Dirac Live: Setup for X / XR series processors and receivers

Dirac Live: Setup for X / XR series processors and receivers

This tutorial was written with Dirac version 3.4.4. Later versions of Dirac might have slight variations to the process. If you see something that doesn’t match with what you read in this guide, please call AudioControl tech support.
The process for running Dirac is the identical for the Maestro X7, X7S, X9, and X9S, and the Concert XR-4, XR-6, XR-6S, XR-8, and XR-8S.



Initial Setup of your Processor/Receiver and home network

Please refer to this Setup Menu article on how to navigate the setup menu options of your processor or receiver using the front panel buttons and display of your processor or receiver.

First, make sure the Maestro X processor or Concert XR receiver and your computer are connected to the same network (SSID). Connect an Ethernet cable from your network router or switch to the rear panel Ethernet port of your AudioControl. We also recommend using wired network connection for your computer if possible, but a WiFi connection will also work.

It is recommended to have your AudioControl processor or receiver operating in DHCP mode while running Dirac so that it (and your computer) will acquire an IP address automatically from the network routers DHCP server. It also makes troubleshooting any connectivity issues much easier. DHCP mode is enabled by default in your AudioControl devices settings. If you want to assign a static IP address to your AudioControl device you can do so after Dirac calibration is complete.

To ensure that your AudioControl device is connected to your network you can use the front panel buttons and display to confirm that your unit has acquired an IP address from your network router. Select Menu > select Network > make note of the IP Address and MAC Address of your device.



Network information from front panel display

In the setup menu, set the Control setting to IP so that Dirac Live software can communicate with your AudioControl device over the network using IP commands. On the front panel select Menu > General Settings > Control > set Control to IP. To exit the setup menu press the Menu button, your settings will automatically be saved. If you plan to control your processor or receiver with RS232 commands just remember to go back and change the Control setting to RS232 when you are done running Dirac Live calibration.

Set Speaker Types

Dirac needs to know what speakers are connected to the processor in order to do it’s job correctly. If Dirac tries to send audio to speakers that are not present you will get a “LOW SIGNAL TO NOISE” error when you attempt a room measurement.

From the front panel select Menu > Speaker Types > set your speaker types accordingly. To exit the setup menu press the Menu button, your settings will automatically be saved.
Do not adjust speaker levels or speaker distances in the device settings. Dirac will adjust these settings automatically when the calibration is completed.
Before you try to connect Dirac Live with your processor or receiver please make sure you do not have the AudioControl web UI open and disconnect any network enabled home automation system processors from the network, such as for Crestron, Control4, Savant, Elan, URC, etc. The Dirac Live software communicates via IP commands and the control system processors and web UI mayinterfere with Dirac being able to successfully connect with your AudioControl device.

Download the Dirac Live software and connect the microphone

Download the latest version of Dirac Live software from the Dirac website using this link, DIRAC LIVE.
Connect the calibration microphone that came with your AudioControl device to an available USB Type A port on your laptop computer.
A microphone stand will be required for proper positioning of the microphone during the measurement process.
DO NOT connect the microphone to the rear panel USB port of the processor or receiver.

Launch the Dirac Live software

When you launch the Dirac software you will prompted to create a Dirac Live account, or to login to an existing account. If this is your first time running Dirac then click on the “Create or manage your account” link at the bottom left of the login page and follow the steps to create your account. Remember to make note of your login user name and password.
Dirac has tied loading projects with login information. Meaning, if you created a project when logged in, and then you attempt to load the project without being logged in, it will not let you load the project. Dirac also advises that if you are not logged in, certain functionality of the program will not be available.



After you have logged in, you can proceed with the calibration. Dirac Live should immediately find the X series processor or XR series receiver on your network. Select the device you are working with.

If you have multiple X-series devices on your network, they will all show up in the device selection menu. Confirm that the name of the device in Dirac matches the Friendly Name found in the Network Settings of the device you are calibrating

Select a Recording Device

On the next page we select the recording device. Choose the calibration mic that came with your AudioControl device. Best practice is to plug the microphone into the computers USB Type A port BEFORE launching Dirac Live. It will appear in the software like this:



Make sure you select the Calibration Mic. Other microphones that appear are usually built into your computer and are very low quality, leading to failed calibrations.

Load Mic Calibration File

If you have not already downloaded it, go to the audiocontrolpro.com product page for your device and download the mic calibration from the Resources tab (or go directly to the download link here), and extract the files from the .zip folder.

