New Surround Master coming! Its a jump to the left and a step to the right

[chucky3042]

its cute! i love it!
(i want it.. i need it!!)

Actual dimensions are 188 Deep (including knobs and RCA's) X 165 W X 57 H

 

[chucky3042]

Having stumbled upon this I think this just might be the decoder I'm looking for. Missed out on the original SM looking for a step up. I like the case & the controls. I would buy in advance if possible.

Questions about the circuitry infrastructure:

I see it again works off of a 9 volt wall wart. That means soon on there is a resistive voltage divider that splits it into 4.5 Volt for a bi-polar power supply. That always makes for a higher impedance /restricted current power supply. Not good overall.

Or it means a single voltage supply using many DC blocking coupler capacitors. Also not the best. Optimum for audio fidelity is a bi-polar high current tightly regulated power supply as was done in the Sansui QSD-1000. Can you expand on the quality of the power supply design?

The original Involve SM had a stated spec of only 5 v/micro sec slew rate. This is even below the (1980) ubiquitous NE 5532 that has been superseded by a wide margin in modern audio IC's. It was stated that analog audio improvements have been added to SM V2. Could you elaborate more?

Can you tell us if the new V2 is also a three band decoder? Or did I miss that spec?

Thank you in advance for your reply!

 

[chucky3042]

Having stumbled upon this I think this just might be the decoder I'm looking for. Missed out on the original SM looking for a step up. I like the case & the controls. I would buy in advance if possible.

Questions about the circuitry infrastructure:

I see it again works off of a 9 volt wall wart. That means soon on there is a resistive voltage divider that splits it into 4.5 Volt for a bi-polar power supply. That always makes for a higher impedance /restricted current power supply. Not good overall.

Or it means a single voltage supply using many DC blocking coupler capacitors. Also not the best. Optimum for audio fidelity is a bi-polar high current tightly regulated power supply as was done in the Sansui QSD-1000. Can you expand on the quality of the power supply design?

The original Involve SM had a stated spec of only 5 v/micro sec slew rate. This is even below the (1980) ubiquitous NE 5532 that has been superseded by a wide margin in modern audio IC's. It was stated that analog audio improvements have been added to SM V2. Could you elaborate more?

Can you tell us if the new V2 is also a three band decoder? Or did I miss that spec?

Thank you in advance for your reply!

Hi Sonik Wiz

Re the power supply is and remains the same with an actual negative rail generator.....so no dividers or capacitors.

Re the slew rate. Actually we used the NE5532 in the old SM, we gave it a conservative rating. The new super duper SM will use the twice as expensive LM4562 with a slew rate of 20 V/ us.

Yep its a 3 band for Involve/ QS and SQ

The enhancements in circuitry is actually getting rid of a few op amps in the chain and getting rid of a few electrolytics in the series chain. Also better PCB design.

Regards

Chucky

 

[chucky3042]

Chucky - you shouldn’t have aroused my interest (!) as I’ll probably keep over thinking this product now. At the forefront of my mind at the moment is that I’m not quite sure what you mean by your feature 5 “LED indication of what channels are active”.

Is this simply to indicate that a particular channel is enabled in the selected mode? If so, I'm not sure how useful this would really be to be honest as I would have thought this was obvious from the mode switch legend. Furthermore there is no mode which doesn’t enable the front L & R channels, so those lights would always be on regardless. There is also no surround mode in which the both the rear L & R channels would not be enabled and by definition no 5.1 mode in which both C & LFE lights would not be lit.

Or
Is it the intention that by flickering in response to audio level that they indicate that there is a signal on that channel? I think this would be of more use.

I’m only making the observation because I hate the distraction of arc-light bright blue LEDS in my listening room and invariably end up covering them with black insulating tape unless they are of real value!

Hi Soundfield

We are doing it because we like blue lights (makes it sound better). In addition some non QQ types are simple folk

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Hi Sonik Wiz

Re the power supply is and remains the same with an actual negative rail generator.....so no dividers or capacitors.

Re the slew rate. Actually we used the NE5532 in the old SM, we gave it a conservative rating. The new super duper SM will use the twice as expensive LM4562 with a slew rate of 20 V/ us.

Yep its a 3 band for Involve/ QS and SQ

The enhancements in circuitry is actually getting rid of a few op amps in the chain and getting rid of a few electrolytics in the series chain. Also better PCB design.

Regards

Chucky

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Thnak you Mr Chucky for the most excellent reply.

I am ready to order at first opportunity!

 

[proufo]

Could you confirm it is 24/96?

 

[proufo]

The knobs will have a center location detent.

It is one more thing to get paranoid about.

And, my apologies, who are the intended buyers?

I don't believe there are many people that will drive directly a power amp with this unit. But you can be sure most of us here at QQ do have mch preamps/receivers already.

I don't mean at all to annoy or disrespect you, but it would be more elegant without the level controls.

