Introduction

This tutorial will help you set up the custom input and output channel mapping which is new in Dirac Live Processor as of the introduction of the Bass Control feature.  

For general background on Dirac Live and the Bass Control feature, please refer to Dirac Live User Manual.

For more specific guidance on the usage of the Dirac Live Processor, please refer to the quick-start guides and tutorials under Dirac Live® Room Correction Suite.

Set up Dirac Live Processor for Bass Control

  1. If the Dirac Live Processor is not already running, start it and log in with your Dirac Connect account credentials.

Configure Your Playback Device

Windows

(Not needed if using ASIO drivers)

  1. Go to the Windows sound settings by selecting "Windows Sound Panel..." from the menu.
  2. Select your playback device for output and click "Configure". (Note: Do NOT make this your default output!) The Dirac Live Processor is the "Virtual Audio Device."
  3. Choose a multichannel configuration that best matches the number of speakers, including subwoofers, that you plan to use. For example, when using a stereo system with two subwoofers, you would choose Quadraphonic.
  4. Click Next and Finish to complete the configuration of your playback device.

macOS

  1. Click MacOS Audio MIDI Setup in Processor.
  2. Select Dirac Virtual Audio Device.
  3. Click "Configure Speakers..."
  4. Choose the configuration you are using, but do NOT match the number of speakers as in Windows. For example, for a 5.3 setup, select 5.1.

Set up the playback device in Dirac Live Processor

  1. Click "Audio Settings..." from the menu
  2. Select the output device you configured and activate all outputs that you have speakers connected to. You can use up to 8 speakers for Stereo (up to 2.6, i.e. Left + Right + 6 subwoofers) and up to 16 speakers for Multichannel.

    In this example using ASIO drivers Left and Right are connected to channel 1 and 2. Subwoofer 1 and 2 are connected to channel 9 and 10.  Only the Active output channels that has a speaker connected to it is selected:

Set up speaker assignments in Dirac Live Processor

  1. If you have additional subwoofers beyond the standard 1:1 input-to-output mapping, then select "Custom Channel Config..." from the menu
    →
  2. Choose your input channel configuration, which is usually Stereo, 5.1, or 7.1 depending on the source format.
  3. Click "Add Subwoofer" for any extra subwoofers you have connected, then close the window.

Example

Let's say you're running the Dirac Live Processor on a PC connected to an AVR with an HDMI input, and you want to output up to 8 channels to support 5.1 input + 2 subwoofers (5.3):

  1. Configure the AVR in Windows for 7.1. This will allow the AVR to receive 8 channels from the PC.
  2. In the Dirac Live Processor, go to "Audio Settings..." from the menu, and select the AVR as the output device. Make sure to activate all 8 outputs.
  3. Next, go to "Custom Channel Config..." from the menu, and select "5.1" as your input channel configuration.
  4. Then click "Add Subwoofer" twice to add two subwoofers to the configuration. You can also reassign the physical outputs by selecting the appropriate output number next to each speaker label, if necessary.

  5. Finally, select "Custom" from the output channel selection drop-down in the Dirac Live Processor to enable your custom speaker assignment.

Select the Custom speaker system in Dirac Live Processor 

  1. Select "Custom" in the output channel selection drop-down to enable your customized speaker assignment.
  2. You can now calibrate a Bass Control filter with the Dirac Live Calibration Tool.
  3. You can click "Calibrate" to download, install and open the Dirac Live Calibration Tool. For further guidance, consult the Dirac Live User Manual.
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