22.2 Surround Sound for Ultra High Definition Television

[LizardKing]

Anyone have any views/thoughts on this one?

Interesting that it uses 24 speakers (including two subwoofers) arranged in three layers which provides an "immersive and natural three-dimensional sound field that creates a superior sense of presence and reality"!!!!!!!



Refer to this link:

http://www.nhk.or.jp/digital/en/technical/pdf/IBC2007_08040907.pdf

Can't see this "flying" for home use, but sounds pretty cool.

 

[ArmyOfQuad]

Cool.....but is it as good as the dodecaphonic system with the moon rock needle?

 

[ArnoldLayne]

High time to buy shares in some loudspeaker manufacturing company...

 

[dr. simple]

High time to buy shares in some loudspeaker manufacturing company...

I'll have to SELL stock if I want to afford 24 speakers!

 

[Bonzodog]

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?9563-Nab-2008&highlight=nhk

 

[Quad Linda]

Instead of doing it with 24 speakers, they should just wait until they can do holographic video and audio, too. To me, it seems almost pointless to do Bose.

Having been a Bose dealer for most of my time in audio, I'll voice my opinion, with apologies in advance to Bose fans. I'd rather listen to one Altec Voice of the Theater than 24 of ANY Bose speaker. Their bass modules do midrange pretty well. Bass is another story. As someone who owns 1000 Quad/surround titles, that statement seemingly maligns Quad. I don't mean it that way. It's just that I think Bose sounds that bad. IMHO

If you discount Bose one penny, they'll pull the line from the dealer. Talk about price fixing! I thought fair trade became illegal in the mid '70's.

No one ever went broke underestimating the American public. - H.L. Menken

Linda the Bitch
Better Sound Through Marketing

 

[Bob Squires Jr]

What the hell... do you put a sub-woofer under your bathtub?
Might be one hell of a sauna!

 

[LizardKing]

Hah - Bose speakers.....even 24 of them still probably sounded like crap...

 

[DKA]

You stick speaker #23 up your ass for a truly immersive experience.

 

[mandrix]

Instead of doing it with 24 speakers, they should just wait until they can do holographic video and audio, too. To me, it seems almost pointless to do Bose.

Having been a Bose dealer for most of my time in audio, I'll voice my opinion, with apologies in advance to Bose fans. I'd rather listen to one Altec Voice of the Theater than 24 of ANY Bose speaker. Their bass modules do midrange pretty well. Bass is another story. As someone who owns 1000 Quad/surround titles, that statement seemingly maligns Quad. I don't mean it that way. It's just that I think Bose sounds that bad. IMHO

If you discount Bose one penny, they'll pull the line from the dealer. Talk about price fixing! I thought fair trade became illegal in the mid '70's.

No one ever went broke underestimating the American public. - H.L. Menken

Linda the Bitch
Better Sound Through Marketing

I'm with you on the Altec VOTT. Man I haven't heard one up close in many years. BIG suckers.

 

[Quad Linda]

No highs, no lows? Must be Bose!

Four Voice of the Theaters was the way we demoe'd Quad in my store. There are members here who have them or big, hunkin' Klipsch for their Quad systems. Awesome! There are speakers that are more linear in frequency response and image better, my Mission towers among them. Sadly, Mission bailed out of the US market. Yet, nothing is as efficient and rockin' as those big Altec, JBL, Cerwin-Vega and Klipsch muthas.

Bose Waveradios make excellent paperweights, though.

Linda
Bose Bashin' Bitch

I'm with you on the Altec VOTT. Man I haven't heard one up close in many years. BIG suckers.

 

[Disclord]

No highs, no lows? Must be Bose!

Four Voice of the Theaters was the way we demoe'd Quad in my store. There are members here who have them or big, hunkin' Klipsch for their Quad systems. Awesome! There are speakers that are more linear in frequency response and image better, my Mission towers among them. Sadly, Mission bailed out of the US market. Yet, nothing is as efficient and rockin' as those big Altec, JBL, Cerwin-Vega and Klipsch muthas.

Bose Waveradios make excellent paperweights, though.

Linda
Bose Bashin' Bitch

Actually, if they weren't so expensive, the Bose radio's would be a good deal - if they sold for 50 bucks or so. For their size they sound quite good and I'm not aware of anything else as small as they are with that 'big' of sound. It ain't hi-fi, but that's not the market they are ultimately going for.

Don't take this post as defending Bose.

 

[Quad Linda]

I couldn't agree more. For $50, it's a nice little radio. I've said exactly that for years. They sell them at an inflated price, like ALL other Bose. They prey on those who don't know any better. In my opinion, using RF instead of IR remotes on their systems may be the only good thing they ever did. Ear buds, computer speakers and Bose have set back high-fidelity at least 50 years.

Linda

Actually, if they weren't so expensive, the Bose radio's would be a good deal - if they sold for 50 bucks or so. For their size they sound quite good and I'm not aware of anything else as small as they are with that 'big' of sound. It ain't hi-fi, but that's not the market they are ultimately going for.

Don't take this post as defending Bose.

 

[mandrix]

I wonder sometimes.....One day a few years ago I was discussing surround sound systems with a colleague when this young man piped in with "have you ever heard a Bose radio?".
I replied that I had but I much preferred my component system. He told me matter of factly that evidently I had not really heard one or I would sell my system and buy one.

Bose has always had it's ardent proponents and detractors, possibly the most polarizing company I've ever heard of; either you love it or you don't.
I don't.

 

[rusinurbe]

My wife complains about 5 speakers and one woofer, I hate to think what would be said if i came home with 17 more speakers !!!

