I found a Chase Technology HTS-1 sound processor in a local pawn shop and got it thrown in after some bartering for a shotgun. I put it up in a closet and forgot all about it for a couple of years. The 5.1 Phillips receiver I was using gave up the ghost, and I remembered the chase and pulled out a 1988 JVC 100 watt amp I had purchased new and used for 25 years until I came across the 5.1-home-theater. I have had the chase working off the b 2 channel with 3 front speakers and 3 rear channels. On the A channels are 2 JBL 2800 paired with 2 Jvc Passive subwoofers the surround speakers front and rear are all jvc. Each speaker rated at 100 watts each, and my use of wiring the speakers in series keeps the ohms at the Amps rated 8. And I use 8 ohm crossovers for the subwoofers. I now enjoy an 8.2 analog surround sound system. And I purchased an extra chase for backup on Ebay for 40 bucks.. I'll never go back to surround sound out of the box again.

i ordered this stuff from U.S. because i was really interested with it after reading one review from an audio magazine. i have been living with this gear for about three years now and it never stopped to amaze me. honestly, this stuff is a hit and miss thing when it comes to music listening - but i think it is more on the HIT side. it can amazingly extract the ambience in most recordings that i have and i will not trade this thing with a dolby pro logic decoder. i thought of getting a Yamaha DSP E492 to amplify their rear and center output but i guess i'll stick with them for now. best part of having this gear is when i watch X-Files, Millenium, The Simpsons and lately - Buffy, the Vampire Slayer series. X-Files is the most interesting one. i read from internet that this series is coded with Q-Sound and the sound effects are really stunning. surround materials are WELL placed besides and behind and AROUND my listening position! other LD materials sounds great too. my surround sound is like a digital set-up! ambient field is really wide and stereo!
as for music listening, i have bought all of the available Circle Surround CD in Singapore and i am really enjoying them in my set-up. instruments are well placed around me and the ambience is again - great. even ambisonic CD like the Cowboy Junkies' Trinity Session sounds great and gives me goosebumps!
if it is still available out there in U.S. - go and get it! for an underrated gear like this for under US$100 - you will be amazed and in case that you don't like it - it is not heavy on the budget!
this device connects via high level output from your existing power amp. it has unprocessed right and left speaker level output for your front channels. speaker level output for rear channels (full range speakers are recommended). and there are line level output for center channel and rear channels for outboard amplification. there are two knobs in front - one for HT, Music and Rear selector and the other knob for rear/channel volume setting. the device will take some 10% of your amp's power and direct it to the rear channels which is enough for ambient sounds.
recommended!

5 stars for price/performance ratio