![]() ![]() The unit is boxy and compact, measuring 2.75″H × 8.5″W × 8.9″D, and feels unexpectedly solid. An array of small square holes in each side panel allows for ample ventilation. The SHD Power is decked out in matte black, except for an elegant clear insert over the display screen. Intrigued by the SHD Power, I requested a review sample from miniDSP, which kindly obliged. More recently, with the advent of room correction, integrated amplifiers have become all the more appealing. I have long been a fan of integrated amplifier-DACs for their convenience. Along with the SHD Power, the SHD line of products includes the SHD ($1299) and SHD Studio ($949) audio processors-the former features both analog and digital inputs and outputs, while the latter only has digital connectivity. A small microphone tripod can be added for $15. The subject of this review, the SHD Power, is the company’s most expensive product at $1549 (all prices in USD), but it is the least-expensive streaming integrated amplifier-DAC I know of that incorporates Dirac Live room correction.Ī USB calibration microphone, the UMIK‑1, is included, but the upgraded UMIK‑2 mike can be selected instead for an additional $145. Hong Kong–based miniDSP’s products are relatively inexpensive and are known for their excellent value. The company’s current offerings include the UMIK line of measurement microphones, digital room correction systems, active crossovers, and many other DSP platforms for audio applications. Since 2009, miniDSP has developed a plethora of audio products relating to its namesake technology. Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link. 2018-2019 EISA Awards Video Introduction.The experience of using the interface just feels clunky, but it does work. Not sure if this is particularly helpful to be honest. ![]() The volume control on the above view is not the best to use by the way as you're bound to end up wanted to make adjustments over a very small portion of its range. I'd definitely recommend getting the (cheap) remote control to use instead. I don't have a current Qobuz subscription to play any of these but here's the view for what I'm currently playing via Tidal: The icons are all stupidly big and I need to scroll down to see the options in the discover section, which are recommendations from Qobuz etc.Ĭlicking on My Albums gives the following view: The options that appear here are editable so this just shows the ones I use. I'll post a few screenshots but I won't leave these here long term as I don't want to use up storage space on them. What I'd like is to be able to group albums by genre, and then within this to sort them alphabetically but I don't know if any interface allows for this? One silly issue is that there is no option to sort favourite albums in any way - they just appear in the order that you added them. I'm using Tidal currently due to the recent offer but just had a look at the Qobuz Volumio section again. The reason I don't is that I can't use this on my laptop as well as my phone, and I like to use both to control streaming. What device(s) would you want to use to control Qobuz If they are Android devices then have a look at Bubble upnp as you could use that, which I think is better than using Volumio. And the somewhat naff interface is a price I'm willing to pay for what the SHD does. I would add that coming from a series of Pi based streamers, including most recently the Allo Katana, the SHD sounds really good. I can't speak for whether this would have a negative impact on the sound quality. I imagine that if Quboz doesn't yet have a connect function, it'll be in the pipeline. I can see my SHD on there, and though I haven't tried it yet, I can't see why it wouldn't work. That would obviate the need for Volumio. Tidal recently introduced a 'connect' capability (akin to Spotty) for their native app. But it seems like a faff and I can't be bothered. I read online that some smart people have worked out why and with a little support from MiniDSP tech have made it work. ![]() The Volumio distro tantalises with a squeezebox server plugin. In terms of user experience they are both a bit on the rubbish side, though the web-based version a little less so. I control via the Volumio app on my iphone or the browser on the laptop. In my experience it is rock steady with either. I use the SHD with the built-in Volumio software and - though I typically use Tidal - I have tried it with Quboz. ![]()
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