Home Theater Q's? Hear AM at your best

[sharcnorris]

Wow, this is a great one,
I mention the Big Hollywood movie VAN HELSING tonight because today we have Home Theaters. Unseparatable are both Music listening and TV and Movie sound. We generally enjoy all these in the same room w/ the same speakers, with a big screen Video monitor. The sweet & the Bombastic.
In most homes the sound system delivers Music. 5.1 DVD's, over the air Sports ,and HDTV dramas , all in Dolby Digital. ...In addition, DVD-Audio, and SACD are high resolution MUSIC formats bringing back the openair of LP's to music. These CD's are sonic dynamite., recorded, mixed, and ment for 6 speaker systems. Here lies the differance between 5.1 now and the old DSP.
I started my rear speaker world in the 70's with Carver time delay. Calibrated correctly, a mild Concerthall effect. Matrixed from the front a mild addition that could be Quite nice especialy with electronic music of the day(larry Fast, Tang. Dream, etc.). In '82 my first STEREO VCR for Prerecorded VHS movies brought the first stereo Video to the home. Me and millions more migrated thier TV's to between thier front speakers. In '85 TV started broadcasting in DOLBY Surround with .. AMAZING STORIES. AT this time I added a Dolby Pro-logic YAMAHA add-on to my system and Independent surround was born. I too hated the Extra DSPs and took down the front "Effects speakers". But the surround worked well with programs made for it.
IN theaters in the 80's 5.1 was born. Not matrixs of the front in the rear but 6 indivdually recorded channels ,mixed for a natural experience. With sounds in the rear totaly independent from the front. The Stones, Oldfield, P.Tree, Yes, all now embrace 5.1 engineering w/ much enthusiasium in interviews.
The Point is that a great deal of software is MADE for 5.1 not just fitted to it. The new dualdisc may well indeed now have all new CD's w/the Regular and a 5.1 production on the same disc!
And your sceaming WHY! WHY!

In my reply to ZVINKI, I talk of the calapse of the image when I go from Pro-logic2 to direct. The PL-2 circut is the finest advance to Music today giving the most natural sound ever to sound.
Now, natural is YOUR quest, first as live, and then as LIKE live in your home via quality speakers IMAGING. Imaging is a function of the room acoustics as much a great speakers, 2 or 20.(zvinki PT.2)
And the 6 speaker Amps CALIBRATE for time delay and volume with accurate distance setting set in the SET-up menus. Surround is no longer guesswork or adjustment taste but very specificly set up for what the ARTISTS want you to hear. As I said to Z, the music does indeed come from positions in space, not from the boxes. Good Imaging mixed for 5.1 has Natural sound.
Quality speakers are the key, but as always position can effect imaging by just inches. My DEF TECHS have powered /built in Subbys, all 3 across the front. W/ an additional 15" LFE SUb there is no direction with my bass other than where its placed. Weightyness or Boomy bass is bad crossover , bad volume adjustment , bad sub placement, or more importantly the listener sitting against the back wall. Subs are not as nessesary for music because only a few real Instruments go that far down (organ bass pedals , keyboard based lows). They have to be carefully used.
As for receivers, the aural differance of a$400. model and a $2000. is profound! In Loud volume and or Big dynamics Sound, the smaller watt amps are just to stressed. The spaciousness crushes and Individual elements are cloaked. Thats why I recommend a $500. receiver w/ $1000. speakers a MINUMUM standard of HIGH FIDELITY.
So far this thread has just been lampooned by other members, thanx for putting in the time fingertapping me.
Basicly all tastes are different. I like the fantastical in Music,... Brainsalid, Vangelis, Los Endos, and Fantastical Movies, The Ring lords, T3, Spidy2. 5.1 fits my Lifestyle because 1 system has to do it all !! An open, spacious Aural Moon, The Patriots winning the Superbowl with the crowd cheering behind me . A richer sound for everything is possible. ...
For more mellow people, acoustic tastes, movies like THE ENGLISH PATIENT , A simpler system may be perfect for them..
When you call me "informative" I hope in a good way, Kind regards,