 

[Disclord]

I wonder sometimes.....One day a few years ago I was discussing surround sound systems with a colleague when this young man piped in with "have you ever heard a Bose radio?".
I replied that I had but I much preferred my component system. He told me matter of factly that evidently I had not really heard one or I would sell my system and buy one.

Bose has always had it's ardent proponents and detractors, possibly the most polarizing company I've ever heard of; either you love it or you don't.
I don't.

People buy and believe in Bose because of the advertising - Bose says flat out that their sound is the best and you can't get/won't hear better sound elsewhere - and people believe it. Bose doesn't discuss the actual technology used (midrange units used over a wider range than any drive their size is made for) nor do they list any sort of spec except for how many ohm's the speaker is - a listed spec that showed the Acoustamass system rolled off at 60Hz, had an -18db level drop at 200Hz and had no high high end much above 10kHz or so wouldn't do them any favors in the "comparison" market. But the real Bose secret is those little speakers DO sound "big" - they might not sound accurate, but they sound big, so people think that Bose must know something other companies don't, otherwise they too would be making tiny speakers that sounded huge!

One Bose system that I wish had not done poorly in the marketplace was the Bose Cinema Sound System - it was low cost and would allow the owner of a small theater to make a major audio upgrade to stereo - and was good enough to handle the digital formats, especially the Bose Acoustic Cannon that was used for the bass. I think Bose sold 4 systems in the US, which is sad considering the number of mono theaters in existence at the time. Bose actually did a lot of good engineering work creating the Cinema Sound System but they just couldn't make a dent in the market - even though a theater could upgrade a mono auditorium to a Bose theater with DTS-6 digital stereo for less than 15 grand total.

 

[mandrix]

People buy and believe in Bose because of the advertising - Bose says flat out that their sound is the best and you can't get/won't hear better sound elsewhere - and people believe it. Bose doesn't discuss the actual technology used (midrange units used over a wider range than any drive their size is made for) nor do they list any sort of spec except for how many ohm's the speaker is - a listed spec that showed the Acoustamass system rolled off at 60Hz, had an -18db level drop at 200Hz and had no high high end much above 10kHz or so wouldn't do them any favors in the "comparison" market. But the real Bose secret is those little speakers DO sound "big" - they might not sound accurate, but they sound big, so people think that Bose must know something other companies don't, otherwise they too would be making tiny speakers that sounded huge!

One Bose system that I wish had not done poorly in the marketplace was the Bose Cinema Sound System - it was low cost and would allow the owner of a small theater to make a major audio upgrade to stereo - and was good enough to handle the digital formats, especially the Bose Acoustic Cannon that was used for the bass. I think Bose sold 4 systems in the US, which is sad considering the number of mono theaters in existence at the time. Bose actually did a lot of good engineering work creating the Cinema Sound System but they just couldn't make a dent in the market - even though a theater could upgrade a mono auditorium to a Bose theater with DTS-6 digital stereo for less than 15 grand total.

I think you are right per the little speakers sounding "big". I had a work assistant once that used to argue with me all the time about Bose, apparently because at his sister's wedding a crew had setup a bunch of the small Bose speakers all over and he was impressed with the sound. My argument was always that for the situation the speakers probably did sound good but if he were to put them in the same room with better speakers he would probably notice the difference. Or not.

 

[bmoura]

More speakers/channels don't necessarily result in better sound.

I remember a demonstration of 11.1 sound years ago at an audio show. The source material was poor and the resulting sound was as well - 12 speakers and all....

 

[timbre4]

As a former occasional audio salesperson, the BOSE remarks are most appreciated. The smaller shun-midrange-drivers-maxed-out-and-go-convention-driver models like 201s or 301s were listenable bookshelf speakers. (could sell and not feel too guilty) I showed people how to switch speakers and let them hang themselves. All of their advanced technology was dreck.

Don't forget all the automotive BOSE systems used to sell cardswhere there was no escape! It's easy to find something anything better when people escape the hype.

 

[Disclord]

Bose is also to blame for killing off high quality FM Stereo in the 80's. The CBS FMX system was all set to launch nationwide - tests had been done and FCC approval given - when Dr. Bose came out against the system via MIT and completely frightened station owners away from upgrading to FMX. Turns out Bose had some competing radio technology for their car systems that would be rendered useless if FMX were adopted. FMX used CBS CX Noise Reduction System to compand an additional L-R signal and encoded it in quadrature on the standard L-R difference information - so FM Stereo receivers would ignore the compressed quadrature difference information and retain the standard 20db noise penalty that stereo add's to FM reception. With FMX, the quadrature CX carrier is used instead, achieving a full 20db of noise reduction and making FM stereo as quiet as FM mono - something that hasn't existed since the Zenith/GE Pilot-Tone System was adopted in the 60's (and chosen over the pretty much perfect Crosby FM Stereo system).

CBS modified FMX to address the Bose criticisms (which weren't really valid, but allowed CBS to further perfect the FMX system so that any ratio of CX noise reduction companding, up to 3:1, could be used without needing to change decoders - the receiver could automatically track it), but the damage had been done. FMX was dead in the water and so was the opportunity for higher quality FM stereo - all due to Dr. Amar Bose.

Dr. Bose was silent about CBS CopyCode, their disastrous anti-copy proposal for DAT decks and something that really did affect sound quality because it notched out a range of frequencies in the lower midrange - but then he didn't have a financial interest in seeing CopyCode killed. Luckily, independent tests proved that under totally blind conditions, listeners, even untrained ones, could pick out music that had the CopyCode notch 9 times out of 10.