing: DLBC, Audyssey, ARC Gensis

That's based on verified results in my rooms, using REW/Umik-1 mic plots, multiple mic positions.

If based on subjective measurements, that is owner's ears/brains:

ARC Genesis would be the best, but we all know what subjective measurements mean right.

One of these days you gotta get a cheap Yamaha so you can add YPAO to the graphs. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is DLBC > Audyssey > Anthem ARC > YPAO, but…

 

[Paul McNeil]

As I mentioned many times before, they are both effective if tweaked, but Dirac is more effective for those who don't want to tweaked with the app.

Of the 3 popular, and relatively affordable RC, I would rank them as follow:

No tweak: DLBC better than Audyssey better than Anthem ARC Genesis

With minimum tweaks, Same order, but Audyssey and Anthem ARC would be closer.

With hours of tweaks, by those who know what they are doing: DLBC, Audyssey, ARC Gensis

That's based on verified results in my rooms, using REW/Umik-1 mic plots, multiple mic positions.

If based on subjective measurements, that is owner's ears/brains:

ARC Genesis would be the best, but we all know what subjective measurements mean right.

Thanks, Peng, for that focused response. Well, yeah, these responses for this novice are first stage. But I'm surprised that, as you say, Audyssey offers more tweaks than Dirac. Though, I did miss with Dirac, the possibility of adjusting speaker 'Level". This can be important, in surround mode, with center channel level adjustment. Sometimes upping that can make dialogue clearer. But with my Dirac calibration, I don't seem to need this. And, as I said above, my wife (not a native English speaker) does not ask for subtitles!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Thanks, Peng, for that focused response. Well, yeah, these responses for this novice are first stage. But I'm surprised that, as you say, Audyssey offers more tweaks than Dirac. Though, I did miss with Dirac, the possibility of adjusting speaker 'Level". This can be important, in surround mode, with center channel level adjustment. Sometimes upping that can make dialogue clearer. But with my Dirac calibration, I don't seem to need this. And, as I said above, my wife (not a native English speaker) does not ask for subtitles!

Well. You can’t lose. You have the Best RC - DLBC and the Second Best RC - Audyssey.

First world problems.

 

[Paul McNeil]

Well. You can’t lose. You have the Best RC - DLBC and the Second Best RC - Audyssey.

First world problems.

Hahahaha....

 

[Paul McNeil]

Oh, and now, with Dirac correction (Full Live plus Bass Control), I definitely prefer 'stereo' mode for playback of two channel, CD resolution music, over any surround mode. Imaging with Dirac is amazing!

 

[PENG]

One of these days you gotta get a cheap Yamaha so you can add YPAO to the graphs. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is DLBC > Audyssey > Anthem ARC > YPAO, but…

I would love to, but if I buy another AVR (just bought one less than 2 weeks ago, I may not survive....

YPAO cant't be bad, Yamaha knows what they are doing, and have the resource.

 

[PENG]

Oh, and now, with Dirac correction (Full Live plus Bass Control), I definitely prefer 'stereo' mode for playback of two channel, CD resolution music, over any surround mode. Imaging with Dirac is amazing!

I have been tweaking DL and DLBC (2 configurations) on my cheap CAD 800 or USD 550?, tax in, on my new AVR-X1800H; and is thoroughly enjoying good/accurate sound. I wish I had kept my AV8801 and AVR-X4400H, but for my 2 ch stereo bookshelf based setup, the little Denon makes sense, and it has preamp mode, it's incredible cheap avr so good that everyone should get one when it is on sale.

 

[PENG]

Here's some REW graphs that shows decent result, after just a quick tweak. If I spent a few hours on it, I am sure I can get them much better but the better graphs will likely not mean better audible results.

I usually use much less smoothing, such as 1/24, but since Paul posted his with 1/6, I thought I would do the same, obviously that makes the graphs prettier.

For mic positions 12 inches to the right and left, the response obviously are not as flat, but still quite decent.

 

[Paul McNeil]

I have been tweaking DL and DLBC (2 configurations) on my cheap CAD 800 or USD 550?, tax in, on my new AVR-X1800H; and is thoroughly enjoying good/accurate sound. I wish I had kept my AV8801 and AVR-X4400H, but for my 2 ch stereo bookshelf based setup, the little Denon makes sense, and it has preamp mode, it's incredible cheap avr so good that everyone should get one when it is on sale.

Well, I'll never miss my AV8802A, works perfectly. In fact, is anyone interested in buying this, just $995, with shipping from Poland (native 110 volt), no kidding

 

[Paul McNeil]

I usually use much less smoothing, such as 1/24, but since Paul posted his with 1/6, I thought I would do the same, obviously that makes the graphs prettier.

Scale also matters, for pretty!

 

[Paul McNeil]

And by the way, what is the standard here, at Audiophiles? What matters in an REW response curve is smoothing (one person on an Audiophiliac's YouTube video suggested that REW 'psychoacoustic' was best, since this is what we hear) and scale (vertical axis magnitude). I think a site devoted to objective results, would specify these parameters...

 

[PENG]

Well, I'll never miss my AV8802A, works perfectly. In fact, is anyone interested in buying this, just $995, with shipping from Poland (native 110 volt), no kidding

Someone will grab it for that price. I got C$800 for my 8801, that is about US$600 but the 8802A should fetch much more, and the C$800 was for a trade in, the dealer has to sell it for at least $100 more.

 

[PENG]

And by the way, what is the standard here, at Audiophiles? What matters in an REW response curve is smoothing (one person on an Audiophiliac's YouTube video suggested that REW 'psychoacoustic' was best, since this is what we hear) and scale (vertical axis magnitude). I think a site devoted to objective results, would specify these parameters...

For the bass range, no smoothing or up to 1/12, no standard as such, just that it would make sense technically speaking.

For the range above, say 500 Hz, 1/6 is okay, though for tweaking, I would use 1/12 or even 1/24, so I can see better as to what to do.

For the ears/brains, people use psychoacoustic or variable smoothing.