This is not going to be a review, by any means. I simply thought I should check in since I have the unit and am running it now.

I got my cables today. I ordered from Blue Jeans since they're fast, also being in Washington. I'm happy with the overall build quality and the connections in particular, since they're snug without having a death-grip.

It was kind of a pain in the butt connecting the AS-EQ1 to my computer since my computer is in the next room. Of course, then it didn't even work, since my computer runs Vista 64-bit exclusively, and apparently there's no support for that yet. I had to borrow my mom's XP computer in order to run the SubEQ software. I wish it either communicated through ethernet or, better yet, didn't require a computer and had its own interface, because walking back and forth between the two rooms (well, I ran) got old. I didn't want to keep my mom's computer for too long, either. I ended up measuring only 6 positions (max of 32), and, unforgivably, I didn't even figure out how to do the direct comparison of MultEQ on vs MultEQ off until after I gave her computer back. I think I'll definitely want to pick up a cheap XP laptop to do further experimentation.

It told me to input the sub distance in the receiver as 30.4 feet, but my Integra only goes up to 30.0 feet. It's a big distance, but I was willing to accept the inflated figure this time since there are now two DSPs to go through (AS-EQ1 plus DSPs in the subs themselves).

I've only listened to select scenes in movies so far, but from what I've heard, I would say that the overall sound is cleaner, less muddied, but I'm not sure there's any more impact. Of course, since I didn't do the direct comparison of MultEQ on/off, I can't say how much is placebo. I won't be able to provide much more detail until I have a more convenient way to play with this new toy. Does anyone have recommendations for a laptop that will fit my needs?

I also didn't save the before/after graph that the software created, which is yet another reason I'll have to do this all again as soon as I can. In the Before graph, the lower frequencies were as high as 10dB over the baseline, though, and of course the After graph was almost perfectly flat through most of the range. I'll let other people argue about the smoothing that's used to create the graphs, since I'm not informed enough on the subject. Assuming the graphs are to be believed, and it correlates with the differences I believe I've heard, then I'll say it's going to be worthwhile for me. I wasn't expecting a magical transformation, but rather another reasonable step toward more accurate sound.

There's no way around the fact that it's a lot of money for what it does. In a couple of years, I imagine this level of low-frequency EQ power will be in the receivers and processors themselves, which will be much more convenient. If I already had a laptop (and requisite OS), the process would have gone a lot better, but since I don't, I can't say a lot for this initial experience.

I like the software itself, and the unit seems to do what it's supposed to do, but there is a lot of room for improvement. Support for balanced I/O, native GUI, and a better faceplate (one of the embedded magnets came out already--I'd rather the faceplate just flipped up or slid over) would be nice, but ideally this whole functionality would be part of the receiver itself.

I'll have more to share later on, after I get a laptop or find a friend who has one to bring over.