Does anyone want to get really irritated?

[Gmat25]

I have to admit I got into surround late. Although I was aware of quad recordings I never really had a set up for them.... then DVDA's and SACD's came out. I purchased my first home theater system and saw this disc 'Homecoming' by America - mixed by Eliot Scheiner. One listen and I never looked back. Over the past 14 years I have amassed almost 300 HiRez discs and I can't get enough. Quite frankly, I feel privileged to be in such a niche community. We do understand how amazing surround music is. We get it and, really, that's all that matters.

 

[Snood]

It's times like this I wish there was a "LOVE this post" option

Better yet, "HUG THIS POST" :banana:

 

[Cibola]

I've come to the conclusion that Mr. Gberg is a stereo purist who can't bring himself to say it. Could be the job enviroment for all I know. Seems best now to convince others that one man's opinion is not sacred text and that the push for more high res multichannel is on!

 

[newbyquad]

If someone could come up with simple, easy to use wireless speakers, surround systems would explode. You could place them anywhere without any stupid wires in the way. Women would accept them and any room could have them. Until that happens, surround will never work.

 

[bmoura]

Hmm, he must have worked in a movie theater as a projectionist back in the mono days.....

 

[leevitalone1]

If someone could come up with simple, easy to use wireless speakers, surround systems would explode. You could place them anywhere without any stupid wires in the way. Women would accept them and any room could have them. Until that happens, surround will never work.

Good point! My buddy was "allowed" 5.1, his house has a room with vaulted ceilings and is not conducive to 5.1 set ups. She made him place the speakers where they "looked good" center over the patio doors, and TV is a corner 12 ft away. It's OK though-they have bose! :yikes

 

[Quad Linda]

Linda, the lady of the house gave me permission to put speakers everywhere. :banana: So, there are 29 of them. Don't you wish that your wife/GF let you do all that?
And, it's a Bose-free zone.

Good point! My buddy was "allowed" 5.1, his house has a room with vaulted ceilings and is not conducive to 5.1 set ups. She made him place the speakers where they "looked good" center over the patio doors, and TV is a corner 12 ft away. It's OK though-they have bose! :yikes

 

[proufo]

I've come to the conclusion that Mr. Gberg is a stereo purist who can't bring himself to say it.

And there are nuances to that. There are some pundits that accept (they are not deaf) that ambiance speakers provide a better listening experience, but abhor that such ambiance be synthesized (as opposed to extracted from the recorded ambiance).

 

[SMS]

I actually follow Mr Guttenberg and agree with many of the things he writes. We tend to have similar tastes in gear, etc. Sadly, even some of the points he makes in this particular article are true. He says:

Surround music has always flopped -- Quadraphonic, DTS 5.1 surround CDs, SACD, DVD-A -- every one fizzled. The proof of that is easy to see; if people loved 5.1 music, we'd see a lot more surround releases

It is hard to argue with that. Major labels have mostly given up on releasing any new music in surround.

He does make some silly statements. This paragraph in particular:

Even if artists and consumers suddenly fell head over heels in love with surround music, I'm far from convinced the engineers could make recordings that would sound better than stereo. I've noted from time to time that when I attend acoustic concerts without PA speakers, almost all of the sound comes from the musicians on stage. I hear the instruments' sound filling the concert hall; the music is in front of me. When I sit close up, say around 20 feet from the players, I hear a "stereo" image. With my eyes closed I could point to each instrument; I hear that the drums are further back, behind the guitars and singers. I hear depth, but almost nothing from the rear or sides of the hall.

This shows he doesn't really "get" surround music and the creative possibilities it opens up. But, I find this strange because in the paragraph before he praises Steven Wilson's work. SW's surround mixes don't simply give the music a "live" feeling. He gets creative.

However, I do feel that the lack of "good" 5.1 mixing has hurt the surround music industry. Let's be honest... there are a lot of crappy 5.1 mixes. That is a big reason why this board exists... to sort out the good from the crap. It is quite possible that a lot of potential surround music fans got turned off by purchasing 2 or 3 Silverline releases and never gave it another chance. Even many of the Grammy nominated surround releases are poor. You have to be persistent to find the good ones.

Dr AIX's response was perfect. Surround music is definitely not dead, but it will never be mainstream. Sadly, even good stereo recordings are hard to find these days. I just hope that the few folks in the industry that keep surround music going keep doing what they are doing. As long as we keep supporting them, I am hopeful that they will.

 

[proufo]

"I've noted from time to time that when I attend acoustic concerts without PA speakers, almost all of the sound comes from the musicians on stage".

Absolutely correct, but the small portion that comes from all-over the listeners is very important. All halls (and even outdoors) would sound the same if that was not the case.

 

[leevitalone1]

"I've noted from time to time that when I attend acoustic concerts without PA speakers, almost all of the sound comes from the musicians on stage".

Absolutely correct, but the small portion that comes from all-over the listeners is very important. All halls (and even outdoors) would sound the same if that was not the case.[/QUOTE

venues all are acoustically "tuned" for sound to be projected from the stage area. Even outdoor venues are so.

 

[Cibola]

As mentioned before in this thread, the goal of surround sound (as I understand it) is not to recreate a concert or other common listening experience. That would necessarily limit the value of the effort. I agree that ambiance isn't a bad thing but the goal of surround is best met when it creates a new and more interesting experience. It won't appeal to everybody.