Funny thing about QSound--it is fundamentally the same sort of signal processing as Carver's "Sonic Holography", dealing with inte-raural crosstalk cancellation, EQ curve adjustment, etc.
When Bob came out with preamps with the SH feature in the 1980's the "audiophile press" called it a "gimmick" and said it was just a "gee whiz" feature that didn't do anything good to the sound...
But when a record company uses VERY similar tech to put this sort of processed signal right into the recordings, it's lauded as some sort of "breakthrough"...
Hmmm...
Well, we all know that the "audiophile press" has had a butt in their saddle for Bob since the infamous
"Carver Challenge" where he made them all look ridiculous back in 1985. And judging by their track record with Bob, I would forward the assertion that the "audiophile press" who reviewed SH-equipped gear didn't like it because they didn't take the time to follow the setup and tweeking instructions, because in their opinion, ANYTHING coming of Bob Carver's bench doesn't really deserve serious consideration anyway...
I have heard a few QSound discs, and they DO sound pretty good if you've got the speakers set up correctly. Is it a "better" implementation of the effect than the newest "digital domain" version of SH in the Sunfire pre/pro's? Hard to say. But the one GREAT thing about SH is that you can turn it on or off--AT THE USER'S DISCRETION--something you can't do with a QSound disc.
IMO, it's all about control--I would prefer to have the OPTION of sound processing in my listening experience. And I think that very issue--the issue of personal control--is perhaps behind the "audiophile press" stance on SH vs QSound. They just can't stomach the idea that the "unwashed masses" might actually be clever enough to get good sound on their own, without the "adult supervision" of a recording studio...
And really, just how "hi-fi" can a sound pressessing technology be that's major maret share is the sountracks for video games?...