The Atmos demonstrations that I have heard left me underwhelmed. It also left me wondering what the industry was up to. After all, surround sound has failed spectacularly in the market place (like Willie, don’t shoot me-I have two 5.1 systems in the home). Now they are asking people to place additional speakers angled at funky angles from the ceiling? It’s like seeing Ford Motor Co. crank up the assembly line for a revival of an enhanced Edsel.
At first I figured the multi channel industry was doubling down on the true believers in surround sound, asking us to empty our wallets for one last thrill before we shuffle off to the Nursing Home. However, with Apple now trying to breathe life into the format, it makes me wonder. We all may sneer at Apples pretensions of Audiophilia, but as has been noted up thread, they have enormous clout, can influence demand and taste, and can’t be ignored. Will they breathe life back into Surround Sound? After all, with digital technology it should be easy to eliminate one of the major obstacles, which is that people don’t want wires running all over the house.
So I for one will cheer Apple on, hoping that they and their competitors resuscitate both the demand and the implementation of what has been a dying field
At first I figured the multi channel industry was doubling down on the true believers in surround sound, asking us to empty our wallets for one last thrill before we shuffle off to the Nursing Home. However, with Apple now trying to breathe life into the format, it makes me wonder. We all may sneer at Apples pretensions of Audiophilia, but as has been noted up thread, they have enormous clout, can influence demand and taste, and can’t be ignored. Will they breathe life back into Surround Sound? After all, with digital technology it should be easy to eliminate one of the major obstacles, which is that people don’t want wires running all over the house.
So I for one will cheer Apple on, hoping that they and their competitors resuscitate both the demand and the implementation of what has been a dying field