(August 22, 2019) Months in the making and highly anticipated, Dirac Live Bass Management is primed to make its official debut at CEDIA 2019 in Denver, Colorado.
Dirac Live Bass Management, the company’s first “modular add-on” to its new Dirac Live correction system, will be available in two versions: Single Sub for $249 and Multi-Sub for $399. Its intention, as the name indicates, is to fine-tune a system’s subwoofer response for a highly controlled and smooth low-end experience. Using a microphone, the system gathers data about one or more subwoofers, determining how bass is distributed throughout a room. Once areas of uneven bass are identified, phase corrections are applied.
According to Dirac, Bass Management is a solution that’s blind to a subwoofer's in-room physical position, which is important because subwoofers can be difficult to place. As the company states: “All of this processing enables the subwoofers to be positioned anywhere in the room – wherever most aesthetically pleasing – without sacrificing performance for design, or vice versa.”
I had an opportunity to experience Dirac Live Bass Management in action at CES 2019, implemented as part of a great sounding multi-sub demo system. Bass, as heard in the room’s primary listening position, was delightfully controlled and punchy. But, the real test was a challenge issued by Dirac’s onsite staff: stand up and walk around the room.
Most any home theater enthusiast knows that great sounding bass at a primary listening position can quickly fall apart, sounding thin or overly bloated, as you move around a room. However, that was not the case in Dirac’s CES demo space. Bass, as heard in the corners and front of the room, sounded just as controlled and pleasing as bass in the middle of the room. It certainly was a head-turning experience, igniting my own intrigue concerning the system.
Quite a few companies have been hinting about the availability of Dirac Live across a variety of upper-end products, and we have confirmed that NAD, Arcam, and StormAudio will launch Bass Management support during (or soon after) CEDIA 2019. NAD says the module will appear on its M10 BluOS streaming amp and its C658 BluOS streaming DAC, while StormAudio has committed to incorporating it across the company’s entire line of processors. Similarly, Arcam is making Bass Management available to most of its AV receiver models.
Dirac is hosting a CEDIA master class session on the importance of room acoustics and bass management software, which includes an inside look at its Dirac Live Bass Management solution. The presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, September 11th from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM in Room 1A. Additionally, attendees can visit Dirac at Booth #3235 on the show floor.
