08-03-2011 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree Paul S San Diego, California, USA Posts 2,657 Joined on 10-12-2006 Post #: 1 Post ID: 16777 Reply to: 16777 Available Blenders and Splitters? fiogf49gjkf0d Something I see a lot of in studios is the "distribution amplifier", that joins and splits the audio (and/or "video") signals into any number of channels.  I believe I want buffering, but I am not ready to track and impliment the "balanced" configurations favored by studios, etc. What I want may not be possible without giving up what I already have.  However, just in case I could wind up with what I think i want, here it is: Start from the RCA output of my TAP (passive pre-amp; about 600 Ohms);  Make a center channel that includes a truly blended (not just "difference"...) Left and Right;  "Split" both Left and Right for FR and LF. I think this is 5 "channels" from 1 (1:5). I would prefer to stay away from any sort of DSP.  Level options would be a bonus. Any ideas? Paul S

08-03-2011 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree scooter Posts 161 Joined on 07-17-2008 Post #: 2 Post ID: 16780 Reply to: 16777 Interesting headphone blender fiogf49gjkf0d Hi Paul, SPL out of Germany seems to have some interesting blending functions on their headphone amplifier. Not sure if they have other products that better suit your needs and didn't look to see if they are doing the processing in the digital or analog domain: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/563620/head-fi-tv-episode-009-spl-phonitor-heapdhone-monitoring-amplifier S

08-03-2011 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree Paul S San Diego, California, USA Posts 2,657 Joined on 10-12-2006 Post #: 3 Post ID: 16784 Reply to: 16780 Acceptable Distribution Amplifier? fiogf49gjkf0d Thanks, Scooter, I will check it out.  Meantime, I thought I should put a "recognizable" header on/in the thread...  At this point I am "ready" for DSP at ULF; but I still "draw the line" at that...   so far... I suppose that part of the "problem" is that -  AFAIK - only NOS gear is analog... Best regards, Paul S

08-03-2011 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree Paul S San Diego, California, USA Posts 2,657 Joined on 10-12-2006 Post #: 4 Post ID: 16785 Reply to: 16784 Unity fiogf49gjkf0d Looks like the SPL headphone amp thing-ee is mostly about generating/getting sound effects for/from headphones.  At this point, I think what I want is an "intact" signal at unity gain going to each of 5 channels.  This should mean that the blended, center channel is cut 3 dB (+/-) to compensate for the fact that it combines full L and R signals, and there would be 2X the usual L and R outs, each of which would run to its own amplifier/speaker.  I suppose that the traditional use of "amplifier" here refers to the gain (buffering) necessary to maintain unity and output impedance when the signal is split.  In other words, it is not the DSET-alike, rather, it is a line level function. Best regards, Paul S