Greetings all.
I received my (bought and paid for by me) Surround Master decoder, and I eagerly hooked it up really quickly to my PC via my MOTU 828mk3 to do a quick test. I will add to this thread as time permits, but here are the quick and down-and-dirty results of a very quick run through.
(Please note that I will delete any arguing, back-talk, or non-contructive posts in this thread. This thread is MINE! ")
So, first off, out of the box it's a pretty simple hookup. It comes with enough RCA cables to connect the INPUT to the box, and to connect 6 channel outputs. For my first test, I stuck with 4 Channels.
I used the turntable/cartridge that sits by my PC. It's old and not very well maintained, but it works. It's a Sansui SR-838 with a Shure M24 cartridge. That feeds an old Denon AVR-4806. I took a stereo output from the Denon directly into the SM-465. The outputs of the SM-465 were sent right to the MOTU and into my PC. The audio was recorded with Sony Vegas 11.
So far, I have used one LP, the Ovation Vector 4 "Introducing Ovation Records Quadraphonic Sound" from 1974, OVQS/4000. This is considered one of the best QS test albums from that era. Mind you, this is an old LP and it hasn't been out in years!
So, all fired up, I played and recorded the entire first side. The results were pretty amazing to the ear, a little bit less via the wav file, but impressive non the less for a matrix decoder.
When you're dealing with any matrix system, there is always the inherant factor of the original encoding process. How good was it and how much better could it be 40 years later. With a tape, you're pretty much guaranteed a discrete product. Not so with a matrix encode. But that's another issue for other folks to debate.
So, here's a few peeks at the wav files, since I can't let you hear the results. Remember, these jpgs are untouched, as recorded, and what you see is what you get.
First off, very impressive, was Track 9, the last track on the Lp. Here is the description of that track from the LP: A "1kHz test tone is placed at CENTER FRONT, DEAD CENTER, and CENTER REAR for the purpose of aligning your system."
You can see by the wav files that you pretty much get what they say you're going to get. Sure, there's a little bleed through, but not much, and to the listener, you don't hear it without sticking your ear up to the inactive speaker. Yes, it's not discrete like tape, so if that's what you expected, SORRY!
The second example to look at is from Track 6, which is called "Sound in Motion". From the LP: "A dramatic illustration of sound spinning, dashing and floating around, in front, behind and over the listener."
Here you can see the audio wav forms are clearly defined as they move from channel to channel. Again, if you want total isolation, it's not going to happen, but it's damn good and to the ear, it's easy to tell where the sound is coming from, and it's from the proper speaker.
I will do more testing, but on first try, I say this is a winner. Remember, the box and the booklet and the unit do not claim or display a QS logo, so know that going in. If you're interested in a nice little surround box that does a really good job on QS, this box is for you.
So far, I'm happy!
I received my (bought and paid for by me) Surround Master decoder, and I eagerly hooked it up really quickly to my PC via my MOTU 828mk3 to do a quick test. I will add to this thread as time permits, but here are the quick and down-and-dirty results of a very quick run through.
(Please note that I will delete any arguing, back-talk, or non-contructive posts in this thread. This thread is MINE! ")
So, first off, out of the box it's a pretty simple hookup. It comes with enough RCA cables to connect the INPUT to the box, and to connect 6 channel outputs. For my first test, I stuck with 4 Channels.
I used the turntable/cartridge that sits by my PC. It's old and not very well maintained, but it works. It's a Sansui SR-838 with a Shure M24 cartridge. That feeds an old Denon AVR-4806. I took a stereo output from the Denon directly into the SM-465. The outputs of the SM-465 were sent right to the MOTU and into my PC. The audio was recorded with Sony Vegas 11.
So far, I have used one LP, the Ovation Vector 4 "Introducing Ovation Records Quadraphonic Sound" from 1974, OVQS/4000. This is considered one of the best QS test albums from that era. Mind you, this is an old LP and it hasn't been out in years!
So, all fired up, I played and recorded the entire first side. The results were pretty amazing to the ear, a little bit less via the wav file, but impressive non the less for a matrix decoder.
When you're dealing with any matrix system, there is always the inherant factor of the original encoding process. How good was it and how much better could it be 40 years later. With a tape, you're pretty much guaranteed a discrete product. Not so with a matrix encode. But that's another issue for other folks to debate.
So, here's a few peeks at the wav files, since I can't let you hear the results. Remember, these jpgs are untouched, as recorded, and what you see is what you get.
First off, very impressive, was Track 9, the last track on the Lp. Here is the description of that track from the LP: A "1kHz test tone is placed at CENTER FRONT, DEAD CENTER, and CENTER REAR for the purpose of aligning your system."
You can see by the wav files that you pretty much get what they say you're going to get. Sure, there's a little bleed through, but not much, and to the listener, you don't hear it without sticking your ear up to the inactive speaker. Yes, it's not discrete like tape, so if that's what you expected, SORRY!
The second example to look at is from Track 6, which is called "Sound in Motion". From the LP: "A dramatic illustration of sound spinning, dashing and floating around, in front, behind and over the listener."
Here you can see the audio wav forms are clearly defined as they move from channel to channel. Again, if you want total isolation, it's not going to happen, but it's damn good and to the ear, it's easy to tell where the sound is coming from, and it's from the proper speaker.
I will do more testing, but on first try, I say this is a winner. Remember, the box and the booklet and the unit do not claim or display a QS logo, so know that going in. If you're interested in a nice little surround box that does a really good job on QS, this box is for you.
So far, I'm happy!