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Looking for a budget DSP that fits my needs...

4K views 45 replies 13 participants last post by  Ali-323i 
#1 ·
This may not even exist....but i've been surprised before with what some of you guys come up with, so here goes

I'm trying to keep my budget $300 and under
I need 6 in and at least 6 out (front, rear, sub)
I dont really want a bass knob
I'd prefer it to have an app that I can configure on my phone. If I have to have a laptop, its not a deal breaker, but an app is preferred.
I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff as usual....But i'll start with that....go...
 
#5 ·
Front is two channels, rear is two channels and sub is two channels....so 6 channel in? 6 channels out?
Yea I have dash speakers but those are passively crossed over and the power is from the headunit. The 4 mid basses (2 front, 2 rear) will be in the front and read channels and the sub, on the sub channels. well thats what I'm looking for but Ive seen no cheaper units setup like this.
 
#18 ·
I was going to recommend the jbl as my well. It seems to be the perfect solution for you, except for no app.
 
#21 ·
You mentioned in the other thread that you're thinking of taking the IB subs out and building a molded fiberglass box in the side of the trunk for a l5 kicker square 8” you have already. Perhaps your HU would then be sufficient to tame the overall system response well enough to call it good for the time being, or maybe even for good, so you can move on with your life and focus more of your time and resources on engine performance upgrades and such.

As I posted in the other thread,
In the wise words of fellow member, @dgage - "EVERY system has a bottleneck, it is just a matter of whether the bottleneck causes enough of a limit to be worth the expense to alleviate it (and move to another bottleneck)."
 
#22 ·
I’ll admit I haven’t read all posts. But response to original post:

Dayton dsp is good budget item, BUT only has 4 inputs, not 6. Why do you need 6? I use my front inputs to feed all of my mids/highs channels on dsp, and then use HU sub out to get to my sub. This way I can easily toggle sub on/off from HU.
If you don’t need to toggle sub but prefer front/rear fading capability, then use front/rear inputs for dsp.
Unless you really need 6 channels in, which would also force you at a higher price bracket, I’d suggest one of these compromises. I love my Dayton, though I’m sure better exists, for the money Dayton value is hard to beat. No issues with mine (some complain about noise, usually easy to resolve).

Someone mentioned being passive means dsp not required. I disagree. Even with a passive setup, the ability to TA, fine tune XO, and use parametric EQ per channel will still yield HUGE benefits over not having a dsp. But yes, for FULL benefit, an active setup is preferred.

Whatever dsp you get, highly suggest you budget for an RTA mic, often available $80-100. Minidsp umik-1 is popular.
 
#23 ·
I’ll admit I haven’t read all posts. But response to original post:

Dayton dsp is good budget item, BUT only has 4 inputs, not 6. Why do you need 6? I use my front inputs to feed all of my mids/highs channels on dsp, and then use HU sub out to get to my sub. This way I can easily toggle sub on/off from HU.
If you don’t need to toggle sub but prefer front/rear fading capability, then use front/rear inputs for dsp.
Unless you really need 6 channels in, which would also force you at a higher price bracket, I’d suggest one of these compromises. I love my Dayton, though I’m sure better exists, for the money Dayton value is hard to beat. No issues with mine (some complain about noise, usually easy to resolve).

Someone mentioned being passive means dsp not required. I disagree. Even with a passive setup, the ability to TA, fine tune XO, and use parametric EQ per channel will still yield HUGE benefits over not having a dsp. But yes, for FULL benefit, an active setup is preferred.

Whatever dsp you get, highly suggest you budget for an RTA mic, often available $80-100. Minidsp umik-1 is popular.
See I'm not using the time alignment in my head unit and my sound stage is satisfactory for what I want. Theres still adjustments the radio has that helps that. It sounds like the sound is on top of my dash and its difficult to pinpoint where the bass is coming from. I adjusted the midbass levels to compliment the dash speakers just right.....however, the silverflutes need some crossing over because they dont sound good letting them sing at full range. The reason i wanted at least 6 inputs was to control front, rear and sub still through the headunit. My headunit does offer alot of adjustments that would compliment the dsp. I need the dsp on the subs to kill the "cabin gain" as some say that happens in my setup at 40hz.
 
#35 ·
@KFXGUY ... maybe this diagram would help convey your current setup? Is this accurate??

Rectangle Font Parallel Screenshot Circle
 
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#37 ·
Gotcha .... so like this?

If this is accurate, save the picture to your computer/phone, so you can use it in your posts to show folks what you have (y)

It'll make these conversations much more efficient when folks can quickly get an idea of your setup.

Font Parallel Rectangle Audio equipment Screenshot
 
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#39 ·
I used PowerPoint. I have a bunch of diagrams I created for my own setup, so just took a few mins to do one for yours.

I just Google search for the component, and copy an image, then paste it into power point for the graphics.

Product Rectangle Font Screenshot Parallel
 
#40 ·
@KFXGUY I just had a read through the DSP-LP manual ... that's a cool, little piece of kit. If you end up getting a multichannel DSP, and want to sell the DSP-LP ... let me know
 
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#41 ·
I hate having multiple units when one can be used to do everything, but I may end up just buying a separate unit for my highs. I haven’t decided yet. I need to worry about getting my bass situation lined out first. Car has been apart for almost two weeks now because I’m still waiting on my subs that were supposed to be here days ago
 
#42 ·
I thought you were looking for a DSP for the mids + lows (ie: Silverflutes and sub), not the highs (ie: whispers and dayton tweets)?

In any case ... 12 is a lot of speakers to try and balance in a car environment. You're definitely getting a lot of cancellations and summations going on with so many drivers playing. It may seem strange, but the mid-range has a significant impact in how you perceive the sub to play. When I finally got my front stage dialed in, I was amazed at how it affected the sub performance, without making any changes to the sub. All of a sudden my bass became punchy and strong, and located in front of me instead of behind. It has to do with the nuances in how the brain perceives the music, and how even a bass kick or bass guitar has frequencies above the sub cut-off range ...

Just something to think about. If you do decide to get a DSP .. it might be worth experimenting when you install it. Try running just the front door and dash speakers off the 4x100 RF amp, plus the subs on the 1x750 amp, both through the DSP. Run the calibrations, and see what you think. If you don't like it, nothing is lost except a bit of time ... just rewire things back to operating all 12 drivers.
 
#43 ·
I meant a dsp for my mids. It was a not being specific typo. I’m good with what’s in the dash. Because the tweets are so loud and bright, it allowed me to cut a lot of higher frequencies out on my eq and tone down the whispers to match without using a band pass crossover. It all blends pretty well. The only issue I have with the mids is they breakup (for lack of a better description) around 5000-6000hz at higher volume before putting some passive Dayton crossovers on them. They would probably do better if I removed those x overs and used a dsp instead, but that’s later. I’ll get through my sub debacle first and then worry about that. Or it may end up being good enough. We shall see.
 
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