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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
Post removed 
jeffrey125
282 posts
 

Atmos has more in common with Laser disc and MQA, doomed to fail in the audio world. 

Endorsed by fanatical early adopters.

kota1 OP
2,706 posts
 

The audio world is filled with choices:

-tubes or solid state

-analog or digital

-CD or Spotify

oh, one more thing, would you like a subwoofer with that (or 2 or 3 or 4)?

Object based audio is something a LOT of members (subscribers to Tidal, Amazon or Apple Music) already have access to. It isn’t rare or hard to find. It’s easily accessed (backward compatible with whatever you are using now, even headphones). You can start "consuming" the object based audio tracks for as little as $100 for a pair of atmos compatible headphones. If you already have a stereo, it works (get the BACHH filters). If you already have a 5.1 system, it works (get an atmos compatible receiver), the height channels are optional. I don’t see much risk in trying it, that’s why I started this thread.

 

 

bikeboy52
189 posts
 

My wife and I were at the mall last night. There was a gentleman there at one of the kiosk,s selling time shares. He was explaining all the advantages of owning one while listing all the disadvantages of other options ( Air b&b , hotels etc ) it reminded me of something else I,d been exposed to recently, but I can’t quite put my finger on it ???, It,ll come to me.

kota1 OP
2,706 posts
 

For the members that have 0 practical means to try object based audio I would recommend making channel based audio as immersive as possible using room treatments. Whenever I see a pic of a pair of expensive speakers next to a pristine selection of expensive components in a "naked" room it seems like a waste of good equipment. The acoustics in a room are at least 50% of the sound, maybe more. So, when you are budgeting for a system (it doesn’t matter what type, channel based or object based) make sure to budget for acoustics, room treatments, and a measurement device like REW, a Mini-DSP, etc. If the pics you posted of your system are in a room surrounded by hard, flat surfaces, a lot of windows, etc., think about doing an acoustic makeover for a MUCH more immersive channel based system.

When I had a professional acoustician who works with performance spaces, recording studios, etc. review the graph I posted above his response floored me. His comments were about what a good job I did in the BEFORE graph as in before the use of DSP. DSP is a great tool, but it ain’t a magic wand. You still gotta deal with the basics first. If I were starting all over I would just order a room kit from Sonitus for a one and done approach. If you got budget just hire an acoustician, it will likely be much less expensive than buying a new amp or new speakers. Check out the Sonitus website using this link:

Double Your Sound Quality

and if you need the help of an acoustician in the US see:

Acoustical Society of America

 

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