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They’re not “true” inserts in that they don’t return to the same channel/mix as inserts on an analogue console would, hence having to burn mixes and channels. On an analogue console, normally it’s only the gain, polarity and possibly hpf that would affect what is sent outboard. Using the qu, you can end up with multiple gain stages and eqs affecting what essentially becomes the insert send (depends on where you tap things,) which is why some purists would argue that it’s not a “true” insert. There’s also the fact that using a mix instead of a proper insert socket means there’s a summation process (though in this case it’s only summing one channel,) whereas on an analogue desk you’re tapping the channel directly: no summation involved; yet another reason it could be considered not a “true” insert. The above reasons are why I used the phrase “as close as you can get.” It’s all semantics.
Using the stereo ins vs the mono ins is much of a muchness, it’s more a question of whether you use the outboard in a send-return config or a quasi-insert config (though it’s easy to argue that it’s more accurate to call a quasi-insert config on the qu a send-return config.)
@GCumbee
You know the left socket (at least on st1 & st2) is normaled through the right, so if you only plug something in to the left socket you end up with that same signal on both sides. Handy for when you’ve got wireless receivers @ the mix position with line-level outs: you can save a preamp. I think panning is a problem though.