I don't necessarily agree with this.
It really depends on what type of music the system is designed for. A low-powered SET system would be incredible sounding in its niche, but there's no way I'd try to crank a movie through it. I realize this is an extreme example, but I think many systems which fall in the grey area in between wouldn't sound great with movies either.
When I could first afford to build any kind of system I began with a 5.1 A/V that did an outstanding job of creating the movie theater experience, but I knew was far from what I had hoped for musically. The sense of scale, balance, impact and immersion for the movie experience was all there, but when I turned off the monitor and played just music through it, it fell flat.
It took years of trying different combinations of equipment to arrive at a music system that really satisfied me, but I had to do it by separating my music system from the home theater entirely. And, when I got there, the two system were completely different sounding with a completely different emphasis. I like a warm midrange that is slightly forward for music. I like a neutral full-range sound for home theater. I NEED a subwoofer for home theater. So far, I hate subwoofers in my music systems.
I realize what I did was the reverse of the course you took, and it sounds to me in your post that you probably favor a full spectrum, large sound in both your music and of course your home theater, so it doesn't surprise me that you were able to find success. However, for those of us that aim for a more intimate musical experience, or are focused on acoustic instruments, moonlighting as a home theater is most likely out of the question.
It really depends on what type of music the system is designed for. A low-powered SET system would be incredible sounding in its niche, but there's no way I'd try to crank a movie through it. I realize this is an extreme example, but I think many systems which fall in the grey area in between wouldn't sound great with movies either.
When I could first afford to build any kind of system I began with a 5.1 A/V that did an outstanding job of creating the movie theater experience, but I knew was far from what I had hoped for musically. The sense of scale, balance, impact and immersion for the movie experience was all there, but when I turned off the monitor and played just music through it, it fell flat.
It took years of trying different combinations of equipment to arrive at a music system that really satisfied me, but I had to do it by separating my music system from the home theater entirely. And, when I got there, the two system were completely different sounding with a completely different emphasis. I like a warm midrange that is slightly forward for music. I like a neutral full-range sound for home theater. I NEED a subwoofer for home theater. So far, I hate subwoofers in my music systems.
I realize what I did was the reverse of the course you took, and it sounds to me in your post that you probably favor a full spectrum, large sound in both your music and of course your home theater, so it doesn't surprise me that you were able to find success. However, for those of us that aim for a more intimate musical experience, or are focused on acoustic instruments, moonlighting as a home theater is most likely out of the question.