DENVER, CO — September 3, 2026 — At the industry-leading CEDIA Expo 2026, a significant milestone in custom integration was reached as Swedish digital audio pioneer Dirac and high-fidelity powerhouse NAD Electronics announced the formal integration of Dirac Live Room Correction into the NAD CI Modular Series. This strategic collaboration, which brings world-class acoustic optimization to the CI SA2-120 BluOS Streaming Amplifier Module and the CI S2 BluOS Streaming Module, signals a new era for professional integrators tasked with delivering high-end sound in unpredictable, real-world residential environments.
The Intersection of Power and Precision: Main Facts
The core of this announcement centers on the certification of two key components within NAD’s CI Modular lineup. By enabling Dirac Live support, NAD and Dirac are addressing the perennial challenge faced by custom installers: how to ensure consistent, studio-grade audio quality in spaces that were never acoustically designed for music.
The NAD CI SA2-120 serves as a dual-zone, high-performance streaming amplifier, while the CI S2 offers a dedicated dual-zone streaming solution. By integrating Dirac Live—a sophisticated digital room correction technology—these devices can now analyze a room’s specific acoustic footprint and automatically calibrate output to neutralize the negative effects of room modes, reflections, and standing waves. This results in a sonic signature that is clearer, more balanced, and significantly more immersive than what standard, non-corrected hardware could provide.
A Legacy of Innovation: Chronology of the Collaboration
The journey to this announcement is rooted in the broader, long-standing relationship between Lenbrook (the parent company of NAD) and Dirac.
- Initial Synergy (2018–2022): NAD began incorporating Dirac Live into its flagship home theater receivers (AVRs), marking the first major shift in bringing consumer-grade room correction to high-performance AV systems. The success of this integration prompted engineers to investigate the feasibility of moving that technology into the more compact, modular space of custom installation (CI).
- The Rise of Modular Design (2024): NAD introduced the CI Modular Series to address the needs of modern, multi-room projects. The series was engineered for flexibility, allowing integrators to scale systems without compromising on signal integrity.
- Engineering Integration (2025): Throughout the previous year, R&D teams at both Dirac and NAD worked to optimize the Dirac Live algorithm to operate within the specific processing constraints of the CI SA2-120 and CI S2 modules, ensuring that the room correction process would not compromise the latency or stability of the BluOS streaming platform.
- CEDIA Expo 2026 Reveal: The formal certification was finalized just in time for the 2026 CEDIA Expo in Denver, allowing for live demonstrations of the calibrated systems to professional integrators.
The Science of Sound: Supporting Data and Technology
To understand why this development is significant, one must examine the acoustic pitfalls inherent in residential design. Most homes are composed of hard, parallel surfaces—plaster walls, hardwood floors, and large glass windows—which create "room modes." These modes cause specific bass frequencies to boom or disappear entirely, while high-frequency reflections can smear the stereo image, making it difficult for the listener to pinpoint instruments or vocals.
Dirac Live operates on a fundamentally different level than traditional "graphic equalizers." While a standard EQ might adjust the volume of a specific frequency range, Dirac Live employs a patented mixed-phase filter technology. This corrects both:
- Magnitude Response: Smoothing out peaks and dips in frequency to ensure a flat, natural response.
- Phase Response: Correcting the timing of sound waves. By ensuring that all frequencies arrive at the listening position simultaneously, Dirac Live creates a cohesive "soundstage" that is significantly wider and deeper than uncorrected systems.
In a custom installation scenario, where a single stream might be routed to a kitchen, a bedroom, and a patio, the ability to tailor the output to each of those unique spaces using the same high-end processing is a game-changer for the integrator.
Voices from the Industry: Official Responses
The reception from industry leaders reflects a growing consensus that "intelligent" audio is no longer a luxury, but a requirement for the modern custom install market.
Rikard Hellerfelt, VP and Head of Consumer Electronics at Dirac, emphasized the limitations of hardware alone: "Every room shapes sound in ways that even premium audio hardware cannot address on its own. By expanding Dirac Live Room Correction to NAD’s CI SA2-120 and CI S2, we’re giving professional integrators a powerful tool to unlock the full performance of distributed audio systems while creating consistently exceptional listening experiences across the home."
Peter Gibb, Custom Install Product Manager at NAD Electronics, highlighted the integrator’s perspective: "For custom integrators, every project presents a unique acoustic environment. Bringing Dirac Live Room Correction to the CI SA2-120 and CI S2 pairs the flexibility of our modular CI platform with powerful room optimization, helping integrators achieve exceptional, consistent sound across a wide range of spaces and system configurations."
Implications for the Future of Custom Integration
The integration of Dirac Live into the NAD CI Modular series has profound implications for the industry at large.
1. The Death of "Good Enough" Audio
Historically, distributed audio was often seen as "background music"—a secondary priority to the main home theater. With Dirac Live, professional integrators can now guarantee that even auxiliary zones offer "audiophile-grade" performance. This raises the bar for the entire project, allowing integrators to upsell higher-quality speaker packages that they can now confidently calibrate to perfection.
2. Streamlining the Installation Workflow
One of the primary pain points for installers is the time spent on-site tuning systems. Because Dirac Live is highly automated and data-driven, it reduces the need for manual, trial-and-error room tuning. By using the NAD Dirac Room Calibration Kit, an integrator can capture accurate measurements, upload the target curve, and finalize the room’s performance in a fraction of the time it would take to manually adjust parametric EQs.
3. Scalability and Future-Proofing
The modular nature of the CI SA2-120 and CI S2 means that as a client’s home grows, or as their needs change, the system can expand without losing its acoustic identity. Because the Dirac correction is processed at the module level, the acoustic integrity is maintained regardless of how many modules are linked together in a rack.
Conclusion: A New Standard for Residential Audio
As the smart home market continues to mature, consumers are demanding more than just connectivity; they are demanding performance. The partnership between Dirac and NAD serves as a bridge between the high-performance audiophile world and the practical, demanding world of professional custom installation.
For integrators, the combination of NAD’s robust, modular hardware and Dirac’s industry-leading software provides a reliable, scalable, and high-performance solution that addresses the physical realities of modern architecture. As attendees at CEDIA Expo 2026 witness firsthand, the future of custom audio isn’t just about where the speakers are placed—it’s about how the software adapts to the space to make the room disappear, leaving only the music.
For those looking to implement this technology in upcoming projects, the Dirac Live Room Correction Full Bandwidth license for the NAD CI SA2-120 and CI S2 is now available through the Dirac website. Detailed specifications and setup guides for the NAD Dirac Room Calibration Kit can be accessed via the official NAD Electronics website.
