@drewde --
Great thread and -initiation. I must say that I cherish your insights and where you come from, not least also in regards to your extensive background in the movie sound mix industry, and how I believe this to relate to my own approach and preference with sound reproduction in a domestic setting. A lot to process for sure in what has unspooled in the posts so far, so this, as an outset at least, will be a condensed or fragmented contribution of mine.
I've heard of (but never actually heard) the Wisdom Audio speakers that you've come across with their, per your take, favorable ability to bridge the "nuance and delicacy vs. dynamics and punch" chasm expressed by you. To many an audiophile I'm guessing this is not a dichotomy at all, being the latter part of the "equation" (i.e.: dynamics and punch, certainly as called for with the more uninhibited home movie sound reproduction) isn't that important to them:
Completely agree with your response. My 2.2 channel set-up is one to take duties of both music (HDD-based and Tidal Hi-fi) and movie playback (Blu-ray's/UHD's) - sans surrounds and center channel, that is, and this is because it's first and foremost and music system through-and-through and dialed in as such, though very closely followed as a HT ditto. The great thing in this specific situation is that one doesn't exclude the other, meaning its qualities into music reproduction complements the sound I'm looking for with movies as well, and that's going by references of live venues (acoustic as well as amplified) and cinematically more akin to IMAX theatres than regular cinemas. This is realized with main speakers that are 2-way pro cinema speakers from Electro-Voice with a horn MF/HF and dual 15" woofer/mids, and two subs that are 15"-loaded tapped horns (20 cf. volume a piece). This may seem brute at first in a home setting, and it is or certainly can be, but the "secret sauce" that makes it a delicate and nuanced performer to boot is careful implementation and a fully active configuration. Active really makes it more resolved, transparent and less signature sounding - a win-win, if you ask me - and ample displacement and headroom translates sonically into ease and a visceral quality rarely if ever heard with smaller and lower efficiency speakers. Where I've sacrificed a bit with movie playback is giving up on the 10-20Hz range, which may seem preposterous to some, but given select movie titles (and there are not few of them) and very potent sub set-ups with huge displacement and amp power this very low octave can produce shudder effects and pressurization that can be very much felt. Tuning a sub set-up that low however, subjectively at least, takes away some of liveliness and impact of the central bass region, which is enormously important for music as well (hence this being a music set-up predominantly). Still, reproduction down to 20-25Hz at full click is no slouch by any stretch of the imagination.
The dynamic range of movies is something I cherish wholeheartedly, and I find it to be an important test for one's set-up also in regard to music playback. I'm dialing in the ref. volume with dialogue and where it sounds naturally present, and the rest of the sound spectrum simply revolves around that in a way that makes a movie breath sonically - be it quieter titles or more action laden ones. With Mr. Nolan's latest 'Tenet' offering that's truly LOUD when the action kicks in, and in my listening space boarders "saturation" levels throughout the movie at ref. (per dialogue) volume. I adore Nolan's very conscious approach to sound mixing hearing it really take off as such from 'The Dark Knight' and onwards, and while my adoration includes 'Tenet' it's at the brink I find in its sheer loudness that's more suitably compatible with bigger spacings; at the digital IMAX theatre I saw it the first time around the sound level span seemed to benefit a bit from the large auditorium. At the other dynamic range scale with have most of Disney's home video Blu-ray and UHD releases these last years that are mixed with low ref. volume, timid dynamics and weak bass response - a travesty, really. Any insights on why they've been going this route almost consistently for years now? It may keep soundbars from blowing up, but it sure as h... is an unfortunate benchmark for those of us who care much more about proper dynamic swings, overall presence of presentation and LF prowess.
Uninhibited dynamics are utterly important with music and not least movies. I own Criterion's Blu-ray of the David Fincher's 'The Game,' and it sports a near field and theatrical mix. I prefer the latter as the more expansive mix that breathes more naturally to me, and therefore I'm happy that they left it there for us to savor in addition to the near field mix. I hope we won't see diminishment with regard to dynamic range to cater, if you would, to the lowest denominator, but will at least uphold the theatrical mix- if nothing else as an option.
Great thread and -initiation. I must say that I cherish your insights and where you come from, not least also in regards to your extensive background in the movie sound mix industry, and how I believe this to relate to my own approach and preference with sound reproduction in a domestic setting. A lot to process for sure in what has unspooled in the posts so far, so this, as an outset at least, will be a condensed or fragmented contribution of mine.
