New Partnership To Make Dirac Live Integration Easier For Audio Manufacturers

I recently received an email from my Audioholics colleague Tony Leotta informing me of a new strategic partnership between Dirac and a company called Peerless. This partnership will reportedly empower home and pro audio manufacturers to more efficiently integrate Dirac’s world-class room correction system into new products. This is a potentially significant development for fans of Dirac, but it requires some background information to understand, so buckle up, and bear with me for a few paragraphs.

First of all, don’t feel bad if you aren’t familiar with Peerless; I had never heard of the company either. With a legacy dating back to the 1920s, Peerless is an ODM (original design manufacturer) of loudspeaker components and electronics for consumer audio, pro audio, automotive audio, and more. (An original design manufacturer is a company that designs and manufactures a product that is eventually rebranded by another company for sale.) Peerless also specializes in software and product development, partnering with “leading global brands, creating innovative audio solutions for the next generation,” according to the company.

One of the company’s most popular offerings is Flow DSP, an all-in-one audio design suite that manufacturers can use to accelerate product development. It offers a user-friendly interface that eliminates the need for coding, thus reducing the time it takes companies to bring products to market. Developed by Peerless’s team of more than 20 software engineers, Flow DSP is a comprehensive software audio design platform that companies can license, along with expert support from Peerless on everything from prototyping and tuning to mass production. Peerless says that Flow DSP was created to streamline the development workflow for maximum efficiency, including the option to integrate existing code with a library of advanced algorithms and “shape the unique identity” of a finished product.

Flow DSP is divided into three core modules. One of these key elements is a cross-platform software DSP engine called Flow Engine. Its modular design allows it to be deployed on a growing number of the most popular cores, SOCs (Systems On a Chip), and DSPs. Flow DSP “consistently meets evolving market and application demands,” according to Peerless. Another core component of Flow DSP is the Flow Studio GUI. Flow Studio provides the PC-based graphic user interface for prototyping, with all the tools for “real-time tuning and design, with zero-coding,” according to Peerless. Designed for ease of use, it allows users to accurately iterate designs in real time, so users can create, listen, and fine-tune their creations as they go. The last component of Flow DSP is the library of Flow Algorithms. This ecosystem contains more than 100 algorithms to connect and build any variety of products. Manufacturers with existing code can integrate that code with this library of advanced algorithms to create a finished product, according to Peerless. One popular algorithm is Virtual Bass, which boosts perceived bass response. This is ideal for compact speakers, according to Peerless. Another is Dynamic Loudness, which is designed to ensure balanced sound at any volume. The Beamforming algorithm locates and tracks sound sources, and then isolates useful signals while reducing background noise. Finally, there is the Room Fix Pro algorithm, which allows users to calibrate frequency response using a phone mic, and provide correction of room-mode peaks and dips.

If you’re still with me, you’re probably beginning to understand where Dirac comes in. Thanks to the new strategic partnership between Peerless and the Swedish digital audio pioneers at Dirac, audio manufacturers leveraging the Flow DSP platform in their product development will be able to seamlessly integrate Dirac Live into their products far more easily. This partnership promises to “revolutionize sound reproduction across the home and pro audio markets.” According to the announcement on Dirac’s blog, the Dirac Live Room Correction solution will be integrated into Peerless Flow DSP as part of a comprehensive Peerless technology suite called X-IN-1. There will be flexible system, platform, and software licensing models available, according to Dirac. The result will be that audio brands, engineers, and product managers will be able to “effortlessly incorporate Dirac Live Room Correction into their offerings using a Peerless-optimized platform combined with the intuitive and flexible Flow Studio DSP design suite.” Even fairly inexpensive platforms like Raspberry Pi will be able to incorporate Dirac Live. The integration is already available on select processor architectures, such as Cortex-A. It can be expanded to additional platforms as needed, according to Dirac.

The acoustic expertise accumulated over Peerless’s nearly 100-year history in making excellent transducers ensures that the drivers themselves deliver premium quality. When integrated into a final product, such as a soundbar, Flow DSP enables the crucial fine-tuning needed to retain top sound quality as the product leaves the factory. Finally, Dirac Live’s industry-leading multi-phase room correction guarantees the best possible sound in the end user’s home, completing the continuous chain of audio excellence our customers deserve.

— Jyri Pakarinen PhD, Software Business Development Director at Peerless

In recent years, Dirac has accelerated its commercial work within the home and pro audio markets through collaborations with high-volume manufacturers that cater to the mainstream market. For this customer segment in particular, time-to-market is critically important, which is why we’ve partnered with Peerless to incorporate Dirac Live into its Flow DSP platform. Through this integration, home and pro audio OEMs will be able to more quickly, seamlessly, and efficiently integrate Dirac Live into their devices, which will further our mission to bring the benefits of premium room correction technology from the few to the many.

— Fredric Tapper, Dirac’s VP of Home & Pro Audio

Regular Audioholics readers will know that Dirac Live is the market-leading room correction solution, with the ability to address common acoustic challenges that all home and professional audio systems have. Dirac corrects for both the magnitude and phase of the entire sound system, including the room. Benefits include more transparent and balanced sound, tighter bass, improved staging, and enhanced clarity. By integrating Dirac Live into the Flow DSP platform, Dirac and Peerless are making it much easier for manufacturers to offer a feature that is very much in demand. At the same time, manufacturers will enjoy improved development efficiency, ultimately delivering more sound quality per dollar spent.

More Dirac Products to Come

Although you may not be familiar with Peerless, the company (along with its parent company, Tymphany) has probably been involved in the development and manufacture of products you do know, from smart speakers to car audio systems. The new partnership represents a significant milestone for both Peerless and Dirac, and we should start to see Dirac Live appearing in even more products across a range of price points. In fact, this has been a trend even before the partnership with Peerless. Two of the latest Bluesound Node products now offer Dirac Live, and in September of 2024, Klipsch announced the next wave of its wildly popular Flexus Series with the introduction of the Flexus Core 300, the world’s first soundbar with Dirac Live. We’re fans of Dirac, so we consider this to be a positive development with no obvious downside.