2 Speakers are better than 5.1?

[mandrix]

I believe it is electrolytic capacitors that are the problem, again. They age faster when they're never charged. I don't know the details but I'm all ears for anyone that does.

Lithium and indeed other rechargeable batteries also have problems. They slowly self discharge through internal resistance even if not connected to anything. But you don't want to let them go completely flat as that damages the chemistry, in different ways depending on the type of batteries (Lithium, nimh, etc). So anything with a rechargeable backup battery needs to be turned on often enough to keep the battery reasonably charged.

So after thinking it over I decided to start pulling my older disc players out and giving them a workout. I now think this makes sense.
Yesterday it was the BDP-80 first in line, with a burned SACD-R of Brothers In Arms. (Yes, I own a copy of this)
I will rotate my other two older disc players as time allows. Of course my Oppo 103 is always hooked up and ready to go so no worries there. I hope.
Since I recently copied all my music archive HDD's with a duplicator, they've all had their "workout". Still not sure why HDD's are susceptible to "going bad" sitting around but hey! Ya never know.

My wife's printer, what few times she uses it (hardly ever) always requires me to do something to jog it along, clean the print tray or such. ...and here I've always been telling her to use it or lose it. Decided to take mine (and other's) advice and do the same with all the electronics.

So what has this to do with stereo? As was said, always have two working copies. (Life's the same, except for the shoes)

 

[kfbkfb]

https://www.twice.com/the-wire/50-o...ue-problem-with-lowest-price-ever-59-soundbar
Voice (clarity) over Music (kinda a step away from surround sound).


Kirk Bayne

 

[scottm18]

2 Speakers are better than 5.1?​

Obviously not so much in this forum, but there's a lot of audiophiles (apparently Jeff Lynne and Dennis DeYoung among them) who would say this. If you have nice enough equipment & room layout, any great source like says Hans Zimmer Inception soundtrack off Qobuz in high res... should sound convincingly like you have more than two speakers.

 

[Owen Smith]

Obviously not so much in this forum, but there's a lot of audiophiles (apparently Jeff Lynne and Dennis DeYoung among them) who would say this. If you have nice enough equipment & room layout, any great source like says Hans Zimmer Inception soundtrack off Qobuz in high res... should sound convincingly like you have more than two speakers.

Occasionally I play something in stereo and 10 minutes in I could swear the rear speakers are on and I have to check that they're not. But it's rare, very little material is that well recorded, mixed and mastered. I get phantom centre all the time.

 

[mandrix]

https://www.twice.com/the-wire/50-o...ue-problem-with-lowest-price-ever-59-soundbar
Voice (clarity) over Music (kinda a step away from surround sound).


Kirk Bayne

I wonder if it's as much caused by our aging population?
If my wife and I aren't near each other and she speaks to me, I often don't understand a thing she says.
But then she can't yell as loud as she once could.

 

[Owen Smith]

I wonder if it's as much caused by our aging population?
If my wife and I aren't near each other and she speaks to me, I often don't understand a thing she says.
But then she can't yell as loud as she once could.

It's partly the actors aren't projecting their voices as if they're live in a theatre any more, and partly crap mixing where the "background" music is far too loud. Watch something made several decades ago and you'll find it much easier to hear what the actors are saying.

 

[mandrix]

It's partly the actors aren't projecting their voices as if they're live in a theatre any more, and partly crap mixing where the "background" music is far too loud. Watch something made several decades ago and you'll find it much easier to hear what the actors are saying.

I'm with you on the background noise -er, music. Some of the things my wife watches, it makes me wonder who the hell thinks all that racket adds to the show? This is not movies, mostly those DIY and cooking shows.

 

[scottm18]

But it's rare, very little material is that well recorded, mixed and mastered.

Here's two more to try: If you have a high- res music service check out Ann Clark "It's a Fragile thing" (off the latest Stockfisch Closer to the Music volume 6)...or Samantha Crain's stunning "Holding to the Edge of Night" (off Small Death).

