To each their own, but I’m just not interested. I’m a guy who tried quadraphonic sound way back when. Really, instead of concentrating on a marketing gimmick (and trying to sell more stuff), I’d rather studios simply create great sounding masters in two channels. That would be a START in the right direction.
I mean, home theater is yeah, a big market, but how many people do you know who have more than a 5.1 system even here in 2023? I don’t know very many at all. Most people I know who have huge 65" to 85" TVs are still using a crappy soundbar. Only one serious guy at work has a "theater" set up in his basement with about 11.1 speakers. And you know what? I wasn’t THAT impressed by it - not for music. Movies with helicopters and spaceships, well maybe.
Until studios can get 2-channels right, I don’t think there’s going to be any rush to listen to crappy 11.2 or whatever. Just my two cents. YMMV.
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
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More news on the growth of object based audio, just wanted to share. The Kota has no dog in this race, just sharing what is going on in the music business. This was published a few days ago in Music Business Worldwide, click the link below for more info: ‘DOLBY ATMOS IS NOT JUST A GIMMICK. MUSIC IN 3D HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REPLACE STEREO.’ “Even skeptics have to admit how much more vivid and natural music sounds in 3D formats,” Stalter adds. “There are more and more products launched that are capable of Dolby Atmos, from mobile devices to sound bars up to car entertainment systems and many more.” “This market is rapidly growing and it is foreseeable that music in 3D has the potential to replace Stereo just as Stereo did with Mono almost 50 years ago.” |
Surround sound (home theater ) is not exactly the same as 3-D soundfield as in Choueiri BACCH filters ... For those who want to read the basic in a short text :
https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1302&context=caps_thes_all
This citation comes from a user of BACCH in ASR forum : «“BACCH is focused on stereo and getting the most out of stereo. We have two ears only and we therefore, in principle, need only two channels to get the cues needed to correctly locate sound in 3D. This is the binaural approach (as opposed to object-based Surround Sound approach) to 3D sound.
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BACCH is wonderful from what I heard from others. I have not heard it myself. Too hard to do. I don’t want a Mac and it seems a bit too customer. Edgar comes over and does install and super expensive. I will wait for the BACCH in a box for less than 5k. Then I will jump in. The bonus of that kind of system is any 2 ch music to feed it. Atmos or object based has to be mixed and will always be limited. For the poster that says their tuned 2 channel system is just as good as a 5.1 has not listened to a proper system. Also atmos is min 5.1.2. Just adding a center for dialog improves movies. 2 vs multi ch for movies no contest. Playing a 2 ch song via some stupid DSP to multi ch surround. Yuch. Just have a good 2 ch setup is better. I think the bigger point is you can have both. As long as your pre has bypass. If it does not then you will end up compromising the 2 ch system to share speakers and amps. Comparing Quad from 70’s is not exactly even close comparison to object based music. this forum is not exactly know for its open mind-ness and probably not the best place for the OP to try and find others to join in the fun. |
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