@soix

BTW, notice the title of the Toole’s article:

The ULTIMATE "Real World" Home Theater and LISTENING Room

Go look at the pics of my system and its the same setup:

TWO center channels=check

Wide channels=check

Use of front rear and rear monitors as height channels instead of in ceiling=check

VOG channel=check

MLP equidistant from front and back wall=check

Dude that means whatever you think your rocking, it is far, far NOT the ultimate. Serviceable? Probably but LOL.🤡

Me and the Toole can rock everything from stereo, to surround sound, to Auro 3D and Atmos.

Priceless 😎

Dude that means whatever you think your rocking, it is far, far NOT the ultimate. Serviceable? Probably but LOL.🤡  Me and the Toole can rock everything from stereo, to surround sound, to Auro 3D and Atmos.  Priceless.

So I guess that makes you right and the rest of the high-end stereo manufacturers and listeners wrong.  U do u dude.

@soix

It doesn’t mean that I’m right, it means I have compared a high end two channel system with an ultimate "real world" high end system and chose to have both. The button on my remote allows me to switch my setup from as few as two channels to as many as 9.2.7 depending on what best suits the content.

It also means you haven’t been able to audition an ultimate "real world" system like mine, the Tooles, or the one at USC in YOUR own home in a properly treated room. The room is 50% of the ultimate experience and hotel rooms at shows are maye real world, but far from ultimate.

So, in a nutshell, don’t dismiss using a center channel for music and I provided many references (COB,PWK,THX,DrT, etc) to help validate my opinion.

@soix

It seems I haven’t communicated the concepts very well. But it doesn’t matter. You can read about the problems with 2 channel crosstalk if you’re interested. I don’t doubt you are correct - 2 speaker setups will live on as the primary critical listening arrangement for most high-end systems for decades to come. I've had many such discussions and I've changed no one's mind. I have no interest in changing anyone’s mind. I’m just sharing what I do in case someone is interested, and I'd like to get some feedback that people understand the concepts at least. But ultimately I guess what matters is that they like what they hear from their systems. I like what I like so I’ve got to be me even if I’m the only one in the world who uses the setup I do. I’m just glad the equipment is available to set up the way I like and there’s no law against me using it that way.