Just last night while listening to Steve Wilson’s spectacular Dolby ATMOS remix of XTC’s Skylarking on my new 7.1 system with 4 subs, I was ruminating how so many audiophiles still listen to their music on absolutely insanely priced STEREO all analogue systems with pricey turntables, step up phono transformers and exotic speakers costing thousands on the best custom pressed vinyl available and will NEVER experience the total immersive qualities of a state of the art SURROUND system.
Because of all the negative vibes their beloved Audiophile rags have spewed for years about how degrading the transition from analogue to digital has ‘poisoned’ the music they will never make the connection that in the past 10 years Digital has come a long way. And that remixing in surround has allowed the inner detail of most recordings to expand and lavish the listener with a new sensation unobtainable in two channels only.
While this thread is dedicated to older formats …. My take is that it’s all that we had way back when and I for one don’t ever want to return to that period of low image video quality and sub par casssette decks and even Pioneer’s laserdisc format … all of which I spent a considerable fortune on to have the best formats available but which I in no way MISS!
My only regret is that a lot of our favorites recorded treasures, past and present, will most probably NEVER be awarded a surround remix which still makes RBCD and even vinyl preferable for a lot of collectors.
But at least with digital we still have the option to cheat by employing the DSP modes on our pre pro and even with the surround master [which I don’t yet own] to allow all recordings to render a faux surround soundstage…something a two channel system is just not capable of.
And the real irony …. MOST of the world continue to watch films on their IPhones and even listen to music on their ear buds which further deters the music industry from issuing more of their vast catalogues into SURROUND!
My storage space is still littered with remnants from the past ….;VHS/Beta/even Hi 8 HI FI decks and multiple laserdisc players and even two DAT players and a Nakamichi cassette player but honestly my philosophy is LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE!