If you don’t load the calibration file you can still run Dirac, but the final EQ curve will be off and ultimately will not sound its best. After you have downloaded the file to your computer, click on No microphone calibration > select Load from file > select the file from the saved location on your computer.





Volume Calibration

This is arguably the most important part of the calibration. Setting all channel levels in the green will ensure the rest of the calibration will run smoothly. Setting the levels is specifically for the Dirac Calibration. You are NOT setting the final levels for the room. These level settings are JUST for the test. You have 3 main controls you will be adjusting:

1. Master Output — This is the overall output of the processor or receiver. You can think of this as the big volume knob on the front panel. This will be adjusted up or down as needed when calibrating the volume. There is no recommended level for this setting, as the level needed can change depending on the speakers, amplifier, room size, and many other factors.
Sometimes you will need to move the Master Output slider up and down when first loading on to this page in order to get audio to output properly.
2. Mic Gain — This is the sensitivity control of the microphone. If you are getting a very high noise floor, turning this control down will help. Recommended setting is 100%.

3. Channel Volume — Individual volume control for each channel. You will use this for fine tuning. For example, if all channels are measuring approximately in the same range, but the height channels are still a bit too low, you can use this control to boost or cut individual channels to get them in line with all the other channels.



The Master Output, Mic Gain, and each output channel have boxes showing the dB or percentage rating for the slider. Adjust the sliders to bring the level up or down. You can also double click the box to type in a desired value. To start, we recommend setting the Master Output at -70dB, and the Mic Gain at 100%.

Beneath each speaker channel is a play button. As soon as you click play, a pink noise test tone will output to the selected speaker, and a level meter will appear next to volume slider to show the measured level. While the test tone is playing, you can adjust the master output up so the speaker outputs over -12dB. If the speaker is outputting greater than 0dB, you may need to adjust the master output down.

When you stop the test tone, the level meter will show you the last measured position, and will automatically adjust the reading as the master output, mic gain, or channel volume are changed.

The goal is to get every channel to measure as close to -12dB as possible. If the measurement is off by +/- 2dB that's fine, but -12dB is the target. For the subwoofer, the target measurement is around -15dB.



In the volume calibration shown above, I needed to turn the master output up to around -45dB to get a good measurement. Not all channels in the measurement here are exactly the same, but Dirac will get a good reading with these measurements.

If any of the channels measure too loud, Dirac will throw an error when attempts to measure a room because the mic reads a distorted signal. If any of the signals are too quiet, Dirac will not fully recognize the test tone, and give a “Low signal to noise” error message after a measurement.

Once all channels are measuring in the close to -12dB, it’s on to the next step of selecting the Listening Arrangement.

If it seems like Dirac is picking up voices on the mic, but not the test tones, check your computer's audio settings and follow the steps in this article: https://support.audiocontrolpro.com/portal/en/kb/articles/dirac-mic-does-not-pick-up-test-tones

Listening Arrangement

When you move to the Listening Arrangement step the following information screen will be displayed:



In this section, we select the kind of listening environment we are calibrating for. Choosing the arrangement dictates how many measuring points there will be. The three options are Tightly Focused, Focused, and Wide and each come with a silhouette of man on a couch.



You can think of the different arrangements as a small, medium or large room. We find that Wide imaging is used most often, since most installs are in home theaters with multiple seating positions, or large living rooms. After you have selected your arrangement, then it’s on to capturing the measurements!

Measure

The measurement is where Dirac intakes the room audio and readies it for calibration. When you open this page it will prompt you with information we highly suggest you read, but to summarize:
  1. The most important measurement is the main position, all other measurements relate to the main.
  2. The mic is typically oriented upwards.
  3. Keep the mic still, ideally using a mic stand.
  4. Measurement positions should be spaced apart. Dirac recommends 40 to 60 cm (or 15 to 24 inches).
  5. Reduce ambient noise as much as possible, try and keep the area quiet through the entire measurement.
  6. Sudden noises (doors closing, dogs barking, coughing) will disrupt a measurement. If you hear a sudden noise during a measurement, re-measure the position.
  7. The more measurements the better - it is best you measure all positions, but you can proceed without measuring them all.
Begin by placing the mic in the Main Position.
This is where the listener will be sitting the most. Center of the couch, middle row of a dedicated theater, etc. Set the microphone at head-listening height with the microphone oriented upwards.



