Dirac Live Bass Control Becomes Available for Denon and Marantz Receivers

(December 14, 2023) Today, Dirac announced that Dirac Live's Bass Control module is available for several existing and upcoming AV receivers and preamplifiers from Denon and Marantz. At launch, seven mid-range and high-end Denon and Marantz units will be able to run Dirac Live Bass Control. All that's needed is an over-the-air software update that will allow customers to purchase a license to activate Dirac Live Bass Control on their selected unit.

Powered by machine learning and AI, Dirac Live Bass Control intelligently co-optimizes a system’s subwoofers and speakers to deliver consistent and even bass. The software aggregates measurement and location data from each subwoofer to determine how a system’s bass is distributed throughout the room. It then identifies gaps in the sound waves and distributes bass evenly across the listening area. The resulting system ensures time alignment among all speakers while also adjusting phase at low frequencies. It's also designed to deliver a smoother low-frequency transition at the crossover point between a subwoofer(s) and speakers

One of Bass Control's more interesting consumer-centric features is that it allows subwoofers to be positioned most anywhere in a room – wherever most aesthetically pleasing – without sacrificing performance for design or vice versa.

“The integration of Dirac Live Room Correction into Denon and Marantz units was a significant step forward in both deepening Dirac’s market penetration and elevating product performance for each brand’s large and loyal customer base,” said Rikard Hellerfelt, Dirac’s VP of Consumer & E-commerce. “Now, we’re going even further by making high-quality bass accessible to everyone from professional integrators and audiophiles to the broader consumer market. This is an important moment for our teams and the industry as a whole.”

The following models are eligible for an upgrade:

• Denon's AVR/AVC-A1H, AVR/AVC-X3800H, AVR/AVC-X4800H, and AVR/AVC-X6800H
• Marantz's AV 10, CINEMA 40, and CINEMA 50

Upgrades for these units are available now. Pricing is $349 for Bass Control Single Subwoofer and $499 for Bass Control Multi-Subwoofer; single Subwoofer users can upgrade to Multi-Subwoofer for $169.

To install, eligible Denon owners should click here, and Marantz owners should click here. Payment and software upgrades are managed directly through both links.

 

[Ty_Tanium]

Thanks for the update Todd. I hate to be a party poop here, but Diracs' pricing isn’t within reason. I’ve already spent thousands buying my AV10 (haven't finished hooking it up yet), and now Dirac wants me to spend another $800 to cover the full spectrum and the subs?! Like Al would say on Tool Time, “I don’t think so Tim." Dirac has priced themselves out of a potential customer. Ya, it'll take me a lot longer to tweak it to perfection, but to save $800 it'll be worth it.

 

[MusicManLen]

@Ty_Tanium I'm with you on this. I set up my Marantz AV10 with (4) subs using the optional Audyssey App $20.00 on Google Play Store and I'm golden. Could Dirac make my system better? Probably but at a much higher buy in than the picture of Jackson.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I hear you guys, loud and clear. The great news is that Audyssey is a rock solid option. You can get a great calibration and system performance with it.

Dirac is there for those that want it… and I’m going to have to side with you on the pricing front. It’s definitely expensive (which is why that price isn’t being absorbed by manufacturers). I do like the fact that it’s an option for those who wish to purchase it - it’s a great set of technologies - but you’re certainly in good hands with Audyssey!

 

[Ty_Tanium]

Totally agree. It's great that it's an option, and glad we're not forced to pay for it in a higher purchase price. Although I'm not impressed with Audyssey, it's better than nothing.

 

[Mike-48]

Agreed, $500 seem a lot to add sub control to DRC. Am I the only one who thinks that all auto-EQ programs need tweaking and time to get just right? It would be nice if this had, say, a 90-day trial period, to see if the user thought the improvement was worth the price.

