Well, this got a bit ugly. Let's review briefly.
The 950 looked like a steal, but, alas, again I learn that there is no free lunch (or cheap grub, in this case).
TANSTAAFL is a very, very true bit of wisdom: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. The 950 is not a free lunch. Along those lines, I might describe it as a good and reasonably priced meal, however.
DSP that allows you to frequency contour and delay the surrounds and control steering within Dolby processing to recreate a good ambient experience
I'm a little unclear as to what processing you were expecting the 950 to have, and I think that's the bit that generated the most energetic responses here. Were you using Logic7 to play back stereo recordings in surround? Logic7 has earned itself a devoted following for such applications, but it is part of the reason that Lexicon's pricetags are so different from the 950.
I was also disappointed that the 950 does not permit separate speaker distance calibration for surrounds and rear speakers and limits you to 1db level adjustments.
The lack of individual speaker distance control was a source of much angst during the 950's original release, but as several people here noted it is clearly spelled out in the manual. I've never had a problem with the 1dB level adjustment limitation, nor have I heard any fuss about it.
Neither does it pass OSD through its component outputs, not that in its native state it has many parameters to view.
Even among units being released today, OSD through component is rare. The bandwidth involved in component switching means that it takes some significant processing horsepower to generate an OSD: even on gear costing several times what the 950 goes for, component inputs do not have onscreen data overlayed, and only in the last year or less have manufacturers begun allowing for onscreen setup menus (which completely replace any input signal) via component output.
I am waiting for the day Outlaw comes out with an upscale processor that does everything the Lexicon does at 1/5 the price. There is no reason they can't do it and no reason not to buy it.
Surround Sound Processor technology is moving fast these days. I suspect that the next Outlaw SSP will be a great combination of features and sonic performance (and the 1070 that's due around the first of the year should offer a good preview), likely incorporating a great many of the features you have become accustomed to with the Lex. But one of the reasons that many people have complained at length about the 950 over the last couple years was an unstated desire for a free lunch (a pre/pro with every feature they would ever want to use, plus great sound, at a price several times cheaper than their "dream" pre/pros sell for) and the assumption that the 950 would be that free lunch. At $800-$1000, you will never get the full feature set
and performance of a $6000+ pre/pro. Giving another nod to Heinlein, TANSTAAFL still holds true.
I'm sorry to hear that the 950 didn't fit the bill for you. Hopefully you'll find something that suits your needs -- the Lexicon MC-8 might interest you.
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