Audiophiles and De-cluttering -- your journey toward both psychic and sonic improvement

@devinplombier I wonder if you could expand on your post concerning the suitability of full range music speakers for home theater and why a good music speaker is NOT good for HT. Please understand, I am not being contentious, I am curious as to why this could possibly be so. Nearly every home theater system I have owned has been also used effectively for music and I never saw the inclusion of full range tower speakers for FL and FR to be anything but a plus whether it was for movies or music. When left to my own preferences and with enough money to exercise those preferences I have always preferred a true full range 20-20k speaker system for the mains and a more theater focused speaker for other positions with the mandatory subwoofer(s) picking up the slack in the low end for the smaller theater speakers. This combo has always worked splendidly and spendidly too :) Help me to understand why this is not a preferred approach or why in your judgement it would not provide satisfactory results for both music and HT.

For my own part, last April's house fire took a large chunk out of the decluttering that was an ongoing process. I had all my junk, my wifes junk, and my parents junk crammed into one house...yeah it was a lot. But because nearly all of it has gone into a dumpster, the rather steep mountain to climb is the rebuilding of the house, the music and movie zones and their associated equipment. Pretty much a clean slate, with essentially all new equipment. As painful as losing old vintage gear that I truly liked is, there is a certain sense of adventure that goes with starting over. I have a chance to do it better than it was before in terms of possibly more intelligent design based on what is available today. One part of the plan is a modern media center lowboy equipment rack with ventilated doors and back panels with ample space inside for all the required electronics save for the TV, center channel speaker and turntable should I elect to replace the ones I lost in the fire. This will give a more decluttered look to the space and make spending time in that room much more pleasant. All new speakers to go with the new electronics will augment the over-all experience if I do my job correctly. I am giving serious thought to avoiding spending money on physical media unless it is a special edition release, be it movie or music. Currently I can count the physical media that I can actually use on nearly both hands and feet, a far cry from what I owned before. I don't see myself trying to replace hundreds of records, CDs and Video tapes as well as cassettes that were lost in the fire. Streaming media is so much more convenient and while having physical media is useful when the internet decides to take a vacation, which it does with alarming frequency in my rural location, the time, energy, effort and money involved in rebuilding that collection of media is beyond daunting. probably will be a few pieces bought but nothing like what I had before. Cannot even imagine going there.

The only clutter that needs to be kept in check really... is the clutter of the mind.

@livinon2wheels

Movie audio is a highly processed mixture of dialogue, soundtrack music and special effects that tolerates, if not favors, turned-up-to-eleven-type gear, especially speakers and subs.

Whereas music is, well... music. Different folks enjoy different genres, and they use diverse styles of gear to achieve the quality of sound they desire.

Adding HT compatibility to their list of system requirements is one step too far for many. It’s easier to maintain separate systems; JBLs in one room, Harbeths in the other, if you will.

In a pinch, some "good music speakers" like perhaps Revel Salon 2s might do a fine job reproducing explosions and the lifelike shrieks of victims. But why? The compromises involved make little sense unless living in a place where dedicated rooms might be prohibitive, like New York City or London.

Quoting your earlier post (and I am sorry for the disaster you and your family went through):

[...] the rebuilding of the house, the music and movie zones and their associated equipment.

Noted the plural. Seems you yourself might not disagree 🙂

The only clutter that needs to be kept in check really... is the clutter of the mind.

That's what we're actually talking about. You nailed it. It still requires discussion, though.