# PPI DSP88r review



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

OK folks, if you clicked on this thread looking for another horror story about this unit you're out of luck. Now that that's out of the way...

This is a fairly decent feeling unit for the price paid, but no way it's worth the $400ish retail. The remote feels cheap and the plugs need to be forced into the ports to seat up correctly. The plug that goes into the remote had to be coaxed in with a flathead screwdriver because my fingers wouldn't fit in the tiny opening it sinks into. Setup was pretty easy. I read the manual cover to cover and everything fell into place. No connection or preset issues. I just load the settings saved on my computer and work with them, then override the preset I'm working on when done.

The level and time alignment increments could be finer, but will get you close enough. Time alignment goes in .05ms increments and level is in .5db increments. You can set the crossover wherever you want and slopes go from 6db up to 48db. You can also of course flip phase and mute each channel. 

The graphic/parametric hybrid eq is a really cool thing. You can choose to have channels a, b, c, d, e, and f sharing the same eq (l/r independent of course) for all 31 bands OR have a, b, c, and d sharing all 31 bands then e and f with 11 bands between 63 and 16khz. The problem this presents is you only get bands 63, 80, 160, 200, 250, 315, 630, 1k, 4k, 6.3, and 16k on channels e and f. You still get all 11 bands between 20 and 200hz for the sub both ways. Basically, you have to pick the lesser of 2 evils when running a 3-way front. My midrange and tweets are right on top of each other and don't need much l/r eq, but the midbass in the doors needs some pretty insane work to get lined up. Naturally this will mess with the midrange that plays by a completely different set of rules around the crossover point. I'll have to play with both eq options to see which gives the best results. q adjustment goes from .5 up to 9 on each band so you can go from splattering a large area with one band to literally dropping a pin on an isolated problem spot.

As for how it sounds...I don't think it's degrading the sound any. Noise floor isn't an issue. It gets the job done really well on the cheap. The remote gives you 9 presets iirc so you can go nuts with making a tune for each one. I'll probably only use 4 of them though...a froo froo demo tune with seat all the way back, an impact tune for having some fun, a driving position tune, and of course a basshead tune to make the plain sealed 10" play its little heart out. I think I'll end up with the new minidsp 6 to 8 within the next year. This 88r is a great unit for getting me by in a pinch and once I get more time with it I might not even feel the need to upgrade. If I do it will make a great backup processor since I doubt it would sell for much on here even if it is a known "good" unit.


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## BlueGhost (Jul 28, 2014)

That pretty much sums up my experience with the DSP-88R. I think its great for something you can get for under $300, actually under $250. I had the same issues getting the plugs lined up on the pins and fully seated, but haven't had any other problems. 

I'm running without a head unit, so the remote with input selection and volume control is nice. I'm streaming Bluetooth via the optical in and an APT-X Bluetooth receiver. I connected the analog out of my Bluetooth to the AUX input and didn't notice any loss of quality when switching between optical and AUX in.

I'm also using the hands-free input and it works as it should.


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