2. home-theater
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What can the average enthusiest do to get A+ HT?

I've read enogh posts over the years, and seen, heard, read about, installed, designed, sold, built, and experienced enough home theaters(including bassic surround systems, dedicated theaters, etc) to want to put the question out to the masses/fellow enthusiests out there. I'm currious to hear some of the more informed/experienced HT junkie's(like myself) input on to what they think they can pass on the the rest of the AV world at large would be, to help everyone truely maximize the Ht experience at home!
I've come to the conclussion from my years of experience around this stuff, that most(better than 99%) don't have a clue as to what they're dealing with, when aspiring to get even remotely approaching world class HT from their set up! Especially people experiencing this for the first, even going at it the second/third times!!!
Is it the gear? Is it the set up?..the acoustics?..the tweeks?...the calibration?...what? And if it's any and all of these things put together, can someone help spell it all out/break it all down in a realateively straight foreward manner, considering the variables people are likely dealing with/encountering (perhaps including budget/space), what options they should thus be considering, and specifics that need to be attacked/approached!?
I'm just currious if people who are serious about getting the best HT possible with-in their means/budgets(even at the ultra expensive and ambitious end) truelly want to know what it takes, and what they can do to get something truely special in their life time in respect to AV!..and that's assuming they want to mostly "go it alone", as opposed to hiring professinoals to do the job. We're talking about "home projects" and set up's here!...just to be clear.
Thanks for any input, commments, info, perspectives, etc.
exertfluffer
sean
6,231 posts
 
Unsound: I think we are comparing apples to oranges here. I'm talking about a dedicated HT system here, not multi-channel music. I know that some people have "hybrid" systems i.e. two channel music combined with multi-channel HT, but the two types of systems really are quite different from one another and require different speaker positioning for optimum results.

Other than that, i agree that most multi-channel music is a mess. Sean
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brainwater
520 posts
 
Sean brings up an important point . Multichannel audio speaker set up is a bear to " dial in ". I mentioned utilizing two channel principals as the framework for multichannel speaker configuration but should have expanded a bit more. Thanks Sean. I should have obviously added that the addition of the center is A : critical to nail as the cohesiveness of the frontal stage can expand or collapse and B: forces the mains out some therefore relinquishing strict 2 channel ideology { this is why I have a dedicated 2 channel system as well } . This is not always a bad thing . I also think that multichannel has fantastic potential but so damn many factors must be addressed that without massive trial and error and a very good processor , most will not see its future . The difference betweenm my Lex Mc 12 and Meridian 861 processor was astounding and I cannot stress the importance of that revelation enough . I say this because the MC 12 is indeed a great processor . I am fanatical to the stage of hysteria in the pursuit of that " focus " in my multichannel room and suggest all who want to experience its insane beauty be so as well. Two channel audio is in and of itself a religon to many in its correct integration so imagine multiplying that obsession to detail to a processor , three times as many speakers and the room effects upon that same quest for perfection and you see the delimma. Our mission if we chose to accept it is .....staggering quite frankly but so much fun . I live for this stuff.
brainwater
520 posts
 
One final thought on this . Unsound brings up an all too familiar conception . He states that rear channel information when listening to music is an annoying distraction. This phenonenon exists in our generation and budding purist alike but we will fade into memory as the paradiagm shift is occurring right before our eyes. Dvd audio is soon to invade our cars and home theatres of the all too soon to be future and its going to be a freight train . I am glad that SACD got its foot in the door so quickly and effectively as it gave us a greater variety since dvd a seems to be headed for mainstream . Sacd s foundation is strong and should provide us with much to cherish for years to come . However , make no mistake about it : DVD audio is coming like a tidal wave . I have a surfboard under my feet and a sacd torch for a hat. ALOHA!! SURFS UP!
unsound
7,329 posts
 
Brainwater, I agree that the future may permit the promise multichannel. Perhaps it will be better media, production/engineering, electronics, room correction, omni directional speakers, cabling, cost reductions or all of the above? Let me know when we get there. As of now, I think it's too expensive, fraught with challanges and ultimately dissapointing. It's worse yet for those who try doing it on the cheap with little effort. More often than not (always?) one ends up with a room filled with junk, wasted time and money all to achieve terrible sound. Let me know when we get there.
Sean, are you saying that movie sound engineers are doing a better job than music engineers? Or is it, that when watching video, one is so emersed in the visual presentation that one is less in tune with the audio, and there fore the audio is less critcal?
sean
6,231 posts
 
Unsound: Yes, i do believe that those doing the mixing for multi-channel video typically provide better results than what we get out of multi-channel music recordings. The primary reason for this is that movies have sounds from every direction whereas music is typically experienced with the band spread out in front of you. This is probably why Paul Klipsch wanted us to go to a 3 channel system rather than two.

As a side note, some of the worst multi-channel music recordings are those that are "antiques" that are getting re-mixed. Some of these engineers are going berserk twisting knobs and playing games with spatial info. The presentation becomes completely un-natural. Sean
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