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Do NOT Blow Your Entire Budget on Two Channel Audio

Yes, two channel audio is here, and is not going away. However, object based audio is delightful, widely available on Tidal and Apple Music, and should be in the listening room of every music lover on the planet, not just "audiophiles. If you plan to be a music fan a year from now start building your object based audio system today. You will need:

1) A receiver/processor capable of Dolby Atmos.

2) A subscription to Tidal or Apple music.

3) A Firestick, ATV, or Nvidia Shield.

4) A minimum of 7 timber matched speakers and a subwoofer.

Once you experienced stereo would you ever go back to only mono? No, you would build a system capable of either mono or stereo. Now that object based audio has arrived do the same thing. Build a system capable of mono, stereo, AND object based audio. When Elton John heard Rocket Man in an object based format for the first time why did he demand to convert his entire catalog to Atmos? If you don’t know, then you need to go listen to Rocket Man in a good Atmos setup ASAP.

So, take your budget, DIVERSIFY, and get a good Atmos capable receiver or processor. Object based audio is NOT last decades surround sound or home theater. It is for MUSIC first, if you need a recommendation on how to allocate your budget feel free to post a question. Most importantly, you don’t NEED two systems, one for music and one for movies. A good object based audio system can play two channel music just fine. A two channel system on the other hand can’t play object based audio without a proper processor or receiver.

Greg Penny talks mixing Rocket Man in Atmos.

https://youtu.be/ggzfcUKDqdo?feature=shared

 

kota1
kota1 OP
2,706 posts
 

@rajugsw

Wow !

Looks like those over the age of 70 could care less about Dolby Atmos and are using every excuse in the book to justify their very expensive awesome sounding 2 channel.

+1, and the anger that anyone else can enjoy something that is different than stereo (note, I didn’t say better than stereo, not going there).

The "you only have 2 ears" BS is a tired and antiquated comment generally told by the "Geezers" in the room.

Yep, these are "audio karens", they show up a lot in threads on cables or in any discussion about measurements too.

For me it’s been multichannel madness since the 1st DVD-Video (and later Audio) discs came 25 years ago. 6 dedicated (albeit compressed) channels of full frequency audio. Amazing. I bought (and still keep) a lot of Rock Concert DVD’s.

+1, I have been scooping up second hand concert DVD and Blurays on Amazon and local thrift shops at around $5 a pop. Ripped them to a NAS and playing back on a Zidoo multimedia box, fantastic. I often upmix the 5.1 DTS or DD soundtrack using the auro 3d or dolby surround upmixers.

 

Thanks for sharing the journey, the Bas-X amps are supposed to be awesome and yes, discs are always a step up from streaming. The BEST disc I own is the Kraftwerk concert. An Atmos disc AND you can also play it back in 3D. Absolutely the BEST experience, at the level of attending the concert without the crowds.

See this review:

https://www.whathifi.com/features/kraftwerk-3-d-catalogue-blu-ray-review

kota1 OP
2,706 posts
 

@fittebd 

With a push of a button it’s the 2.1 part of my 7.1.4 Atmos system I can use for both movies and music.  Eversolo now streams my ripped 5.1 library replacing my oppo.

Now that's a good idea, I need to checkout the Eversolo.  

kota1 OP
2,706 posts
 

@audioman58 

The is no receiver even close  imo vs a good dedicated  2 channel  integrated amp or separates.

I have not auditioned a flagship receiver and use a processor. I have a good two channel preamp/DAC in my system and can pivot to a pure two channel system. 

I get your comment though and the prices reflect that. A good 2 ch integrated from Anthem is around $5K and their 7 channel receivers are around $3K, that extra $2K is buying you something :).

kota1 OP
2,706 posts
 

@pureclarity 

Thanks for sharing that link in this thread, perfect! I didn't even know about that and can't wait to try some of the Auro-3D content which is pretty scarce.

fittebd
101 posts
 

@kota1 sad but Auro went under a few months back. Plenty of good Atmos out there in Blu-ray and streaming. 
 

And the Eversolo works great streaming my 60+ multi channel SACD/DVDA and few DTS CDs I ripped. I just plugged in a 1TB drive in back and use their software. Roon works too but seems to push the core to its limits.  Even dorect connected some SACDs seem to push the limits.  
 

the CR-1 was one of my best investments. It really lets me get the most out of two systems that happen to share 2.1 speakers. And it’s a great sounding xover I will add for a two channel system. 

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