New Schiit SYN - Analog Surround Sound Processor

[Vacceo]

Which, in my opinion, is because surround is a nothing burger for anything other than watching movies or playing games. YMMV.

Both cases provide an insane amount of sources. I'd blame it on the licensing from Dolby and DTS for how restrictive devices get, but I honestly don't know how that works.

 

[LTig]

What goes around comes around.
Ask Brian Eno

Brian Eno 3 speaker setup, Hafler circuit, etc.

I just watched a new video from Paul/PS Audio () regarding Brian Eno's suggestion to use a 3rd speaker connected to the positive terminals of your amp, placed behind, to play the uncommon audio from both channels, potentially playing audio not heard with a standard 2-speaker setup. Does anyone...

www.audiosciencereview.com

(or David Hafler, as mentioned earlier. He's a little harder to get hold of, unless a Ouija Board's handy)

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/70s/1971/Poptronics-1971-07.pdf see pg. 47ff of the magazine.

View attachment 276254

My very first stereo receiver I got as present in 1974 had this "circuit", that is outputs for 2 surround speakers wired this way.

My Behringer Ultrafex pro has a variable analog stereo widener.

My colleages headphone amp has an analog crossfeed.

Nothing new under the sun. But nice to have it all in one.

 

[Curupira]

This type of product bodes real to shiit's target audience and loyal customers: those who own a bunch of their gear stacked already. Because it comes in the Lokius, Lokius Max and Jotunhein/Magnus form-factor this is a given.

 

[Asyrin]

This type of product bodes real to shiit's target audience and loyal customers: those who own a bunch of their gear stacked already. Because it comes in the Lokius, Lokius Max and Jotunhein/Magnus form-factor this is a given.

Exactly.

I have a desktop setup and while I'm not so loyal to Schiit that I'm unwilling to try other things, I looked hard for a good 5.1 receiver in this size and found nothing. They're all twice as big and ugly.

Anesthetics may sound like a stupid reason to buy equipment, but this is my workspace in addition to my plays pace and I like to keep it clean.

 

[krabapple]

I thought some Australia based company had something similar, may be like matrix surround.

You're thinking of the Surround Master from Involve Audio.

I'm not much interested in it because it has no HDMI connectivity. Does this new piece of Schiit's have it?

 

[TonyJZX]

back panel pic is in 1st post

i dont think hdmi has an analog component and you can always analog out or toslink out your dvd player etc

also no royalities in this case

 

[LTig]

You're thinking of the Surround Master from Involve Audio.

I'm not much interested in it because it has no HDMI connectivity. Does this new piece of Schiit's have it?

It doesn't need HDMI inputs, because it's not like a surround receiver which handles multi channel audio. The SYN takes 2 stereo channels and artificially creates sound for a center, 2 surround speakers and a sub. I' d bet the DAC inside is also stereo only.

 

[scottm_dj]

What no one is has mentioned is this most resembles Steve McCormick / Conrad Johnson's nifty all-analog "ARM" circuit that takes a 2-channel signal and intelligently expands it to matrix surround. I use a different preamp now and I miss that circuit.

Also of particular Interest: the ESS DAC used here is like 10 years old...hmmm.

 

[mhardy6647]

What no one is has mentioned is this most resembles Steve McCormick / Conrad Johnson's nifty all-analog "ARM" circuit that takes a 2-channel signal and intelligently expands it to matrix surround. I use a different preamp now and I miss that circuit.

Also of particular Interest: the ESS DAC used here is like 10 years old...hmmm.

For that "vintage DAC" cachet.

 

[No one you know]

This "surround processor" is known as a mid-side processor in the studio/production world.

That is the first thing that came to my mind. Lou Mannarino at 1Sound sells the MS34 speaker and M+S Processor. It seems the Syn is just rolling up many of these old analog processor ideas into neat package.

I like the concept. I’m going to order one for my conference room and use it with some Powersoft Mezzo amps and 1Sound Speakers. I don’t need “compliant” Dolby Surround or ATMOS in the conference room. This seems a good compromise.

 

[shadracko]

Exactly.

I have a desktop setup and while I'm not so loyal to Schiit that I'm unwilling to try other things, I looked hard for a good 5.1 receiver in this size and found nothing. They're all twice as big and ugly.

Anesthetics may sound like a stupid reason to buy equipment, but this is my workspace in addition to my plays pace and I like to keep it clean.

That's fine. But you then have 3-5 amps on your desktop to handle the 5 surround channels? I'm not aware of any compact 5-channel amps?

 

[kemmler3D]

I don’t need “compliant” Dolby Surround or ATMOS in the conference room. This seems a good compromise

I dunno, this isn't even real surround, it's just stereo split into multiple channels according to the whim of Schiit...

 

[Chaconne]

I used to use the ambiance-extraction feature in an old JVC DSP unit. If I understand it correctly, it just takes the L-R signal and routes it to the surround speakers, capturing what I understand to be the natural ambiance in stereo recordings. I listen to classical music, and I found that this approach can add a very satisfying sense of concert-hall ambiance, which is one of the things that is seriously missing in home reproduction. I don't know how well it works for studio-produced music, but I enjoyed the naturalness of the approach on many recordings, and it's got me thinking seriously of giving the Syn a try.

 

[BJL]

I thought this was an April Fool's day joke, but apparently it is real, or I would say, really silly idea for someone who wants to waste money.

 

[ThatGuyYouKnow]

So that gets to the point. Why not make a desktop HDMI surround processor/preamp that does do Dolby Atmos decoding?

 

[Blumlein 88]

It is all a bunch of Shiit. They tell you that right on the front of the box.

 

[NTK]

So that gets to the point. Why not make a desktop HDMI surround processor/preamp that does do Dolby Atmos decoding?

How many people will need a desktop surround processor when the typical setup is something like this?

 

[ThatGuyYouKnow]

How many people will need a desktop surround processor when the typical setup is something like this?
View attachment 276754

Probably enough people. How many would want the SYN? Certainly none need it.

Also, I should clarify that Atmos for Headphones would be very useful for many desktop users.

 

[DSS]

They have SPDIF input already on it, basic DD/DTS decoding would have surely added some value.

Missing the point. The whole purpose is not to pay the fee(s) to Dolby and DTS; one of the USPs.

 

[DSS]

How many people will need a desktop surround processor when the typical setup is something like this?
View attachment 276754

It has a remote and you can absolutely use it in the set up you picture but as communicated up to 5.1 (5.1.4 is for Spatial Audio/Dolby Atmos)
The claim is that it gives an immerging sound from any stereo signal, that opens the door to a huge amount of content.