Powered speakers show audiophiles are confused

@lonemountain , it must feel like you are a fly on the walls, nice to get the inside scoop. The problems you posted about atmos music applies to movies as well. You have great mixes and weak mixes. The best mix I have heard so far is the kraftwerk catalogue on bluray. At reference level it is a great concert mix. I really like the Beatles remixes too. I am using more Tidal to stream than apple music. Apple just sounds a bit bright for my room.

@mijostyn , if you like 2 channel all good, maybe you can send capitol record studios some pointers on their speaker selection. Who knows, maybe they’ll outsource a custom build for you!

I really like the flexibility to upmix certain tracks. Vinyl guys swap out cartridges=$.

Digital guys swap out DAC’s= $.

Immersive music guys push a button on the remote. Every recording can benefit from how it is played back in your room and you still have 2 channel as one of the many options.

It is a matter of preference and taste, not better or worse. One example that includes measurements and test tones. He discusses 2 channel music upmixing at 5:30:

@mijostyn Thank you for the note on line arrays.

@kota1 Great YouTube video, Thanks. Last time I was in studio C at Capitol John Mayor had easily 2 dozen amps in the mix room testing them all out, amazing. The speakers they are using don't look very good, square, not point source, not heavy, they can choose any speaker they want they didn't go for super turbos. This is why Capitol, Abby Road, who has done the same thing, not putting in expensive speakers, are the best.

@donavabdear

I am a bit envious of you, @lonemountain ​​​​@brianlucey who get to personally check out these legendary spaces. If the kota walked in the only speaker you would hear is the intercom speaker "security" and that would be a short visit as I get the boot.

I tapped as many engineers for wisdom as I could when setting up my space and continue to benefit from the generosity of your community. Totally different to actually see and listen in those studios where so much great content has been created (and still is). The "aha" takeaway I have gleaned from your posts so far is how different your pro system is from your personal system. The grass on the pro side may be different, but not necessarily greener. As for the speakers my takeaway from that shot of studio C was they were all identical, Steve said they were all full range, and look like they placed with absolute precision. Even though we all may have different rooms, speakers, and budgets, most of us can attempt to be precise as possible with setup and placement. Remember how I nudged you about your center channel? Moving it was no biggie and then you get a better result for your investment.

@kota1 absolutely true, I’ve never been in a studio that sounded better than my 2 channel system. I’ve listened to many more pro systems than audiophiles but the audiophiles care so much more the have much more sophisticated systems, they have more expensive systems, they care about the sound more. This makes me think how can the final product be more than the original. it is also absolutely true that the ears of the great engineers like Al Schmitt had experience they knew what great bands voices and pianos sounded like through their speakers they used for years that sounded horrible, they knew what great sound was through their own ringing and dimmed hearing.
Audiophiles listen and describe music in a way that is usually far above the detail that engineers and mixers create. I heard things on my new Genelecs that I’m sure the mixer didn’t hear or else they would have fixed it, there are always limitations in the real world there are none as an audiophile maybe just money, knowledge, and self delusion, like thinking that amps and speakers shouldn’t be made for each other.