Dirac Live Available for Select Denon and Marantz Receivers!

Dirac Live® is a powerful professional-grade room correction software from Dirac that helps you get the best from your home entertainment system. Available via an over-the-air update to your receiver, Dirac Live gives our customers another option when optimizing your sound system for your room.

We sat down with experts from the brand, engineering and product, and our global training teams to answer some frequently asked questions on the new feature.

What is Dirac Live?

Much of your sound system’s quality is determined by the quality of your components, such as the quality of your speakers and amplifier. However, what’s often overlooked is that the room that your sound system is in plays an important role as well.

Dirac Live room correction software takes a unique approach to analyzing your room’s setup to correct your system’s sound, ensuring you get the best result possible. Dirac Live Room Correction applies state-of-the-art, patented algorithms to analyze and digitally reduce room impact and enhance speaker performance. It delivers a larger sweet spot for listeners, accurate staging, clarity, voice intelligibility, and a deeper, tighter bass not otherwise possible.

What Denon and Marantz products will support Dirac Live?
We will initially support the following models:

• Denon AVR-A1H, AVC-A1H
• Denon AVR-X4800H, AVC-X4800H
• Denon AVR-X3800H, AVC-X3800H
• Marantz AV 10
• Marantz CINEMA 50
• Marantz CINEMA 40

Will Dirac support be available for other models down the line?

Moving forward, select models from Denon and Marantz AVR and AV preamplifiers will support both Audyssey and Dirac.

How much is the Dirac Live upgrade?

• Limited bandwidth: $259
• Full bandwidth: $349
• Note: Pricing might change in the future and is determined by Dirac

Why did you announce these products without any support for Dirac?

While we were very excited to include Dirac Live support, we didn’t want the implementation to delay the launch of our new product lineup. We announced Dirac Live early because we wanted to let our customer base know our plans and make more informed purchasing decisions.

Why are Dirac Live updates more expensive for Denon and Marantz products than some of our competitors?

Our prices are in-line with what other manufacturers charge. But there are a couple things to note:

First, there is a cost to support Dirac Live out of the box due to licensing fees. Instead of including Dirac as part of the sticker price for our Denon and Marantz receivers, we decided to let our customers choose and pay for the room correction software that works best for them.

Second, we support Audyssey out of the box, which is free of charge for all customers.

What is your roadmap for Dirac support? Do you plan to offer Dirac Live Bass Control and Dirac ART in the future?

We have plans to support Dirac Bass Control in 2024, with other product-related announcements to be made at the appropriate time.

Will you continue to support Audyssey going forward?

Yes. All Denon and Marantz AV receivers and preamplifiers continue to support Audyssey room correction technology out of the box. Audyssey’s measurement process is seamlessly integrated into our setup assistant to make it easy for all consumer levels.

Why did you decide to add Dirac Live for room correction if you have already partnered with Audyssey?

We want to provide our customers with quality products that offer the flexibility they desire. The current Audyssey solutions require a microphone to be connected directly to the AVR for room correction, which is not ideal for many home theater applications from professional installers. By supporting Dirac Live, we can help best serve the needs of their clients.

How can I get the Dirac Live upgrade?

The update will be available on designated models via an over-the-air firmware update in March 2023, and then a user must purchase a Dirac Live license from the Dirac online store.

Can you run Dirac and Audyssey simultaneously?

No. The Audyssey features such as MultEQ, Dynamic EQ, Dynamic Volume and Audyssey LFC cannot be used when the Dirac Live Room calibration is used. However, you may switch between Dirac and Audyssey from the speaker preset menu on your select model.

Can I use my Audyssey microphone for Dirac Live room measurement?

No, the Dirac Live software does not recognize the Audyssey microphone.

What microphone is recommended for Dirac Live room measurement?

Many users opt to choose the Mini DSP’s UMIK-1 microphone, with the UMIK-2 is now available. Both are recommended microphones for Dirac Live.