Getting Started with DSPconfig

DSPconfig is the control software for setting up your DSP device with your crossovers, filters and other DSP parameters.

To download the software and find installation instructions, head to the Downloads page. If you have any issues with downloading or installing the software, please contact us at [email protected].

DSPconfig is updated regularly with improvements and enhancements. You can check for updates in DSPconfig by clicking Help → Check for Updates... in the menu bar.

Demo Mode

You can use the Demo Mode to enter DSPconfig without having a DSP device connected. In this mode, you can fully evaluate the capabilities of DSPconfig and export profiles that you create. The drop down box in the bottom left hand corner of the window switches between everything DSPconfig currently has open, so you can move between a Demo Device and a connected one at any time - and, from DSPconfig 1.5.0, between several connected devices.

Main Window

With your DSP device connected via USB and powered on, you will reach the main window for configuring your DSP.

From this window, we can see the main areas of interest:

Profile Management

The DSP supports 4 different profiles at any one time. Each profile can be modified independently and can be switched between using the remote or the encoder on the device, allowing you to compare different set ups for the same system, or store set ups for different systems.

From DSPconfig 1.5.0, the device's own settings live in a Device menu in the menu bar rather than in a tab after Profile 4. 'Device → Firmware…' reports the firmware your DSP is running and offers an upgrade when DSPconfig carries a newer one. 'Device → Settings' sits alongside it and controls the display brightness, display timeout, full-scale output voltage and volume mode; it appears only once your DSP is running firmware 1.6, which is the version those settings were introduced in. A unit on earlier firmware still gets the Firmware item, which is how you reach the upgrade that adds them.

Input Channels

The two input channels, left and right, can be controlled here. Each channel draws its EQ biquads and FIR taps from pools the two channels share - up to 60 EQ biquads, and up to 16,384 FIR taps at 96 kHz or 9,216 at 192 kHz - so an even split gives each channel 30 biquads and 8,192 taps, and nothing stops you spending more of either pool on one channel than the other. You can also adjust the gain, mute, and invert the phase of the signal on each channel. They can be modified independently, or if you require them to be matching you can click on 'Channel Link' to mirror the settings.

Output Channels

The DSP-8C supports 8 independent output channels. For each channel, you can apply a custom name, select the input source (Input 1 is Left and Input 2 is Right), select another channel to link to (for instance, left and right tweeters), apply the shared 288 EQ filters, apply FIR filters drawn from a pool of 30,336 taps at 96 kHz (15,104 at 192 kHz) shared across all eight outputs, apply a choice of standard crossover filters, adjust gain, delay, mute and invert the phase of the signal. You can also select whether to use the true balanced or single-ended output.

Profile Settings

For each profile, you can independently amend various settings. The processor sampling rate can be toggled between 96 kHz and 192 kHz. Operating at 192 kHz roughly halves the number of FIR taps that the device can process. The DSP supports both analogue and digital output - when operating the digital outputs, only the two Input Channels will be processed. The ES9039SPRO DAC supports multiple IIR bandwidth settings and filter shapes. From here, you can also click Undo Changes to revert the settings to the previously saved state or click Save Changes, to upload the new settings to the DSP.

EQ Filter Editor

In the Main Window, click on the EQ Filters button to open the EQ Filter Editor for that channel. From here, you can either manually design your EQ filters by selecting the filter type from the drop down box and amending the parameters, or you can import a filter file from another program.

When designing filters manually, select your filter from the drop down list, amend the parameters and press the green + button to add it to the active filter list. Press the red x button to delete it. You can click the blue toggle button to enable/disable individual filters.

As you add filters, they will be displayed on the graph. You can toggle the phase to view the impact the filters have on phase. You can toggle the range of the frequency depending on which area you are applying filters to.

Exporting EQ filters from REW

In the EQ Filters window in REW, set the EQ to Generic → Extended.

Click Export filter settings as text, or Export filter settings as formatted text - DSPconfig natively parses either, and neither one asks you to specify a sample rate first.

Save filter coefficients to file, exported as miniDSP or SigmaStudio, also works and DSPconfig will parse it too, but it is an extra step - choosing the sample rate your DSP is running at - for no benefit over the plain text export above.

FIR Filter Editor

Click on a FIR Filter button to open the FIR Filter Editor for the corresponding channel. The editor accepts filters in .txt format. If using Rephase to generate your FIR filters, ensure that you set the required number of taps, the sampling rate you are using and generate the filter in the "32 / 64 bits floats lines (.txt)" format. The graph will display the filter, and you can toggle the frequency range and phase response.

Exporting FIR filters from RePhase

Once you have created your FIR filter in RePhase you will need to specify the settings before exporting it for DSPconfig to convolve. An example of the settings for an output channel using 4096 taps at 96 kHz is shown below.

There is no per-channel tap limit; each side draws on a shared pool. At 96 kHz the eight output channels share 30,336 taps and the two input channels share 16,384. At 192 kHz those become 15,104 and 9,216. DSPconfig tracks what you have spent and will tell you if a filter does not fit in what is left.

The rate should be set to the processing rate used on your profile.

The format should be 32 / 64 bits floats lines (.txt).

Crossover Editor

Each output channel can support a low pass and/or a high pass crossover filter. Select your desired shape from the drop down box and amend the parameters as required. The graph will display the filter, and you can toggle the frequency range and phase response.

Additional Options

For each channel, you can also:

Adjust the gain (between -120.0 dB and +30 dB)
Add delay (up to 40 ms per channel)
Mute
Invert the phase
Select between balanced (XLR) and single-ended (RCA) output