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Originally posted by Rene S. Hollan:
Unless said extraction is non-linear, full extraction followed by variable mixing can have the same effect, and allows leverage of an existing mixer.
It can have the same effect, but you'd need a variable mixer - which doesn't exist in the 990.
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All the pieces are there: extraction, and mixing (how else would one mix to the appropriate number of channels, and implement the variable balance between side and back surround channels if there was not a continuously variable mixer?).
All the pieces aren't there: extraction exists, variable mixing does not. You're looking at the electronic equivalent of a Y-splitter (when centre speaker is set to 'none') and considering that a mixer. It's not.
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If a variable extraction to centre is available, a fixed extraction to centre is available, and since a mixer exists, it can be used whether the centre is discrete or extracted.
You're starting from a false premise. Since extraction is already occuring, it is easy to make it variable. But mixing doesn't exist, so there is no way to modify (e.g., make variable) something that's not there to begin with.

As I mentioned earlier, you are free to believe that a mixer exists in the 990. But living in an alternate reality will force you to come up with bizzare reasons why this phantom mixer is not being used. To rationalize your position, you'll have to resort to conspiracy theories about 'secret' capabilities and purposely 'disabled' features.
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In fact, I'd bet that, in the 990, they are, but that this is hidden from, the user.

The questions are only whether that generic access and the refactoring is exposed via the user interface or if the unit is crippled.
OK, so I was close. You called them "hidden" and "crippled" (instead of 'secret' and 'disabled', respectively).

But yes, you are of course correct: certain features were conspired to be hidden from you. Note that others can set their centre speakers to 'none' but you can't. You should have seen the Outlaws gathering at the Grassy Knoll, whispering: "Well, that went off pretty smoothly! Now about this Rene guy..."
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Well, they should. They're already catering to early adopters who think nothing of dropping $1100 to buy something over the Internet. They'd get feature and bug fix prototyping for free.
Early adopters? The surround processing technology in the 990 is mature; nothing there on the bleeding edge (even PLIIx has been around for almost two years).

In any case, as tempting as it is to have "feature and bug fix prototyping for free", I'm glad that consumer electronic companies don't design their products to accomodate hackers.
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Sanjay