Fosgate Audionics Pro-Plus digital servo logic surround processor Model Two

[louped garouv]

any one ever use one of these?

[Don C]

I have one, but it arrived dead. So I've never heard it.

[louped garouv]

did you happen to get the manual?

I don' tunderstand what the amplifier inputs are for? (with the jumpers)

hopefully i'll get a chance to play with it soon...

[Titanium Dome]

Well, I've hesitated to answer this, but my admiration for Jim Fosgate won out. This will at least allow me to wax eloquent on the man if not the equipment.

The Pro Plus stuff from Fosgate Audionics (MK. I) was the first decent implementation of surround sound in the 90s, far outshining Dolby Pro Logic. Pro Logic, when implemented very, very well, was barely acceptable as an alternative to stereo sound on a soundtrack, and virtually never acceptable as music.

Jim Fosgate developed Pro Plus (get it, Pro Logic Plus) independent of Dolby as he always does, working inside his head at home. Once he had the algorithms and topology laid out in his head, he set about building analog, tube based electronics to make a working product. In this case, it was destined to be a Fosgate Audionics product, not a Dolby product, so FA had to do the work to convert everything to a solid state product that could emulate what the tubes were doing. I can imagine Charles Wood, Jim Strickland, and others trying to get all this out of Jim Fosgate's head and into a working product. Egad!

Anyway, the application worked quite well, but the product quality wasn't quite up to snuff. So I'm not surprised that Don's wasn't operational.

However, it was the best available at the time; even Bryston paid attention.

The market took a big step forward with Dolby Pro Logic. But, 24dB step and all, Pro Logic stank. The rear channels were mono, rolled off at 7k on top and 100 on the bottom. The center was too strong. The wave started with add on devices, again proving to be frustrating. The refrain, ‘Are the rear speakers on?’

Fosgate had a very interesting circuit called Pro Plus that it introduced in the early 90s. It did a phase/fiddle and created a stereo appearance from the rear, running the tweets out to 20k. It was much superior to Pro Logic. It made surround sound interesting, at last! Fosgate made the add on units and later some preamp/processors. They were the best of their time but, could not be confused with Bryston.

But anguish lingered on because Fosgate and the few other higher end folks trying to do something more interesting with surround, didn’t make their gear very well! The switching was noisy and poorly done. The mechanical integrity of the units was OK at best. While it was the best the market had to offer, it wasn’t even close to nice two channel gear. Clearly our customers wanted surround sound, but in the quality of good 2-channel stuff.

http://www.bryston.ca/pdfs/news/66.pdf

[Titanium Dome]

If you want an in-depth look at the creative genius and his process, this Stereophile article will amaze you.

http://stereophile.com/interviews/12...ate/index.html

[Titanium Dome]

Fosgate's relationship with Dolby came about as a result of the impression 6-Axis made as Roger Dressler looked for the successor to Dolby ProLogic. Fosgate developed 6-Axis when he worked for Harman International, and you'll find it incorporated in the HK Citation 5.0 among others.

More info is here:

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/arti...PrologicII.php

[louped garouv]

Well, I've hesitated to answer this, but my admiration for Jim Fosgate won out

thanks very much Mr. Dome,
very much appreciated....

I'll fire her up with some Boleros for front LR and small Sparkomatic era Altecs in the rear...
(after i find the manual )

I have some DBX 15"s around....

should be fun to go "back in time"

but for me, it's all new technology...
never really heard the stuff, especially not "critically"....

fun for little investment....

the history is cool too.......


maybe i'll end up using it somewhat unconventionally


how about A7s for front RL, bolero in the center
and wharfedale airedales in the rear
CV SL36Bs for sub?

seriously....

there's a shitload of customization possible between the front panel and your little screwdriver poking around the calibration screws in the back. A manual is a must.

this is what intrigued me the most.....

[Don C]

Sorry, I can't find the manual, I think that I had one at one time. I think that those jumpers are pre-out and input jacks for the internal amplifier. I guess that they are there so that you can use additional processing on the rear channel speakers. You could also use the jacks to use the built in amplifier as a power amp for some other processor, but it's not very powerful.