Can Home Theater be "High End"?

Besides, are there any movie soundtracks that sound as refined and natural as the best stereo discs? Not from what I've heard, and I've heard some of the so-called best on the so-called best HT setups. While it is possible to make an HT setup that's also high-end for music, the aesthetic is fundamentally different. In HT the visuals distract you. And the mix favors boomy bass and ear piercing highs. Ultimately, if you're an abs. sound kind of guy, movie sound just isn't optimized to do acoustic instruments right. Even the human voice sounds processed and electronic.

Yes, but practically speaking, no. The concept of high-end sound hinges on the faithful reproduction of the original recorded event. For film the equivalent recorded event is the sound stage mix. Assuming you have a well designed room, there's no reason why the sound stage mix cannot be accurately recreated by a home theatre system. The practical problem is the well designed room. 2 channel systems are difficult to set up. Setting up a 5 or 7 channel system is proportionally even more difficult. Then there's the bass. By their very nature home theatre is full range with high levels of bass. Acheiving smooth, deep and powerful bass is never easy. A dedicated, professionally designed room is a nearly a requirement for a high end home theatre. Practically speaking most home theatre systems are mid-fi.

Probably not, at least not in my 13x22 room, believe me I've tried. The speaker placements required for high end audio to yield the best in terms of imaging, depth, and focus are NOT compatible with home theater use. For HT they should be roughly the same distance as the center channel, if you move the center channel out from the wall the HT is messed up. You can use hi-end equipment both for HT and stereo, but the part of the equation everyone forgets about - the room itself - rarely allows both to work well together. It's always a compromise and true megabuck audiophiles never compromise their two channel playback. Sorry, if it was just a matter of equipment I'd be agreeing with you, but in terms of actual use... HomeTheater can't be high end (unless you compromise your HT setup to accomodate it).

Yes, try the new Calfornia Audio Labs ss-2500 sp and the rest of the system. Finally you have equipment that can do both. Is this stuff as good as the best 2 channel stuff, no. But it is better than a lot of stuff considered hi-end. I have auditioned almost all surround gear and this stuff is the best that I have heard.

IMHO the jury is still out on this. Virtually everyone I have spoken with agrees that dedicated two channel is generally far superior at a given price point until you start talking about a lot of money. Room acoustics and placement issues also reduce the chance that you will obtain audiophile quality sound, as do all the engineering and production tweaks inherent in movie soundtracks and effects. Having said that, it certainly is possible to get very satisfying HT sound and certainly improve dramatically the sound quality offered in consumer grade and entry level audiophile systems. I think that we need more technology to overcome some of these issues (e.g. inexpensive flat screen TV's so we can eliminate the problem of a giant TV or entertainment cabinet in between your from right and left channels) and more experience with HT - it is relatively new when compared to stereo gear. I recommend a setup where music is played through dedicated two channel gear with an A/V loop for the front right and left channels when watching movies. Still not perfect given placement issues, but it is a cost effective way or preserving high quality 2 channel sound and saving money on your HT setup.