HifiZine
The enthusiast's audio webzine

Technical and DIY

Articles that explain or educate readers on one or more technical aspects of the hobby. Technical articles from industry members are welcomed, as are those by any audiophile who has completed an audio project build.

Editor: John Reekie.

Bass Integration Guide – Part 2

This article is the second in Paul Spencer’s three-part series on bass integration, covering all major aspects of accurate bass reproduction in domestic listening rooms. After the measurements in Part 1, acoustic treatment is now introduced as the first step towards improving bass performance.

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Digital Direct – the miniDSP Stack

The miniDSP “stack,” consisting of three boards called miniDSP, miniDIGI, and miniAMP, is an interesting little platform for the audio experimenter, offering digital and analog inputs and outputs, comprehensive crossover and digital equalization functionality, and four channels of amplification. John Reekie takes a look at this offering, and walks us through assembly of the stack.

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Prototyping a Dipole Bass System

John Reekie completes his three-part series on the four-way open-baffle loudspeaker, with comprehensive measurements of the behaviour of monopole and dipole subwoofers in his listening room.

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Bass Integration Guide – Part 1

Exceptional bass is nearly always the exception in high-end audio. You can buy great midrange, but truly accurate bass reproduction requires a room-specific solution. The investment and effort involved is considerable. In the first of a three-part series, Paul Spencer shows us how to assess our current bass performance.

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A tour of the miniDSP 2×8

The new 2-in 8-out “2×8” DSP card from miniDSP is ideal for active speakers. John Reekie walks us through its functions, using his 4-way open-baffle prototype speaker as an example.

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The Woden Design Dunideer

“While these speakers will not blow you away, they will throw a huge soundstage that will satisfyingly bombard your senses.” The Woden Design Dunideer, using the Mark Audio Alpair 6 driver, is Kris’ third single-driver loudspeaker in his quest for sonic and DIY perfection.

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Refining a 4-way open-baffle speaker with the miniDSP 2×4

“These diminutive units have won me over as a practical and affordable solution for all kinds of applications in an audio system,” writes John Reekie of the miniDSP 2×4 crossover/eq. This article continues his tutorial series on the miniDSP, with measurement and refinement of his 4-way open-baffle speaker.

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A Recipe for a Turntable

Let’s look at a “multi-configurable” turntable – which can be set up with AC or DC motor drive systems, and with various drive modes: belt, idler, and rim drive.

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DH Labs Cables

I’ve had components swapped in and out on my system over the last few years, but had not done enough experimenting with audio cables. So I contacted Darren at DH Labs; here are the results.

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Doing your own DAC mods: a Primer

This is a golden age for the budget audiophile. For a few ducats, the cash-strapped can get a taste of high-fidelity. Here’s how to take it even further with just a little sweat, and hopefully not too many tears.

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