Do NOT Blow Your Entire Budget on Two Channel Audio


Yes, two channel audio is here, and is not going away. However, object based audio is delightful, widely available on Tidal and Apple Music, and should be in the listening room of every music lover on the planet, not just "audiophiles. If you plan to be a music fan a year from now start building your object based audio system today. You will need:

1) A receiver/processor capable of Dolby Atmos.

2) A subscription to Tidal or Apple music.

3) A Firestick, ATV, or Nvidia Shield.

4) A minimum of 7 timber matched speakers and a subwoofer.

Once you experienced stereo would you ever go back to only mono? No, you would build a system capable of either mono or stereo. Now that object based audio has arrived do the same thing. Build a system capable of mono, stereo, AND object based audio. When Elton John heard Rocket Man in an object based format for the first time why did he demand to convert his entire catalog to Atmos? If you don’t know, then you need to go listen to Rocket Man in a good Atmos setup ASAP.

So, take your budget, DIVERSIFY, and get a good Atmos capable receiver or processor. Object based audio is NOT last decades surround sound or home theater. It is for MUSIC first, if you need a recommendation on how to allocate your budget feel free to post a question. Most importantly, you don’t NEED two systems, one for music and one for movies. A good object based audio system can play two channel music just fine. A two channel system on the other hand can’t play object based audio without a proper processor or receiver.

Greg Penny talks mixing Rocket Man in Atmos.

https://youtu.be/ggzfcUKDqdo?feature=shared

 

kota1

@kota1 

"This brings the question, what is your favorite album/track in atmos music?"

The cut Comfortably Numb from Roger Waters The Wall BluRay does it for me.

Allocating virtually any budget across two channels will result in better sound quality than twelve…assuming a properly set up room. And properly setting up a 12-channel system is a monumental task. Most hi-fi enthusiasts struggle to get 2-channel systems really dialed in.

I've seen zero evidence that most artists are adopting object-based audio. In fact, of the hundreds of Blu-ray movies I've purchased, only a few dozen have Dolby Atmos or DTS:X audio.

However, I see several YouTube videos from music producers stating that object-based audio makes little financial sense. And others decry poor mastering quality, as also seen in this thread.

I want to be supportive; however, I sincerely hope that all of the various object-based solutions for music will die as fast as they arrived. And don't get me started on Dolby Atmos for headphones and soundbars. Ugh!

@dsnyder0cnn :

Spot on. I agree 100% with what you said. Sober realistically well put. Thanks for chiming in. I couldn’t have said this better. Doing what the OP said has crossed my mind. I would still not do it.

@donavabdear How do I have a square room?

 

24x13.5x7.25 all feet. Non are divisible by another too. Not sure what you are referring to. Did I do a typo?

 

I see o talked about what I call false wall.  It’s an 8’ wide floor to ceiling. The floor is the top riser btw.  It’s insulated inside. I use to hold rear speakers and projector.  But it’s 4’ in from rear wall and has 3’ on each side open.   So when you walk in you see that wall and it has light up posters.  You can go left or right like a real theater to get in. I think it’s pretty cool and functional. But certainly does not make room square.