Is 2 channel dead?

2 channel is alive and well

unfortunately most consumers are being wowed with more is better.

a well setup 2 channel system will give you seamless depth and imaging well beyond your speakers

a 5 or 6 channel system will give you sounds from behind your head and tend to blurr up the 'stereo image"

I agree with Aroc,for the money two channels are a better buy.However the sound of a true high end system is superior to two channels.I primarily listen to classical and some jazz.Red book cds processed by a Meridian 861 V3 ,into multichannel does wonders and driving high end speakers.

Mono is still king! As you can see the vast majority of "audiophiles" is adamant about two-channel reproduction. Quite understandable that they are in a quandary when faced with more than two channels. On the one hand, when, for example, your beliefs hold that every last inch of wire will have a dramatic effect on the sound to the extent that you are more than willing to spend $3000.00 or more on a metre of wire, how can you introduce more channels requiring all those goodies and the extra expenditure? On the other hand, you can't expect true believers in the occult side of audio to just give up those beliefs and lower their standards. The question is not whether two-channel is dead, but whether multi-channel SACD can make it. The HT folks don't give a fiddler's fart about ultimate quality of music reproduction and the "true audiophile" is seriously stuck in two-channel with strong gust towards vinyl playback. Who is the long time audio journalist in the multi-channel corner and getting so much flack for it? I agree with him. The future of music reproduction in the home is multi-channel, but the reactionary audiophile core will stick to its guns and the HT folks can't be bothered. Does not bode well.

Well, at least no one feels defensive about this. That's a relief.

Paul is dead...2 channel is not!