Hey Nintendo Kid >> This is also my first post (I mostly just read the QQ posts for reference purposes).
I have an extraordinary quad setup (that I have enjoyed for 50 years). I RECENTLY got a Surround Master V3 for my main quad room and I relegated my old Lafayette SQ-W full logic decoder to my other quad room.
I have always POST processed the four (4) outputs from my decoder into two (2) stereo full octave equalizers (resulting in one discrete equalizer per channel) prior to routing the signal to my amps, so that I can make "minor adjustments" to compensate for the very slight differences in response in my main listening room.
These days - many enthusiasts seem to be moving towards Dirac - but I like to keep things simple and straightforward. I had experimented with a basic DSP unit in the past - but ultimately rejected this.
I (like you) prefer to minimize number of devices in the chain from my source to my speakers.
I don't know what INVOLVE is considering in the future - but adding full octave equalization to each output channel could provide considerable flexibility for the end user in adjusting their signal to compensate for response differences in their respective listening rooms (as well as differences between speaker responses)!
In any event - a shoutout (ahoy) to INVOLVE for their Surround Master V3. GREAT PRODUCT and their staff has been particularly helpful when I emailed them (especially David in Engineering). Thank-you!!
From the first time I saw the Surround Master on this forum nine years back, I could only envision using it as a desktop real-time hands-on device.
Not patch into the rack across the room, calibrate it once & forget about it.
For my purposes, in parallel somewhat with
@MidiMagic , as I found out later, I got a Behringer 2442 mixer some time ago to experiment with 5.1 recording & mixing.
I have found my new V2 evaluation decoder has patched seamlessly & effectively into that environment.
I have a switcher to select turntable, CD, or stereo HDMI from my iMac into the SM.
The four outputs go to four channel strips on the mixer with three-band eq with "British" high & low shelving @ 12k & 80 hZ, with parametric mid from 8k to 100 hZ.
Since patching direct into the multichannel inputs of my Yamaha AVR bypasses the speaker eq calibrations, I was able to compensate by ear to match my room.
Having four faders available within inches of my computer keyboard makes real-time adjustments to channel balance easy for phantom center placement etc,, as in a production SM unit.
For the LFE component, I use a post-fader aux send for a summed signal of all four channels to the sub input of the AVR, which it low-pass filters, to give me real-time control of x.1 suboctave enhancement.
I could do something similar to drive the center speaker, but have found, as
@chucky3042 has long maintained, with properly wide & toed-in front mains, the SM phantom center makes that a non-issue.
