Guys:I'm the confused newbie to pre/pro surround.
I'm accustomed to EQ in stereo environment by two methods, sometimes used together. They are (1) Bass/treble on the preamp; (2) outboard EQ between preamp and amp. What happens in a 990 or 950 plus whatever amp environment. There is no auto EQ and that has been discussed and I understand why. That's fine. Just wondering. I'm gonna get a 990 anyway plus 5 or 7 ch amp from outlaw but I'm still wondering about EQ.
Thanks in advance...maybe I won't be confused one day.

The Model 950 does have bass/treble control (see page 23 of the manual), and the Model 990 probably will as well. Outboard EQ's in the home theater environment are very rare - you have up to eight channels (seven speakers plus a sub) to contend with, so the cost and complexity of adjustment are significantly more than in a stereo arrangement. The most common outboard EQ systems employed in a home theater tend to be focused specifically on the subwoofer signal (which allows you to address the lowest frequencies fairly easily), and there are a few such devices around - one of the most commonly used is the Behringer Feedback Destroyer (or simply the BFD) although there are others. Here are some instructions on using the BFD to EQ a subwoofer.

Thanks, gonk.
I guess I missed it in my initial perusal.
Still, it appears that it's global and basically bass. So what if I want more presence in the center or front L&R.
OK.........so I'll get an outboard, I guess.
But the inference is that I won't need it anyway.
So...........thanks again.

Keep in mind that you are also adding a new piece to the puzzle when moving from stereo to surround: channel calibration (and of course its cousin speaker delay). This allows you to adjust the output level of each speaker so they all yield an equal volume at your sitting position. This will likely take care of any need for additional "presence" in key chanels.

Like many, I use the Outlaw 950 for both surround (mostly movies/TV) and 2-channel music sources such as CD's, etc...

I believe it is a rational choice to EQ the main L/R speaker channels, and let the others fend for themselves. Since most 2-channel is best listened to in Stereo Bypass Mode the value of EQ for the other channels is less (for me). In Stereo Bypass Mode the mains are sent the full signal, where bass management and room EQ can be of great benefit. While you can incorporate an ICBM to handle this, the main L/R speakers are usually the most full range and musical in the system. The new 990 with it's balanced outputs, time delay and volume calibration set-up, would seem to make incorporating a good external EQ a relatively simple task.

Behringer also makes the DEQ2496 which is a very high resolution digital signal processing tool for EQ (and tons of other stuff) and a 61 band RTA, all for a cost of about $300. It has balanced I/O and can be used for stereo sources.

I use an older analog Simetrix unit for parametric EQ, and Rane also makes a fine analog parametric EQ. The new 990, with balanced outputs, provides a lot of options for including professional gear in the signal path that was not as easy to achieve with unbalanced connections. I, for one, am very happy to have the option of balanced outputs. The only feature that could have been better, would have been a balanced processor loop I/O, but that is asking far more than the Outlaw model could reasonably support. Thanks Outlaw.

Allan

Thanks to you both for your input [or is it output]. You have helped me.

Alesis makes a pretty interesting looking 8 channel eq, the DEQ830.

I have not played with one yet but will likely pick some up for eq my secondary zones in my whole house audio distribuiton system.

http://www.alesis.com/products/deq830/index.html

Thanks for the info.I use Alesis products for recording/archiving. I had forgotten about this unit. Looks like it would be the ideal piece if additional eq is needed.

The Alesis EQ is very nice for the money. It adds a little to the noise floor though.

I EQ my three front channels. The surround channels aren't worth the cost to EQ since they're really just ambience 99% of the time.