Once the mic is set in its position, click the “Measure selected position” button at the bottom right of the screen. Dirac will play a series of tone sweeps to every speaker.
While the Dirac measurement is in process, watch the information on screen and listen to the speakers that are playing. If a certain speaker is too loud and stops the measurement, note which speaker caused the issue and turn that speaker's level down about 1 to 2dB in the Volume Calibration page.
If a certain waveform looks too small compared to the others, take note of which speaker it was in case Dirac gives a Low signal-to-noise error, and increase the volume of that speaker in the Volume Calibration page.

Once the recorded pass is finished, Dirac will then show the frequency response of that position in the graph on the right side of the window.



After the Main Position has been measured, move the mic to the next position Dirac selects, or choose your own position and measure there.
You can then select which position to measure next by clicking on any of the white circles positioned around the shadow figure and select the "Measure selected position” button.



Repeat the process with all other positions. The more measurements you do, the better the final result will be.
If you cannot do all measurement positions, we recommend you do at least 5 measurements; 1 in the center, and 4 in the front surrounding the main listening position. Of course, the more measurements you do the better the final calibration will be.

After recording all the measurement positions, it’s on to Filter Design.
If you are having issues with the Low Signal to Noise error during this step, check the article here for possible solutions: https://support.audiocontrolpro.com/portal/en/kb/articles/dirac-low-signal-to-noise-error

Filter Design

The Filter Design section is where you will be able to review the frequency response for each channel and how it relates to the rest of the system. The top right section of the window allows you to view each individual channel.

The gray line in the middle is the “target curve” that Dirac will calibrate to. The points along that line are user adjustable. We recommend first trying the default curve— by default Dirac will try to even out all frequencies so the highs, mids and lows all sound even to the listener. After applying that curve and listening to the results you can always go back into this Dirac project, adjust the curve, and load it onto the device.


If you have multiple subwoofers in your system, you can turn on Bass Control in the top right corner.


For more information on Dirac Live Bass Control, you can read Dirac’s guide here.

Filter Export

Clicking “proceed to filter export”, triggers Dirac to create the curve. Once you see the screen below, Dirac is ready to take that curve and put it on the processor.



On the left there will be a slot labeled “1 – empty“. On the right hand of the screen, you can give the curve a name. Dirac auto fills the name thru some sort of random word generator. There will be a different name every time you get to this screen.
Name the curve, and then click on “export filter”.
NOTE: The AudioControl Maestro X-series processors and Concert XR-series receivers have three slots available to store EQ curves in.

Filter Export will take a few minutes, Dirac exports the curve thru the local network. Once it is finished, it will give a brief message saying it is done and then it will bring you back to the same Filter Export screen as if you didn’t export the curve. There is no “Finished!” or “Success!” message. It can be a little confusing.
When the export begins, the front panel of your AudioControl will change to read "DIRAC Receiving." After a minute or so, it will change to read "DIRAC Saving." When it is finished, the screen will revert back to read "DIRAC Measurement."

Do not exit Dirac until the front panel menu reverts to "DIRAC Measurement" after you exported the filter.

You are finished! Save the Dirac project file to your computer and close Dirac. All that is left to do is to turn on the EQ curve for each input you will be using. You can turn the Dirac EQ settings on or off by using either the front panel buttons/display (Press Menu > select Input Config > select Room EQ > select on or off), the AUDIO button on the AudioControl IR remote, via the mobile app by selecting the MEDIA tab > AUDIO button, or via the web interface.




  1. ******SPECIAL NOTE********* You will notice that there will be a volume difference between Dirac being engaged, or not engaged.  When Dirac is engaged, the volume will typically be lower. This is normal. This is due the increased energy requirement from the amplifier to conform to the applied Dirac EQ curve. If you feel like the output should be louder, you can boost the output volume in the Speaker Levels menu on the X-series, but make sure if you boost the dB for one output, you boost all other outputs equally
  2. ***SPECIAL SPECIAL NOTE*** You will need to manually engage Dirac for each input/source you plan on using. When engaged, the front display of the AudioControl processor or receiver will read “Room EQ On/OFF”. If you haven’t yet run Dirac the Room EQ setting the front panel will indicate “Not Calculated”.
  3. ***SUPER SPECIAL NOTE*** Make sure you have a copy of the Dirac project file saved to your computer and remember where it is! Make backups! Any future firmware updates to your processor or receiver require a factory reset which erases any currently loaded Dirac EQ files so you will need to reload the Dirac calibration file when done with a firmware update.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For more detailed information about the features of your X series processor or XR series receiver please refer to the product manual available here.

Technical Support representatives are available Monday thru Friday 8am to 5pm PST. 425-775-8461.