The former should startle you with her unbelievable vocal clarity...and the latter should blow the doors off your room with the powerfully low bass that comes out of nowhere. Both should sound 3D with only two speakers.

If you need a bonus track to check your subwoofer (or rattle your tooth fillings), try James Blake "Limit to your Love" and hold on @55 sec to anything that's not nailed down. It's not high res but it does not need to be...the bassline on this section is unbelievably cool as it literally warbles and is guaranteed to freak you out. Warning: Do not play this deceptively potent recording on just any speakers unless you want to be instantly shopping for a new pair... trust me

 

[DrKlahn]

My experience mirrors @Owen Smith . I've gotten to hear all kinds of amazing 2ch setups at different shows or in homes. You can certainly get that room filling sound from an excellent 2ch recording and no one's going to debate it doesn't sound fantastic. But it takes a very good recording and isn't able to create the same experience of a good 5.1 (or more) mix where the rear soundstage is now able to move sounds behind in the same fashion a stereo pair creates a phantom image. More channels gives the mixer even more options to create more interactions.

Yes we have 2 ears, but we're constantly hearing sources all around us. And they're built to process this. Pink Floyd is my favorite band and I've been privileged to hear Dark Side on a pair of speakers that cost more than all of my audio equipment combined. It sounded amazing. Was it able to recreate what they've done with Atmos? No. Would I trade my Atmos setup for that 2ch? No. And I think one of the key things that detractors of immersive audio lose sight of is that just because it's an immersive setup doesn't mean it will perform poorly with 2ch. I enjoy 2ch regularly. I don't ever feel like my setup is lacking here compared to my friends 2ch setups.

 

[jimfisheye]

80% of the movie mixes I've heard are just crude! Any thoughts on surround sound, immersive audio, object placement, etc are a moot point. Navigating through the explosions and whispers is the challenge. The surround effects are usually cartoonish and distracting. The soundbar is genuinely made for this kind of movie mix.

Maybe 2% of movie mixes are an out of this world mix accomplishment that you actually need a music capable surround system to listen to properly. Technique on display that many accomplished music mixers would not know how to pull off! These are rare.

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

80% of the movie mixes I've heard are just crude! Any thoughts on surround sound, immersive audio, object placement, etc are a moot point. Navigating through the explosions and whispers is the challenge. The surround effects are usually cartoonish and distracting. The soundbar is genuinely made for this kind of movie mix.

Maybe 2% of movie mixes are an out of this world mix accomplishment that you actually need a music capable surround system to listen to properly. Technique on display that many accomplished music mixers would not know how to pull off! These are rare.

I have a different experience. Maybe it's because I primarily consume movies on Blu-ray, but I've never had any problems with sound mixes on Hollywood films, and I absolutely hear a difference on an ITU system. Foreign films are a different case altogether, because of the lack of rigidity in quality expectations.

Actually the more dynamic range in a film, the better! I marvel at the Top Gun (1980s) Dolby Atmos mix because of how loud the planes are!

In terms of surround activity, I get much better results with films NOT shot with sync sound. Those films are more common in foreign markets, but they tend to put a lot more stuff in the rears, and move people's voices around the room to match the action on the screen.

 

[jimfisheye]

I probably don't watch enough movies, to be fair! Surround sound is purely for music for me and almost a moot point for movies. But I have noticed and appreciated the mix work from what I called the 2%. Audio and perspective work that can be very complex!

Now that I think about it I haven't watched a single movie with Atmos encoded multichannel yet.

 

[mandrix]

The only "movies" I watch on BD are concerts. Yes, ever the outlier...

 

[MidiMagic]

Occasionally I play something in stereo and 10 minutes in I could swear the rear speakers are on and I have to check that they're not. But it's rare, very little material is that well recorded, mixed and mastered. I get phantom centre all the time.

You should get phantom center.

If I sit in just the right place, I can hear DY, DQ, EV, QS and DS decoded in my hearing system.