Schiit Audio has a surround synthesizer gadget.

[ClassicalSurroundFan]

I ordered one earlier today. I saw questions about 4.1

Thank you. A great piece. I'm still interested in the inspiration & development of SYN's Matrix.

Fantastic. Let us know how it performs on quad vinyl.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Why all this Schit about Schit's name. Does anyone give a Schit about Thor the Norse God of Thunder.
Schit is a Norse name, isn't it? The Norse God of Audio!

It is spelled Schiit.

 

[Paul Pettegrove]

I'll let you know how it goes. Can't wait to try the unit. Looking over attached manual. They don't want to talk about quad. Too funny. I'm interested in treatment of SQ & QS Vinyl. Center channel has a pot for gain. It's what the designer acknowledged is a L&R summing circuit and the analog subwoofer of course derived. It's defeat center and with or without subwoofer. Its letting go of digital. Welcome to analog. Front and Surround (Rear) should be fine and at 20 to 20, 000k...

On someones question on incoming PCM in 5.1, same thing. That's digital. If the DAC 9018 can read it, its converted to 2 channel analog anyway... then the SYN moves it to where it needs to go through its analog matrix...

Now I have to convince them to make SYN-Q. The Quad treatment.

I'm thinking volume pot with its associated (4) input level pots, many processor/tape loops, lots of aux inputs, various modes; Quad, 2+2, Stereo, selectable matrix decoders tuned for matrix recordings; SQ, QS EQ, EV, ETC..., high & low filters, maybe a noise reduction circuit? Carver Autocorrelation... a phono preamp with defeatable RiAA frequency limits (something for the CD-4 path?) Quad specific balance controls, specific output choices 4.0, 4.1, 4.2.... a modern Pioneer QC-800a. One can always dream, why I'm on this site. How about bringing back quad headphones? Ha

 

[Wagonmaster_91]

Just by reading the description at the website I can tell this: It states that it doesn't do any digital processing to create surround sound so it is just a simple Hafler circuit. It says it doesn't affect the front channels, further proof that it is just a L-R extraction for the rear speakers. The center output is simply L+R. The subwoofer output is L+R with a low pass filter. The Width control is connected to the negative line of the rear speakers and adjusts that line from only out of phase info to full stereo, just like on the classic Akia SS-1. The Presence control is a mid-range tone control. That part of the unit I would only pay about $40 (if I need such a item). I'm sure the rest of the unit is well made and it looks nice.
This is a bit like the commercials running on TV for a magic device called an "HD-antenna" that can pick of TV channels out of the air - for free!

 

[ar surround]

I ordered one earlier today. I saw questions about 4.1

Thank you. A great piece. I'm still interested in the inspiration & development of SYN's Matrix.

I'd like to see what the guts look like. Any pics out there?

 

[Sonik Wiz]

I'd like to see what the guts look like. Any pics out there?

Taken from the Head-Fi article linked to earlier:

 

[ar surround]

Taken from the Head-Fi article linked to earlier:

View attachment 90242

Hmmmmm, for something that is claimed to be a modified Hafler circuit, there is a lot of electronic 'stuff' in there.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Hmmmmm, for something that is claimed to be a modified Hafler circuit, there is a lot of electronic 'stuff' in there.

Yep. It adds up when you throw in a DAC, headphone amp, presence filter, center front & sub-woof. Still at it's core it's a pretty simple decoder.

I will agree with most all what @Wagonmaster_91 said but I expect the width control adjust in phase blending on the front chs, & depth controls adjust L-R blending for the rear output. You could get this adjusted for basic QS/RM decoding, and get it right for SQ front chs, but the rears would never be correct with SQ. Of course it's a mix & match game when it comes to stereo.

DIY circuits like this have been both described by @par4ken and @MidiMagic .

 

[gene_stl]

I like the labeling on the board.

Why does it have a mic input?

 

[Sonik Wiz]

I like the labeling on the board.

Why does it have a mic input?

I don't see anything about a mic input in the specs. It does have a built in headphone amp with a proper 1/4" stereo jack on the front panel. Is that what you're looking at?

 

[gene_stl]

Far right side of front panel
edit: It's for a gaming mic. According to the manual.

 

[fcormier]

I like the labeling on the board.

Why does it have a mic input?

If people want to use it as a gaming DAC on their computer

 

[ar surround]

In today’s dollars, the 1972 $30 Dynaco Quadaptor would be $216. That’s a shocking number.

 

[himey]

On someones question on incoming PCM in 5.1, same thing. That's digital. If the DAC 9018 can read it, its converted to 2 channel analog anyway... then the SYN moves it to where it needs to go through its analog matrix...

That is just lazy implementation if true.

 

[armyjazzer]

I emailed Schiit a few of the questions being asked, and this was the response I got:

1. Can it be set to do 4.1 output or just 5.1?

It can only be set to 5.1 but you can just not install the center channel.

2. Can you use the USB interface/connection to play a 5.1 file out the 5.1 analog outs, bypassing the surround processing? A lot of the forum members also have a lot of 5.1 audio content they would like to play also using the device as well as converting their stereo audio files to 5.1. It would be really nice to be able to play both using the same connection.

I believe that it only works with 2CH PCM Stereo stuff. It cannot decode 5.1 channels as it is not a decoder. It uses a stereo signal and transforms it into 5.1.

3. Is there an multi-channel amplifier in the works to use with this device?

I'm sorry but strict employee confidentiality agreements prevent me from commenting or speculating on future products that might/might not be in development.

Best,
Daniel

 

[Sal1950]

3. Is there an multi-channel amplifier in the works to use with this device?

I'm sorry but strict employee confidentiality agreements prevent me from commenting or speculating on future products that might/might not be in development.

Ohhhh I sooo sorrrry, ancient Chinese secrets.

 

[Wagonmaster_91]

1. Can it be set to do 4.1 output or just 5.1?

It can only be set to 5.1 but you can just not install the center channel.

That confirms that the center channel is just L+R and in most systems not needed.

 

[jsrstereo]

That confirms that the center channel is just L+R and in most systems not needed.

Does the Width control still work if the center channel is not in use?

 

[jaybird100]

Just by reading the description at the website I can tell this: It states that it doesn't do any digital processing to create surround sound so it is just a simple Hafler circuit. It says it doesn't affect the front channels, further proof that it is just a L-R extraction for the rear speakers. The center output is simply L+R. The subwoofer output is L+R with a low pass filter. The Width control is connected to the negative line of the rear speakers and adjusts that line from only out of phase info to full stereo, just like on the classic Akia SS-1. The Presence control is a mid-range tone control. That part of the unit I would only pay about $40 (if I need such a item). I'm sure the rest of the unit is well made and it looks nice.
This is a bit like the commercials running on TV for a magic device called an "HD-antenna" that can pick of TV channels out of the air - for free!

I just watched a YouTube video on this unit. It's a DAC, headphone amp, preamp, and matrix decoder that's based on RM technology. It's no replacement for the Surround Master for us, but as a sound enhancement device, it shows some promise. They don't quote any channel separation specs, so I guess it's fairly basic. It also doesn't do SQ.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

I just watched a YouTube video on this unit. It's a DAC, headphone amp, preamp, and matrix decoder that's based on RM technology. It's no replacement for the Surround Master for us, but as a sound enhancement device, it shows some promise. They don't quote any channel separation specs, so I guess it's fairly basic. It also doesn't do SQ.

Per @armyjazzer's post:

I believe that it only works with 2CH PCM Stereo stuff. It cannot decode 5.1 channels as it is not a decoder. It uses a stereo signal and transforms it into 5.1.

Ooooh! It's a stereo transformer!