i have more speakers but not the space. so have to stick with 4 atm.
i dont intend to share my music, if you want to call it music, so no compatibility concerns at all.

do any of the plugins we have access to even offer algos for 4 speakers, or am i better off with the amp,s built in features? they are ok, just a little lack of control like it usually sends the pianos and organs to the rear when i listen to flacs or mp3s.
(m)any suggestions please. thanks

 

The amp's built-in features are convenient, but they don't offer complete control. Four matched speakers are the ideal when spatialising content. Which DAW and audio interface do you have?

A simple approach is to use Y-cables to split the stereo signal (left and right) to two monitors. This distributes the signal from each of the two outputs (L/R) to two monitors. The simplest and most cost-effective solution is Y-cables:
Cordial CFY 0.9 VPP (jack, for balanced connections) or Cordial CFU 0.3 PC (RCA, for unbalanced connections).

NUGEN Audio Halo Upmix - https://nugenaudio.com/haloupmix
- Upmixing includes LCR, 3.1, 4.0, 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 6.1, 7.0 & 7.1.

The IEM Plug-in Suite is a free and Open-Source audio plugin suite including Ambisonic plug-ins up to 7th order created by staff and students of the Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics.

StereoEncoder --> https://plugins.iem.at/#tab-StereoEncoder

Use the StereoEncoder plug-in to encode mono or stereo audio signals into the Ambisonic domain - up to 7th order. The interface lets you easily set the orientation, width and rotation of the stereo pair. With a simple double-click onto the SpherePanner you can change the display to a linear elevation, which gives you a higher accuracy towards the horizon.

Surround Panner is a free Max for Live device that makes mixing for performances, installations and theaters using multi-channel speaker setups possible in Live
www.ableton.com/en/packs/surround-panner

4 Easy Setups for Quadraphonic Music-making

Questions about quadraphonic sound

One of the reasons quadraphonics failed is because image positions are not stable — the speakers are too far apart and at too great an angle to each other. So if you're after creating a non-critical spread of sound that fills the room and creates a sense of envelopment, quad can just about do that. But if you want to be able to position individual sounds accurately and stably, or move them in smooth, continuous paths, it's a rather disappointing solution.

Source / Read more: www.soundonsound.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=92665&p=941421

Ambisonics Explained: A Guide for Sound Engineers --> www.waves.com/ambisonics-explained-guide-for-sound-engineers

 

Last edited: Aug 16, 2025

Check out Wendy Carlos' site for a lot of great surround speaker information. --> www.wendycarlos.com/surround/surround.html

“If you create music, you’ve got to try doing it in quad,” he notes.
“The experience of sitting in the middle of music you create while your sounds rotate around you is like none other. I’m hooked.”

Part 1 of his look at quadraphonic music making featured an interview with Suzanne Ciani, who discussed and demonstrated her approach to spatial electronic music:

 

Last edited: Aug 16, 2025

I would just setup my projekt as a 5.1 mix and have the DAW downmix to 4.0 on your outputs.
So like in Cubendo you would make a monitoring path as a 4.0 output and when you monitor your 5.1 mix It converts it automatically.
If your DAW doesn't do that I would do it manually by downmixing from one group to another.
I would go this route, because you can print 5.1 mixes from that setup and you don't have to change everything once you upgrade to a center and a woofer.

 

What wasn't mentioned before: to work with multichannel audio, you need an audio interface with multiple outputs, that can all be used at the same time (and be selected in your DAW). So minimal something like Audient ID44 or Focusrite Scarlet 4i4, in combinations with 4 active speakers.

If you have an amp with a stereo input - and multiple speaker outputs, you can't use these to make multichannel (=more than 2) music.

 

yes going stereo into the amp currently but it also has a 6 ch analog input. which are extremely sensitive and keep saying "over" and muting, so i figured spdif might be the easiest way to go. plenty ins and outs in my creamware universe, more than 30...

it will be a challenge to get this set up in reaper though...

 

Last edited: Aug 16, 2025

considering latency i may have to go analog. the d-a conversion should be much faster on the soundcard than the amp, 1ms supposedly.

 

Last edited: Aug 17, 2025