 

[chucky3042]

hi Chucky and Oddball,

its a long shot.. but.. could there be a switch round the back to "mono-ise" (TM) the rears so that the vocals that bleed from CF to back get cancelled out in SQ mode?

pretty please with five point one frosting on the top!

yours surroundily,
not so secret agent fb 33.333
(codename = bl*wj*b.)

Possibly....we are looking at it!

 

[chucky3042]

Hi Chucky!

Thanks for answering my questions so quickly. I now have 3 more. First, do you have a potential ready date for the new SM? Second, can I pay in advance of release, and thirdly, would you accept it in 3 monthly payments if paid before release? My budget is really tight, but I do not wish to lose out this time. I am hoping Paypal or VISA would be appropriate methods of payment.

Privately (dont tell the QQ types) I understand being on a tight budge.....Just PM me when you are ready and we will arrange something (done that before)

I am hoping 3 months from now

Chucky

 

[chucky3042]

Hey Chucky: Many thanks for the great news. The V2 unit looks cool, I want one. Just how will it differ from the upcoming super surround preamp?

thanks: John R.

PS: Actually, I'd be very happy with just a 4.1 Involve-only version of the V2. I really don't give a fig or a flip for 5.1 or any of the SQ modes, since my main interest is stereo-to-quad synthesis.

the super surround preamp was gonna have MM and MC cartridge, optical, HDMI, bluetooth and all sorts of fancy displays including vectorscope and frequency domain stuff

See attached

 

[Soundfield]

We are doing it because we like blue lights (makes it sound better). In addition some non QQ types are simple folk

Fair enough!

 

[HomerJAU]

I guess adding an HDMI output was too expensive. Many out there don’t have quad or 5.1 analog inputs on their gear.

Looks nice though!

 

[Soundfield]

I guess adding an HDMI output was too expensive. Many out there don’t have quad or 5.1 analog inputs on their gear.

Looks nice though!

I think you'll have to wait for the fully featured pre-amp; as Chucky says this is just an interim step.

 

[skherbeck]

Hi Soundfield

We are doing it because we like blue lights (makes it sound better). In addition some non QQ types are simple folk

You can never go wrong with more lights

 

[chucky3042]

I guess adding an HDMI output was too expensive. Many out there don’t have quad or 5.1 analog inputs on their gear.

Looks nice though!

Its not well known but the HDMI virus/ License costs around $20,000 per year , all for a shitty bsolution designed by the big boys to keep the little fellas out of the hunt. I spit on it!

 

[surroundophile]

I hope the V2 doesn't get as hot as the V1 does! That has always been a concern. Fire hazzard? Heat affecting other components it's close to?

 

[Soundfield]

I hope the V2 doesn't get as hot as the V1 does! That has always been a concern. Fire hazzard? Heat affecting other components it's close to?

My SM always runs very warm, probably not ideal for its own longevity but can't imagine it is any sort of hazard though. Doubtless this was partly due to the lack of ventilation in that tiny plastic case that Chucky hated so much! The processor is obviously very busy and power hungry - perhaps it needs a little fan in the new version. At the least I would hope the transition to a decent metal case with a bit more space will allow for some proper heatsinking and through ventilation slots.

 

[DuncanS]

Its not well known but the HDMI virus/ License costs around $20,000 per year , all for a shitty bsolution designed by the big boys to keep the little fellas out of the hunt. I spit on it!

There maybe a way around this, such as supplying a USB to HDMI module with it, if you have a suitable micro inside and can write the code to drive a USB 3.1 port.

https://www.lindy.co.uk/usb-thunder...type-c-to-4k-hdmi-2-0-adapter-converter-p9456

• Input: USB 3.1 Type-C connector - Male
• Output: HDMI Female
• USB 3.1 Gen 1 Standard
• Requires DisplayPort Alternate mode
• Max. resolution: 3840x2160@60Hz 8bit RGB
• Chipset: Parade PS176
• HDMI 2.0a compatible, up to 6.0Gbit/sec per TMDS data channel
• RGB format supported at 8/10/12 bits-per-component
• YCbCr format supported at 8/10/12 bits-per-component in 4:4:4/4:2:2/4:2:0 pixel format
• Supports TMDS scrambling for EMI/RFI reduction
• Supports SCDC (Status and Control Data Channel)
• Audio output formats: 8-ch LPCM, compressed audio and HBR
• 24-bit audio sample size, up to 192 kHz sample rate
• Supports HDCP 1.4 and HDCP 2.2 content protection
• Powered via USB port, no external PSU port
• Colour: Black
• Length (incl. housing): approx. 15 cm

 

[Simon A]

I'm one of the rare QQ type who's a simple folk so I hope my question won't seem too silly.

What are the main differences between V1 and V2? What I really want to know is if I own V1, do I need to get V2 or can I lead a full and Quad happy life without it?