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Topic: Digital signal processing speakers (Read 4940 times) previous topic - next topic
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Digital signal processing speakers

Why aren't these more common both in consumer speakers and in higher end/more expensive speakers? They have the ability to remove flawed passive crossover parts like inductors and capacitors. They can also EQ speaker response to give a more ideal flat response than the default mechanical capability of the drivers. If the user is willing to take measurements in their room with a mic they can be further tuned to mitigate room response issues like reflection points or modal bass problems in small rooms.

It just seems bizarre that there are so few companies that are pursuing this path.

Digital signal processing speakers

Reply #1 –
Quote from: sennhead on
Why aren't these more common both in consumer speakers and in higher end/more expensive speakers? They have the ability to remove flawed passive crossover parts like inductors and capacitors. They can also EQ speaker response to give a more ideal flat response than the default mechanical capability of the drivers. If the user is willing to take measurements in their room with a mic they can be further tuned to mitigate room response issues like reflection points or modal bass problems in small rooms.


I think most people who buy high end hardware would prefer to have a dedicated receiver rather than a digital speaker system.

Digital signal processing speakers

Reply #2 –
DSP and multi-amping seem to have become pretty common outside of "high-end audio".

I've been playing with smallish Bluetooth speakers for awhile, and some of the more recent ones have surprisingly flat on-axis frequency response, Sony's SRS-X11 for instance. It's egg-shaped predecessor didn't come close.

Sonos seems to have gone one step better by introducing "Trueplay" room correction to their wireless products. I'd like to tell you how well it works, but they don't currently offer the feature for Playbar 

Lots of instances where you'd still want passive / passively crossed-over speakers due to cost, size, convenience, etc.

Digital signal processing speakers

Reply #3 –
Look at it from what might be a typical audiophile point of view:

Said audiophile spends a lot of money on his his DAC, the same or more on his amplifier or pre-amp,  each item being selected, not only according to its sound, apparent to him, but also to the synergy between them, which he fine-tunes with cables.  Would he then feed the resultant signal into a further chain on ADC->DSP->DAC->Amplifier inside the speaker box? No, he would not.
The most important audio cables are the ones in the brain

Digital signal processing speakers

Reply #4 –
Active nearfield 'studio' monitors seem to be very popular atm. The latest designs feature digital DSP processing even at the affordable midrange level.

EVE Audio are a good example.

Eve DSP

They take an analogue input, convert it to digital PCM, process it then convert to digital PWM for the amplifiers. So not only do you get variable high and low shelf filters you get an option of desk filters too. I also suspect they do something with the low end to get so deep in such a small box.

Another current example is the Neumann KH810 subwoofer. It pretty much calibrates and sets itself up on it's own. With a bit of help from supplied test tones etc.

KH810

Pretty soon loudspeakers will go 100% digital but until then it doesn't really matter anyway. Most people using loudspeakers of that quality will also have an audio interface which comes with multiband graphical parametric EQ as standard. 100% control of your output.

MOTU Cuemix

The future is already here. You just need to know where to look.

Digital signal processing speakers

Reply #5 –
Quote from: Thad E Ginathom on
Look at it from what might be a typical audiophile point of view:

Said audiophile spends a lot of money on his his DAC, the same or more on his amplifier or pre-amp,  each item being selected, not only according to its sound, apparent to him, but also to the synergy between them, which he fine-tunes with cables.  Would he then feed the resultant signal into a further chain on ADC->DSP->DAC->Amplifier inside the speaker box? No, he would not.

So, what about audiophiles who buy Meridian components? They've been pushing the idea of DSP speakers for years now.

Pricey, though.

Digital signal processing speakers

Reply #6 –
Hi-Fi and home theater speakers are traditionally passive (except for the subwoofer).    A home theater receiver has speaker outputs and rarely optional line/preamp outputs (except for the subwoofer). 
Room correction is often built into home theater receivers, and to some extent that can compensate for imperfect speakers.

With an active speaker/monitor the additional digital circuitry would add some cost.    And, there are "tweaks" you can make with an active-analog crossover that may make going-digital unnecessary.

I wouldn't automatically assume a monitor with DSP is better than a monitor with a purely analog crossover.

Digital signal processing speakers

Reply #7 –
Quote from: sennhead on
Why aren't these more common both in consumer speakers and in higher end/more expensive speakers?

Sound quality/acoustic performance play very minor roles in either of those markets.

cheers,

AJ
Loudspeaker manufacturer

Digital signal processing speakers

Reply #8 –
Quote from: JabbaThePrawn on
Quote from: Thad E Ginathom on
Look at it from what might be a typical audiophile point of view:

Said audiophile spends a lot of money on his his DAC, the same or more on his amplifier or pre-amp,  each item being selected, not only according to its sound, apparent to him, but also to the synergy between them, which he fine-tunes with cables.  Would he then feed the resultant signal into a further chain on ADC->DSP->DAC->Amplifier inside the speaker box? No, he would not.

So, what about audiophiles who buy Meridian components? They've been pushing the idea of DSP speakers for years now.

Pricey, though.


If the thing has the right name on it, then all other concerns can be put aside.
The most important audio cables are the ones in the brain

Digital signal processing speakers

Reply #9 –
Quote from: 4season on
Sonos seems to have gone one step better by introducing "Trueplay" room correction to their wireless products. I'd like to tell you how well it works

This makes interesting reading and excellent results are reported in previews; I am looking forward to seeing how this works in practice, it is still to be released to the public. The notable thing is that it will tune the entire installed base of their active speakers as well, getting the same hardware to deliver more, for no charge.
The controller will also allow for an immediate comparison of sound before/after tuning, via the Trueplay defeat button on it. Blind AB testing ought to be very easy.

Sonos bashers abound, but I have been very pleased since moving to that platform in 2011. I use a combination of third party amps, third party passive speakers and Sonos active wireless speakers and a Sonos Sub across four rooms, and I have enjoyed more music in the last four years than in the entire decade prior. With no loss of sound quality.
 

Digital signal processing speakers

Reply #10 –
Quote from: RonaldDumsfeld on
I also suspect they do something with the low end to get so deep in such a small box.

The consequence of this becomes positive marketing spin: to get really deep bass in a small box requires a lot of power. The Devialet Phantom boasts 3000W of amplification, but the new B&O Beolab 90 apparently has 8200W per speaker!!