1st Post Intro & Ramblings

Sorry kreapin Millercarbon appears to have an exclusive on "going on about his extensive 'knowledge'".


You did lose me when you questioned full surround for home theater. Two stereo speakers will never provide the rock solid placement of vocals to the center of the screen. Two speakers tricks the brain using incomplete information to form the center image. An actual center channel provides the accurate timing information to both ears for accurate center placement.


Also critical to placement is your listening position out of dominant bass nodes which I don't think you addressed. That sets a reference for the speakers which must point behind the head not at it and if you don't have acoustic controls or bass arrays, adjusting the speakers for more consistent bass and moving away from an equalateral can often give a more consistently good setup.

I have read thru some of your posts and I have come to the conclusion that you have not heard a properly tuned stereo. My present stereo is nothing fancy and the center image is rock solid. The reason I say stereo would sound better for film is because of how objects move through space across your front stage. But that concept would be lost if you have never experienced it on a properly tuned stereo

That's okay I have come to the conclusion you don't know how we locate sounds. Stereo speakers will never replace a center channel no matter how perfect. For one, it is only perfect for a very narrow spot. For two even turning your head moves the image. A center channel is immune to these real world issues.  A home theater guy should know this.  He should also know the importance of listener and speaker position for bass nodes and how to quickly made a good first pass and the balancing act with perfect imaging, creating ambience, etc.

Like I stated in an earlier post, you have offered up nothing to help anyone that just so happens upon this thread, you try really hard to sound smart but have provided no substance. Anyone sitting at home with a decent receiver and decent speakers can take what I have posted and see positive results. You??????

The issue with theater sound is the mono channels. That rock solid center you speak of is a mono channel. We have 2 ears and we hear in stereo ;-)

You have not helped anyone, you have provided 1/2 of the basic instructions that can be found on literally thousands of websites, blog posts, etc. Most of the good ones will start with a discussion of bass nodes and listener placement, before getting into speaker placement. That move them out from the wall, then make a triangle is not "audiophile" grade help, it is Crutchfield level (though if I remember they had a good guide at one point).  There are so many half - decent to good articles on the web that writing a few things in a forum post that are not even complete, on an audiophile website is not "helping"

Real sounds don’t come from two places at the same time, then come from one place. When you recreate them coming from two places, those locations you perceive sounds to be are artificial and hence subject to things like where you are sitting, are did you turn your head, etc. Again, the center channel locks the vocals to the screen, where the majority of dialog in a movie happens. It also focuses the sound in the center, where again, the majority of action actually occurs in movies. Real sounds come from one spot in space, which a center channel defines for the center of the screen (approximately) and that make it immune to listener position, head rotation, etc. You cannot replicate that with two speakers .... and we are not even getting into the rear channels which again, two fronts cannot recreate.