Dirac Live ART - Active Room Treatment Available on Denon/Marantz AVRs!

First launched exclusively on StormAudio gear, Dirac Live Active Room Treatment (ART) is now available on a range of AV receivers and processors from Denon and Marantz. According to an announcement from Dirac, all Denon and Marantz products that currently support both Dirac Live Room Correction and Dirac Live Bass Control  and feature four (4) independent subwoofer outputs now also support Dirac Live ART. For Denon, that list includes the AVR-A1H, AVR-A10H, AVR-X6800H, AVR-X4800H, and AVR-X3800H receivers. For Marantz, the list of compatible models includes the AV10 and AV20 processors, alongside the CINEMA 30, CINEMA 40, and CINEMA 50 AV receivers. 

Dirac Live ART was introduced in 2023 as a professional-grade addition to the Dirac Live platform, enabling users seeking the highest level of precision to further elevate their systems with advanced low-frequency spatial correction. It builds upon the magnitude and phase response optimization provided by Dirac Live Room Correction and the intelligent subwoofer optimization provided by Dirac Live Bass Control. To take performance a step further, Dirac Live ART actively manages bass resonances in the critical 20-150 Hz range by combining all of a system’s individual speakers into a cooperative unit. Using Dirac’s patented MIMO technology, Dirac Live ART can actually reduce reverberation times in your room — something that traditionally has required the application of passive acoustical room treatment to the walls and ceiling. Dirac says that the result is better bass clarity across all listening positions, improving upon the “balanced, transparent sound” already offered by Dirac’s existing solutions. By precisely aligning phase and controlling the sound field in real time, Dirac Live ART “ensures smooth, consistent bass even in asymmetrical or challenging room layouts,” according to the Swedish company.

Dirac Live ART unlocks an entirely new level of performance for Denon and Marantz systems. As two of the most trusted and widely adopted brands in home theater and audio, Denon and Marantz are among the first to feature this breakthrough technology, bringing studio-grade precision and innovation to a broader audience. By enabling every speaker to work in unison to control and smooth low frequencies, Dirac Live ART delivers bass that is tighter, more articulate, and consistent across the entire listening area. Whether in a purpose-built theater or an open living room, it elevates the system into a precisely tuned environment where every note and detail comes through with greater clarity and impact.

— Fredric Tapper, Dirac’s Vice President and Head of Business Development

Dirac Live ART: Pricing

Denon and Marantz users who already have Dirac Live Room Correction and Bass Control running on their devices can add a standalone Dirac Live ART license for $299. Note that standard (full-frequency) Dirac Live Room Correction ($349) is required in order to use Dirac Live ART. For systems with subwoofers, Dirac Live Bass Control ($299) is also required. Dirac offers a variety of bundle deals to make these relatively costly upgrades easier to swallow. If you’re starting from scratch with a new Denon or Marantz device, Dirac offers a bundle comprising Room Correction Full Bandwidth, Bass Control, and Active Room Treatment for $799. If you already have Dirac Live Room Correction, you can add the Bass Control and ART bundle for $549. We think the solutions in Dirac’s growing portfolio are powerful and very effective, but perhaps not as beginner-friendly as some other room correction applications, such as Anthem’s ARC Genesis. Because there’s a bit of a learning curve, we recommend consulting your dealer (or an acoustics professional like our friend Matthew Poes) to help you achieve the best results.

Both Denon and Marantz were recently acquired by HARMAN International, so it will be interesting to see when and if Dirac Live ART finds its way into products from other HARMAN brands, such as ARCAM and JBL. According to Dirac, AudioControl will be the next brand to add Active Room Treatment to select products. Since AudioControl shares a platform with ARCAM’s multichannel AV products, we would not be surprised to see Dirac Live ART arrive on select ARCAM products sometime soon. Onkyo has also hinted that its upcoming Icon P-80 stereo preamp (approximately $2K) will be capable of running Dirac Live ART.  But for now, StormAudio, Denon, and Marantz are the only consumer brands featuring Dirac’s most advanced tech.

Denon and Marantz owners can buy Dirac Live ART and other licenses from the Dirac Online Store.