Decided to move the X’Eye back to the living room to use it for Sega CD games (the model 1 SCD is not very keen on backups).

It turns out this is a great way to conduct A/B tests in regard to audio/video quality. All I have to do is choose input [1] or [2] on the A/V switcher.

On the left:

Sega Genesis VA6 + 32X and Sega CD model 1

On the right:

JVC X’Eye, late model (without the RGB port, only composite out)

Both are connected to a 61-inch LED DLP set and a Yamaha surround receiver in 2-channel (stereo) mode.

GRAPHICS:

The X’Eye is sharper but the image has a bit of noise (visible on Ecco title screen). Colors are a bit weaker than the VA6. I guess “dull” is the word I’m looking for.

The VA6 + 32X has darker colors, not as sharp as the X’Eye but with no noise whatsoever. The 32X really does wonders for the video signal.

Winner: VA6

SOUND:

The X’Eye sounds really good. It’s bassy and accurate. I had a non-TMSS unit before but I was happy with the X’Eye in the living room. This is much better than the VA7-ish recordings on YouTube.

The VA6 DESTROYS the X’Eye. It’s even more bassy somehow. Shakes the room, no kidding. It’s also clearer and with more dynamic range. Full-bodied, booming — very similar to my old non-TMSS unit.

Winner: VA6, again

The games:

I tested World of Illusion, Beyond Oasis, Ecco The Dolphin, Lightening Force (Thunder Force 4 abroad) and Outrun. Guess which one clearly indicated the winner?

Outrun. Magical Sound Shower really pushes the sound chip on the Genesis. It uses a lot of panning, too — left, center and right channel. Drums, samples, you name it. It was hard to tell the difference with the other games butOutrun is merciless.

Overall Winner: Sega Genesis VA6 + 32X and Sega CD model 1

p.s. having the X’Eye in the living room was an excellent idea for another reason: it helped me figure out an issue with the sound output of the VA6 through the Sega CD. It turns out that the white and red outputs are INVERTED on the Sega CD. Worse still, something happened inside the unit itself because I had to literally switch the white with the red on the A/V switcher to get proper stereo out of it.

This is wild because I’ve been wondering about the stereo output of that VA6/32X/SCD combo since I got the SCD model 1 a few weeks ago in the mail. It’s fixed now, tested against the X’Eye which uses standard RCA cables. Whew!