A Vario-Matrix Survival Guide

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I never quite got around to building a stereo width controller (I think I'm getting lazy in my old age!). But I've just acquired this neat little module that saves a bit of work and should be fun to play with-

stereo width control.jpg
 
I never quite got around to building a stereo width controller (I think I'm getting lazy in my old age!). But I've just acquired this neat little module that saves a bit of work and should be fun to play with-

View attachment 77519
Well damn, that's cool! Tell us more.... brand name, source, cost. And report back how it works for you!
 
Well damn, that's cool! Tell us more.... brand name, source, cost. And report back how it works for you!

Itā€™s a Eurorack style module for a synthesiser (appropriately!). Nicely made by EMW (in Brazil I believe). Several distributors in Europe (I got mine from Germany inside a week). Not cheap though- cost me Ā£79.

EMW Stereo Enhancer
 
Itā€™s a Eurorack style module for a synthesiser (appropriately!). Nicely made by EMW (in Brazil I believe). Several distributors in Europe (I got mine from Germany inside a week). Not cheap though- cost me Ā£79.

EMW Stereo Enhancer
I would also like to know how well you feel it works and the music you applied it to?
 
So do you need a separate 12v plug or is one provided?

It operates from + / - 12V. It has a ribbon plug and socket that is intended to connect to the supplies that form part of a Eurorack back plane. Iā€™ll simply remove the socket at the backplane end of the ribbon and hardwire it to a little dual rail PSU.

Iā€™ll try it out as the stereo expander it is intended to be first, just out of interest, and then as a front end processor for the SMv2 and my own various homemade decoders. If I find it of value Iā€™ll house it with the PSU in a little case.

Iā€™ll report back on itā€™s effectiveness (or otherwise!).
 
I never quite got around to building a stereo width controller (I think I'm getting lazy in my old age!).
But I've just acquired this neat little module that saves a bit of work and should be fun to play with-

Not to be "snide" in any way, but I've had a dozen inexpensive versions of a similar device in my home project studios for 40 years.
Never referred to it as a stereo width controller.

Known in semi-pro audio circles as "stereo mixer with pan control." ;)

Different strokes.
Trust this place to come up with a glove box application for one.
:51QQ
 
Not to be "snide" in any way, but I've had a dozen inexpensive versions of a similar device in my home project studios for 40 years.
Never referred to it as a stereo width controller.

Known in semi-pro audio circles as "stereo mixer with pan control." ;)

Different strokes.
Trust this place to come up with a glove box application for one.
:51QQ
A width controller would be different than a panning control. A width control adds out of phase blend to make the stereo image seem larger, extending beyond the speakers. A panning control would simply take an input and position it L, R or in between the the speakers (in phase). Although with studio equipment you would often have the ability to swap phase to create the same result. A lot of audio editing programs have a stereo expand function built in. Adobe Audition/Effects/Stereo Imagery/Stereo Expander, for one. Scott has used it as a pre-synth for QS/Involve decoder, and described his method here.

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/stereo-pre-synthesis.25299/
 
A width controller would be different than a panning control. A width control adds out of phase blend to make the stereo image seem larger, extending beyond the speakers. A panning control would simply take an input and position it L, R or in between the the speakers (in phase). Although with studio equipment you would often have the ability to swap phase to create the same result. A lot of audio editing programs have a stereo expand function built in. Adobe Audition/Effects/Stereo Imagery/Stereo Expander, for one. Scott has used it as a pre-synth for QS/Involve decoder, and described his method here.

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/stereo-pre-synthesis.25299/

Ah, my mistake, thanks for the clarification.
I tend to skip the antique decoder threads, to my detriment.

I actually have experimented with a similar effect suggested by some of @MidiMagic writings by using active inverters in my Eurorack along with a mixer for a matrix stereo to quad effect.

Learn something new every day around this place.

:51QQ
 
This is rather cool, I was rummaging through my old papers to look at the "Bass Summing Amp" that I had mentioned in the Vinyl Journey thread. I came across my original hand drawn schematic with typewritten notes.

I was thinking that I had built Scott's Pre-synth circuit pretty much as was shown in his original article but it looks like I just borrowed his idea and added it to the bass summing amp! Here is the schematic along with the original. I gave Scott full credit in my notes! If my parts values may seem odd or overly precise that is because long ago I got a deal on a box of 107K 1% resistors. I almost always use them in any project that calls for 100K, I still have most of the box left! I always jumped on deals for precision 1% and 0.5% capacitors as well. I wanted my stereo projects to have closely balanced sections.

This version only does the out of phase blending, which is the most useful part! The C2 capacitors prevent cancellation of the bass.

1676159995474.jpeg

1676160024607.jpeg
 
This is rather cool, I was rummaging through my old papers to look at the "Bass Summing Amp" that I had mentioned in the Vinyl Journey thread. I came across my original hand drawn schematic with typewritten notes.

I was thinking that I had built Scott's Pre-synth circuit pretty much as was shown in his original article but it looks like I just borrowed his idea and added it to the bass summing amp! Here is the schematic along with the original. I gave Scott full credit in my notes! If my parts values may seem odd or overly precise that is because long ago I got a deal on a box of 107K 1% resistors. I almost always use them in any project that calls for 100K, I still have most of the box left! I always jumped on deals for precision 1% and 0.5% capacitors as well. I wanted my stereo projects to have closely balanced sections.

This version only does the out of phase blending, which is the most useful part! The C2 capacitors prevent cancellation of the bass.

View attachment 88502
View attachment 88503

I think that's a very clever application of the original circuit. I don't think I would have seen it that way. Summing the bass also gets rid of the thump from a warped record. No need for sharp cut of filters. And of course adjusting the phase mixing is the icing on the cake.
 
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