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
Showing 2 responses by moonwatcher
@kota1 thanks for the link. I'll check it out. Steven Wilson is sadly one of the few out there who seems to care. I'm not against all this "spatial audio" stuff, but just don't see it becoming a mass market thing when so many are happy with a soundbar in front of their TVs. They either aren't going to spend enough to get multi-channel audio right or their significant other is NOT going to let them place speakers and cable all over their multi-functional living space. |