@whart , Yes, a big subwoofer system for movies is a riot. I got my new laser projector calibrated professionally last week and the tech wanted to see a Blu Ray movie when he was finished. I just happened to grab Star Wars. The beginning of the movie is very quiet until you get to the fighting scene in the rebel starship. When the shooting started he was really startled. I had a great laugh.
I agree whole heartedly with what you are saying. I would like to make just a few additions. Analog equalizers are difficult, even the Cello. They are very capable of making an image that was very life like, very two dimensional. This is not the case with digital equalization which can be use to improve the image and get a system to sound exactly the way you like. Done at high bit rates digital EQ is invisible as you noticed with Steven Wilson's remixes. This tech is available for home use.
Subwoofers add greatly to the realism of most performances. When Stanley Clark thumps his bass there is a very low frequency transient that systems without adequate low end gloss over. Transients like these are common with many instruments and percussion. When they are present it adds greatly to the sense of "being there."
Some of us want to stay pure analog I guess because it is tradition and very nostalgic and I understand that. But, there is so much you can do in the digital world that is virtually impossible on the analog side. The benefits can be simply amazing and IMHO outweigh the problems.
Nice system whart. I'd love to hear it some day.