 

[rszk]

With the Audyssey MultEQ-X option available app for your laptop as well with incredible control and refinement, I think this would be a better option and will compete well against DIRAC, given its cheaper price too. Team that up with their tigher tolerance calibrated microphone and you will be within spitting distance of DIRAC.

 

[jdubs75]

Dirac is having a launch offer with 30% off. Cost me $550 for full bandwidth and multi sub. Is it worth the additonal $350 over the cost of the $200 Audyssey MultEQ-X?....... time will tell.

Use code: 30BCDM23

Marantz AV 10 – Dirac

Dirac Live for Marantz AV 10 Launch Offer – 30% off Bass Control Use the code 30BCDM23 to get 30% off Bass Control licenses. Get...

www.dirac.com

 

[Ty_Tanium]

The ad says 30% off the bass control. Are they taking 30% off of everything? Even if they are, $550 is still too much as far as I'm concerned.

 

[JStewart]

Agreed, $500 seem a lot to add sub control to DRC. Am I the only one who thinks that all auto-EQ programs need tweaking and time to get just right? It would be nice if this had, say, a 90-day trial period, to see if the user thought the improvement was worth the price.

Pretty sure you can still get 30 day money back although Dirac has never advertised it. Just ask @Flak (Flavio) of Dirac if you’re interested.

 

[JStewart]

About the pricing…

I wished it was less expensive too and if you have Audyssey already you’re likely paying for a smaller improvement vs no room correction which makes it a harder decision.

On the other hand, Dirac pricing is very much in line other multi-channel DSP offerings, Acourate and Audiolense. It works natively on an AV processor where they don’t. It has a much more usable user interface and is a largely automated process. It has automated multiple sub integration which they don’t.

So it appears to be fairly priced for what it is.

 

[Ty_Tanium]

It may be competitively priced, but that means they're all overpriced. I'd be willing to bet they'd make more profit if they cut the price in half because they'd sell more than twice as many. Too bad we'll never find out.

 

[JStewart]

It may be competitively priced, but that means they're all overpriced. I'd be willing to bet they'd make more profit if they cut the price in half because they'd sell more than twice as many. Too bad we'll never find out.

Perhaps you’re right and I’m wildly speculating here, but maybe they want to keep the user base lower so as to less overwhelm their customer service and developer resources fixing bugs that come up with D&M. As far as I know, Storm , Monolith, Arcam , and NAD products were the only ones offering DLBC until now. Even if there are others , I’d speculate sales of D&M units are more than all the others combined plus some. Dirac will also have ART coming on line soon for more units.
Anyway, my point is that once things are more lined out for them the prices may come down, who knows. Like I said, wild speculation on my part.

I think the suggestion earlier in the thread of a trial period is a good one. They used to do that with the computer based software and still may, I haven’t checked. That’s how they initially hooked me. Once I heard the result I didn’t want to go back to without. While there’s excellent competition for computer based DSP software now, there isn’t for multi channel AVR/AVPs that also need to decode Dolby and DTS, so a some what captive user base. And while they have a 30 day money back program, it would be more tempting to check it out without having to get the credit card out and remembering to cancel the subscription before it’s too late. Hard to see how they could loose with this strategy. The sticking point might be that once filters are loaded to the device Dirac has no way to turn them off, so that would need developed. On the computer the signal went through a virtual audio processor which checked for a valid license on startup.

 

[whoareyou]

About the pricing…

I wished it was less expensive too and if you have Audyssey already you’re likely paying for a smaller improvement vs no room correction which makes it a harder decision.

On the other hand, Dirac pricing is very much in line other multi-channel DSP offerings, Acourate and Audiolense. It works natively on an AV processor where they don’t. It has a much more usable user interface and is a largely automated process. It has automated multiple sub integration which they don’t.

So it appears to be fairly priced for what it is.

Kind of in line. Audiolense XO is around $400, which is still a bit expensive, but it is not limited to one machine so if you have more than one system it is a bit more reasonable.