StormAudio Now Dirac ART Equipped - First Impressions

This feature is now available on all StormAudio ISP processors and AVRs through the 4.5 firmware update. Furthermore, all products ordered from January 1st, 2023, onward get ART included at no additional fee.

Fredric Tapper, Dirac's VP of Home & Pro Audio told StereoNET:

Dirac Live Active Room Treatment represents a true breakthrough in digital room correction by, for the first time, processing audio as a unified system, not individual speakers, to eliminate boomy bass and deliver cleaner, tighter audio in any room.

Dirac's Live Active Room Treatment digitally removes the limitations of the room. Decay times are reduced by an algorithm which promises to leave a clearer sound without boomy, smeared bass. We're told that Dirac Live ART automatically evaluates and adjusts the bass characteristics of the entire system. 

Furthermore, Dirac says that ART leverages each speaker's strengths to make up for any shortcomings in other speakers or the room's acoustic properties. The apparent upshot is the system effectively turns passive speakers into active support units, strengthening the system overall. 

The great news is that, as StormAudio's ISP platform was designed to be future-proof thanks to its modular and flexible upgradeability by hardware and software, the platform can fully support the powerful Dirac Live Active Room Treatment tool.

Olivier Thumerel, CEO, StormAudio commented:

The Dirac and StormAudio teams have worked very hard on the release of the ART add-on, and we are excited for our StormAudio ISP users to experience the technology for themselves now. With superb feedback from audiences at all our active demos over the past months, and our participants on the beta program, we know that this will be a revolution for home calibration — digital post-processing can enable dramatic improvements of the user experience, with no further hardware investment required.

Fredric Tapper added:

We're proud to unleash this breakthrough in collaboration with StormAudio, a fellow audio industry pioneer that shares our commitment to pushing the boundaries of sound. With the launch of Active Room Treatment in all StormAudio processors, a new standard has been set in home theatre performance.

StereoNET has been trialling Dirac Live ART for some months, and we can report that the results are remarkable. When incorporating center and surround channels along with subwoofers in a home cinema setup, ART creates a distinctly punchy sound with the frequency spectrum under 150 Hz sounding better than ever before. Objective measurements of ART's performance reveal a significant improvement in smoothing the low-frequency response and a notable reduction in bass decay.

You can utilise your existing Dirac Live measurements to create ART filters, which saves time when evaluating this capability in your system. However, it's important to carefully read Dirac's online guides before creating your first ART filters. This will ensure optimal configuration of supporting speakers and the frequency ranges for which ART is enabled, preventing surround speakers from reproducing signals they are not designed for.

Dirac Live ART truly brings a much more focused sound to the fore. Sub bass will sound rich and well-rounded, with minimal variation in response across different seating positions. Additionally, kick drums from acoustic drum kits will sound better than ever before. It's safe to say that this is a significant game changer.

The Dirac Live Active Room Treatment module is an exclusive feature of the StormAudio product line until Q4 2023 so, if you own another brand, you will have to wait until the end of the year. 

Visit StormAudio for more information

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