Is this EQ really worth the $$'s? On a scale of 1-10 in degree's of impact, what would you estimate?

I have an SVS Ultra Plus sub; Outlaw 990; Sunfire TG 400 - 5 amp; Klipsch RF-7's all around in my small 13 x 13'
mini-theater.

As far as the EQ options currently available (Behringer, R-DES, SMS-1), it is probably the most potent single package. If you have a need for EQ, it's definitely worthy of consideration and would be my recommended tool for the job.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to assign a specific scale for amount of impact it will have in your system because I don't know how much need you might have for EQ. The first line of defense in this case should always be room treatment and speaker placement, as this yields the best results without direct manipulation of the audio signal. In a space that is acoustically friendly (due to specific acoustical treatment or just good luck), the SMS-1 will still be able to provide benefits, but they won't be as drastic as in a space with significant untreated problems for it to address. My system is in a room that's inherently pretty acoustically friendly: a good mix of hard surfaces and soft, relatively fortuitous subwoofer and speaker placement, and no really nasty peaks or dips in frequency response. For me, the SMS-1 was still able to fine tune the sound to provide a smoother integration of subwoofer and speakers and to reveal somewhat greater detail in sound in the lower octaves. The impact in this case was not huge (maybe a 3 for someone familiar with the system). If I'd had a more difficult space (such as my old living room), that impact could be far greater.

Wow, Gonk, thanks for your response. Very helpful as usual!

I have quite a bit of GIK acoustical panels around my room as well as bass traps in most corners. I think my next step will be to relocate my sub around the room to determine it's best placement.

Thanks again!

I wouls say that the SMS-1 has made one of the biggest sonic impacts in my system and is well worth the money. It is amazing how the sound clears up once you get rid of those boomy frequencies. I highly recommend it.

I would also agree the SMS-1 is worth the dough. It gives you a level of tuning not possible with other solutions and the GUI interface makes it so anyone can see right away what is going on wihtout any real knowledge of equalizers or frequency response.

I found the SMS-1 to be very useful as a diagnostic tool-by experimenting with sub placement I actually had to do very little eq (amazing how much a 3 foot change will make!). It was also helpful in adjusting placement of my main speakers too.

I would rate the SMS-1 very highly. I never would have believed it.
Before, adjusting the bass by ear, I could never get it to sound just right. You can't identify the "peaks and big valleys" just by ear. My prior technique: "Put the sub in the corner, play with knobs, and listen" turned out to not be the perfect plan... Now I know that there was a strange peak at the very bottom and a big valley near 100, due to my Q setting (adjustable on my sub), gain, polarity, and placement.
Before, I bought I thought: how much difference can there be by adjusting that little part of the sonic range and the SMS might just change my music to have a different kind of boomy sound? -- or so I thought...
After: The SMS-1 is very easy to use once you figure out the instructions and get all the wires connected. The SMS-1 is so visual -- you see the bass right on the TV screen as a line. After just a few minutes of adjusting, the bass response curve is flat as a pancake and music sounds like I was shooting for. Lets just say I was excited like a litte kid. All different types of bass in the music sounds clean and warm. THE BEST PART FOR ME: Plus, (mentally) I like knowing that it is flat so I don't have to waste time playing with it anymore...
I am surprised that the music sounds so much better now. I can finally just listen and not tweak anymore.
***
As an aside (because this next part will apply to hardly anyone), it was still easy even though I did not use the SMS-1 in the standard way. I have stereo Vandersteen 2wq subs. Instead of using the internal sweep tone from the SMS-1 (which would not be possible for me due to the 2wq's odd design), I used the subwoofer warble tones from the Stereophile first CD and watched the response from the SMS-1 on my TV screen while I changed a few settings on my subs. The SMS-1 was a easy-to-use diagnostic tool.
I wish the price was lower so everyone could try it, but it was worth it for me.

I am a brand-new SMS-1 owner all of two days.
My first method of setting up my subwoofer was to put it somewhere in the room and play with the knobs until it "sounded good". Problem of this method is that I have to be able to distinguish the sub from my speakers, which is undesirable IMHO. The only objective measurement I ever did was SPL meter readings which I did not trust at all.
After about a year of using my sub in this manner, and building a new home theatre , I tried some measuring software (RoomEQWizard) and confirmed that my subwoofer was set too loud and my crossover (on the sub) set at the wrong point. I did some knob-tweaking-sort-of equalization and really liked the results. However, despite considerable room treatment and tweaking, my sub was still a little wild at certain frequencies. To do more I needed equalization.

After the first quick setup with the SMS-1, the difference was apparent, but not dramatic yet. Today I spent about 2 hours doing the manual adjustments and moving my sub around. I still don't think I have the best possible curve, but I am happy with it.

The best way I can describe the result is that before the SMS-1 I could hear my sub and now I can hear the bass.

The kids decided they wanted to watch Spiderman 2 and I turned up the volume on the 990 to a previously-unbearable -10dB (think cineplex bass boom) and I realized after having seen this movie again for the first time that there IS a soundtrack under all that sound. So that was dramatic and even more so (not sure why) was listening to SACDs.

IMHO, the SMS-1 is money well worth it. I have spent a lot of money on equipment, speakers, and interconnects, not to mention thousands in sound treatment. Getting to hear the sum of all those components working in unison is, as a credit card commercial would say, priceless...