Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: bustednutz
Just curious what everyone here prefers. I have a 5.1 Yamaha system, but there are many times while watching a movie, be it modern or old, I like to switch it to the basic 2 ch left and right while always using my sub.
Maybe I like the simplicity of the 2 ch. Sometimes the 5.1 sounds "overprocessed". Maybe I'm not an audiophile looking for every nuance of sound that a film produces, but the 2 channel sounds strong and pure to me.
What do you all prefer?
Easy answer here, even despite all the bashing I'll get.
We run a Bose V35 in our home theater setup. Only one very small box for equipment, about the size of a Blu Ray player. Speakers are almost unnoticeable, soundstage is always impressive, and you can easily switch to whatever sound processing you want, from mono to full Dolby surround.
When I want to play an old CD or some vinyl I can just push a button for old fashioned stereo. But good movies (not all) are always impressive, and just yesterday I actually got up to see what was going on outside my door and it was just the football game I was watching! It's almost eerie how spacious this system can make a small room feel.
I really think most of the bad press about Bose is simply due to poor DIY installation/calibration. Any audiophile knows placement is everything, and I have NEVER had this level of image and definition in my life, and I am used to spending a lot more for my sound systems. Not to mention racks and racks of equipment, wires, power strips, giant speakers, etc.
Besides, sound is highly subjective, and if I'm happy then who cares what others think. But my closest friend who is an avid sound nut just loves this equipment. It's much more than all the Internet chatter would indicate.
And I think we need to factor in individual taste. Most on here are familiar with my unconventional setup that, despite being a bit of an abortion in terms of component selection, and most CERTAINLY not "audiophile grade" with my big Yorkville amp and Bravox subs (I added a 2000W capable EDX since we last discussed this...), puts any cinema I've been in to shame in terms of sound reproduction. (And feel free to use that comparison as your benchmark for judging my criteria for sound here, I've never professed to be any sort of audiophile and would never commit to the amount of money it requires to achieve that "status")
Bass that gives you heart palpitations and clean, clear sound at the volumes that I find necessary to make an action movie "work" for me.
But my wife hates it.
She finds the bass overwhelming.
I like movies loud. I like my music loud. But I can't stand either if they aren't clean. My setup does that job.
Ultimately, just like with cars, we need to find what works for us. We are all different and just because some magazine critic says you need 50K worth of McIntosh gear setup by a Swedish surgeon who moonlights as the soundstage designer for the philharmonic doesn't mean that for your ear, it is going to be "the best".
