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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
 

@deep_333

You have an excellent, excellent point!

But, any album i discover/like, I buy it off Qobuz for permanent ownership.

You are right for so many different reasons but first of all is quality. I built a media server last year using a NAS and have been filling it with ripped bluerays of all ttpes, concerts, movies, atmos, DD,DTS, etc. I started a thread here asking for ways to buy ripped music on thumb drives, hard drives, etc. My atmos blueray of Rober Waters the Wall and Kraftwerl 3D: The Concert blow away any streamed content you can get. I have my ripped music files on it too.

The Qobuz sublime subscription gives you 50 to 60% on so many hires official studio masters and it can be had for 7 or 8 bucks a pop.

I tried Quboz years ago abd it sounded bright to me, maybe its time to try again, thanks.

Anyways, I download these hires masters, keep them in my NAS and permanently own them!! I like it that way!!

Totally agree, I found an incredible bang for the buck media player by Zidoo on Amazon called the Pro10. This is the same company that makes the Eversolo streamers. They have released a new one for about a grand and I am contemplating pulling the trigger, check out:

https://www.zidoo.tv/Product/index/model/UHD5000/target/SGlS2hlXYyJKKmVViAFMcQ%3D%3D.html

 

 

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kennyc
1,526 posts
 

you seem to feel a budget of 100% channel based audio

Not 100%. My TV video surround system is a different project, quite separate from my audiophile aspirations.  I also have a headphone system with tubes vs SS - again seeking “fidelity”.  

kota1 OP
2,706 posts
 

@kennyc 

That is interesting, I definitely like the two channel only systems I have around the house. My favorite one isn't even for critical listening, just a pair of DefTech Wireless active/streaming speakers. All I did was plug them in, connect to wireless and start streaming with the playfi app. They sound so much bigger than their miniscule size. I have the beginnings of a headphone system. I dropped Sony's Signature preamp/dac/headphone amp into my main rig so I have a pure two channel path for stereo. It has every type of headphone connection imaginable but I haven't purchased the matching Sony Signature headphones yet. It works great with my other cans though. If you want to post about your TV video surround system it would be very interesting. Have you picked a receiver/processor yet?

kennyc
1,526 posts
 

Desktop audio can be very rewarding and it’s usually much more affordable than typical 2 channel audiophile systems.

My initial foray into desktop audio:  Laptop into xDuoo TA-30 (tube) or my Astell&Kern SP2000T (SS) DAP (digital audio player used for both desktop and portable). My headphones are Focal Clear and Audeze LCDi4.  

Not working on surround sound now, farthest I got was Anthem units minimum quality and Trinnov seems like the very best processor.  Currently working on optimizing my Ethernet chain: audiophile switch, cables, filters - not easy to keep a lid on the costs.

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