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

@kennyc 

That is interesting, I definitely like the two channel only systems I have around the house. My favorite one isn't even for critical listening, just a pair of DefTech Wireless active/streaming speakers. All I did was plug them in, connect to wireless and start streaming with the playfi app. They sound so much bigger than their miniscule size. I have the beginnings of a headphone system. I dropped Sony's Signature preamp/dac/headphone amp into my main rig so I have a pure two channel path for stereo. It has every type of headphone connection imaginable but I haven't purchased the matching Sony Signature headphones yet. It works great with my other cans though. If you want to post about your TV video surround system it would be very interesting. Have you picked a receiver/processor yet?

Desktop audio can be very rewarding and it’s usually much more affordable than typical 2 channel audiophile systems.

My initial foray into desktop audio:  Laptop into xDuoo TA-30 (tube) or my Astell&Kern SP2000T (SS) DAP (digital audio player used for both desktop and portable). My headphones are Focal Clear and Audeze LCDi4.  

Not working on surround sound now, farthest I got was Anthem units minimum quality and Trinnov seems like the very best processor.  Currently working on optimizing my Ethernet chain: audiophile switch, cables, filters - not easy to keep a lid on the costs.

I live through the same experience :desktop audio...

I did not lack anything really... I am not frustrated at all by the minimalistic system in hios acoustic corner and well embedded  electrically ...

My sound is immersive...

I have small speakers i modified ...

My main sacred audiophile system is headphone , but the small speakers are just behind it and beat all headphone i ever listened to save my K340 main audiophile system...

 

Desktop audio can be very rewarding and it’s usually much more affordable than typical 2 channel audiophile systems.

My initial foray into desktop audio: Laptop into xDuoo TA-30 (tube) or my Astell&Kern SP2000T (SS) DAP (digital audio player used for both desktop and portable). My headphones are Focal Clear and Audeze LCDi4.

Not working on surround sound now, farthest I got was Anthem units minimum quality and Trinnov seems like the very best processor. Currently working on optimizing my Ethernet chain: audiophile switch, cables, filters - not easy to keep a lid on the costs.

I gave up listening to movies through high end receivers decades ago. I haven’t invested into a streamer or any digital device other than a transport and PW Dac. I rarely listen to digital anything. So, why not? Because for me vinyl is still king, and funny thing; Vinyl preceded all these other formats by many decades. Interesting.