Tuning My Home Cinema: How Dirac Live Transformed My Listening Experience

When I first decided to upgrade my home cinema, I knew I was in for a challenge. I had heard about Dirac Live’s reputation for delivering exceptional sound quality, but I underestimated how much fine-tuning it required to get everything just right. The journey wasn’t just about installing software—it was about understanding how to optimise every element to make my home cinema sound incredible.

I remember the first time I fired up Dirac Live. My expectations were high, but the initial results? Not so much. The sound was cleaner, sure, but something was missing. It was like I had all the right ingredients but wasn’t following the recipe properly. I realised then that simply running the software wasn’t enough. To really experience what Dirac Live had to offer, I needed to dig deeper and learn how to fully utilize its features, especially the target curve customisation.

Thankfully, I had a lot of experience with Audyssey by that point, and understood the scientific principles underlying its curves and Dynamic EQ. So I spent the next few months measuring Audyssey, and using a spreadsheet to calculate the gold standard in Loudness Compensation: ISO226: 2003 and merging it with my Audyssey measurement data. I included all these measurements to create the Excel Tool that comes with Dirac Live Perfection.

Then I went ahead to fix up Dirac Live.

The Fix: Getting the Most Out of Dirac Live

1. Subwoofer Pre-Calibration:
Before even touching Dirac Live, I had to get my subwoofer dialed in. For this, I turned to Multi-Sub Optimiser (MSO) and a MiniDSP. The difference was night and day. By pre-calibrating the subwoofer, Dirac Live had a solid foundation to build upon, leading to smoother bass and better integration with the rest of the speakers.

Of course, now you have Dirac Live Bass Control which does all this automatically, and with better time-domain response. However, DLBC does disable speaker level adjustment which is not very helpful when adjusting the surround volumes for Loudness Compensation. Our Dirac Live Perfection guide does give a workaround for this. But if this is a big issue for you, I would still recommend you use MSO and a MiniDSP.

2. Installing the Software and Setting Up:
The next step, installing Dirac Live, was straightforward enough. But the real work began with microphone positioning. I can’t stress enough how critical it is to follow the Dirac Live microphone positioning patterns in the software.

Here’s a pro tip: don’t rush! Getting the mic placements correct is key to accurate measurements. I made sure to take my time with this, using a sturdy microphone boom stand – as opposed to just a tripod – to ensure accuracy and consistency across all positions.

3. Tuning Dirac Live:
Once the calibration was done, I loaded my pre-made curves, which I described in this guide. I customised the target curves to accommodate Loudness Compensation, which really enhanced the listening experience at lower volumes. It also gave me the correct tonal balance regardless of what volume I decided to listen at. It’s a small adjustment, but it makes a world of difference.

In addition, it is a good idea to adjust the surround speaker volumes, dependent on the curve. However, this needs a workaround if you have DLBC.

4. Listening Tests and Adjustments:
After everything was set up, I spent hours conducting listening tests. Dirac Live does offer incredible flexibility, and it’s worth exploring different configurations to see what suits your space best.

For example, you can try the different mic positions and see whether you prefer a more focused and tighter or more balanced sound. You can also try different target curves if the more scientific Loudness Compensation approach doesn’t suit you. Don’t be afraid to experiment—it’s part of the fun!

Conclusion

This journey with Dirac Live once again reminded me that great sound doesn’t just happen; it’s carefully crafted. In fact, I’d dare to say that it is not as much which technology you use – whether YPAO, Audyssey, Dirac Live or others – but how well you set it up. After all, I have spent years perfecting my setup with those three different ones, and trying to harness the different strengths for each.

Stay tuned, and let’s continue chasing that perfect sound together.