Onkyo has announced that its alliance with Swedish digital audio pioneer Dirac has evolved into an expanded cooperation partnership over the past year.
Onkyo’s engineers and product teams are currently working with Dirac developers to develop AVR products at their technology center in Osaka, Japan, to ensure their technologies are fully optimized.
The result of this increased collaboration will first be seen at Onkyo and its sister brand Klipsch, which will introduce two new audio products later this year with integrated Dirac Live Room Correction and Bass Control, one of which will be the first of its kind in the consumer electronics industry.
“Dirac proves that the world’s best room correction software isn’t just for audiophiles. It’s for everyone,” says Vincent Bonacorsi, COO of Premium Audio Company (PAC). “Onkyo has built an exceptional reputation by bringing high-performance audio products with advanced technologies to the mass market at affordable prices. Our Dirac partnership and collaboration began years ago with Dirac Live Room Correction. Since then, it has expanded to include the award-winning Dirac Live Bass Control, now available in many of our models. Dirac’s quest to improve audio reproduction with its famous room correction technologies continues to set our products apart from the crowd. As their technologies continue to evolve, together we create an even better listening experience for our customers.”
Onkyo’s flagship TX-RZ70 and TX-RZ50 AV receivers include a full-bandwidth Dirac Live Room Correction license at no additional cost.
The TX-RZ70 also supports Bass Control, which is available as a paid upgrade. While the TX-RZ50 does not currently support Bass Control, it is expected to be upgradeable with this feature in the coming months.
Fredric Tapper, Vice President Home & Pro Audio at Dirac, explains: “Dirac and Onkyo have a deep commitment to developing premium, high-quality audio for the many, not just the few. And it is this shared commitment that has led to a successful collaboration over the past few years. We look forward to strengthening and deepening our partnership with Onkyo to further push the boundaries of audio using best-in-class hardware and industry-leading room correction software.”
Dirac Live Room Correction automatically corrects common acoustic problems common to all home audio systems that cannot be solved with hardware alone or that are too time-consuming, skill-intensive or expensive to solve.
It corrects both the amplitude and phase of the entire sound system, including the room itself – the result is a more transparent, balanced sound, tighter bass, improved staging and increased clarity.
Dirac Live Bass Control eliminates variations between listening positions and enables smooth, even bass distribution throughout the room – and deeper, more powerful bass regardless of the position of the subwoofers.