I've heard of (but never actually heard) the Wisdom Audio speakers that you've come across with their, per your take, favorable ability to bridge the "nuance and delicacy vs. dynamics and punch" chasm expressed by you. To many an audiophile I'm guessing this is not a dichotomy at all, being the latter part of the "equation" (i.e.: dynamics and punch, certainly as called for with the more uninhibited home movie sound reproduction) isn't that important to them:
"There's no way I would subject a good pair of speakers designed to reveal separate instruments in an ensemble or do justice to a folksinger plus guitars, banjo, string bass, and so on." No offense, but this in a nutshell expresses my frustration over the many years of listening to loudspeakers. Why not have a speaker that can deliver everything? Every single speaker that I have heard in the past that supposedly were intended to deliver the nuance of an ensemble, etc... well they couldn't even play at a level that remotely came close to what an orchestra can reproduce in those moments I wanted to listen to them, let alone playback rock, country and forget about film.
Completely agree with your response. My 2.2 channel set-up is one to take duties of both music (HDD-based and Tidal Hi-fi) and movie playback (Blu-ray's/UHD's) - sans surrounds and center channel, that is, and this is because it's first and foremost and music system through-and-through and dialed in as such, though very closely followed as a HT ditto. The great thing in this specific situation is that one doesn't exclude the other, meaning its qualities into music reproduction complements the sound I'm looking for with movies as well, and that's going by references of live venues (acoustic as well as amplified) and cinematically more akin to IMAX theatres than regular cinemas. This is realized with main speakers that are 2-way pro cinema speakers from Electro-Voice with a horn MF/HF and dual 15" woofer/mids, and two subs that are 15"-loaded tapped horns (20 cf. volume a piece). This may seem brute at first in a home setting, and it is or certainly can be, but the "secret sauce" that makes it a delicate and nuanced performer to boot is careful implementation and a fully active configuration. Active really makes it more resolved, transparent and less signature sounding - a win-win, if you ask me - and ample displacement and headroom translates sonically into ease and a visceral quality rarely if ever heard with smaller and lower efficiency speakers. Where I've sacrificed a bit with movie playback is giving up on the 10-20Hz range, which may seem preposterous to some, but given select movie titles (and there are not few of them) and very potent sub set-ups with huge displacement and amp power this very low octave can produce shudder effects and pressurization that can be very much felt. Tuning a sub set-up that low however, subjectively at least, takes away some of liveliness and impact of the central bass region, which is enormously important for music as well (hence this being a music set-up predominantly). Still, reproduction down to 20-25Hz at full click is no slouch by any stretch of the imagination.
The dynamic range of movies is something I cherish wholeheartedly, and I find it to be an important test for one's set-up also in regard to music playback. I'm dialing in the ref. volume with dialogue and where it sounds naturally present, and the rest of the sound spectrum simply revolves around that in a way that makes a movie breath sonically - be it quieter titles or more action laden ones. With Mr. Nolan's latest 'Tenet' offering that's truly LOUD when the action kicks in, and in my listening space boarders "saturation" levels throughout the movie at ref. (per dialogue) volume. I adore Nolan's very conscious approach to sound mixing hearing it really take off as such from 'The Dark Knight' and onwards, and while my adoration includes 'Tenet' it's at the brink I find in its sheer loudness that's more suitably compatible with bigger spacings; at the digital IMAX theatre I saw it the first time around the sound level span seemed to benefit a bit from the large auditorium. At the other dynamic range scale with have most of Disney's home video Blu-ray and UHD releases these last years that are mixed with low ref. volume, timid dynamics and weak bass response - a travesty, really. Any insights on why they've been going this route almost consistently for years now? It may keep soundbars from blowing up, but it sure as h... is an unfortunate benchmark for those of us who care much more about proper dynamic swings, overall presence of presentation and LF prowess.
Uninhibited dynamics are utterly important with music and not least movies. I own Criterion's Blu-ray of the David Fincher's 'The Game,' and it sports a near field and theatrical mix. I prefer the latter as the more expansive mix that breathes more naturally to me, and therefore I'm happy that they left it there for us to savor in addition to the near field mix. I hope we won't see diminishment with regard to dynamic range to cater, if you would, to the lowest denominator, but will at least uphold the theatrical mix- if nothing else as an option.