Hey everyone!

[Stephen Michael]

Hi all, have started to buy atmos mixes recently and come here to lurk to see opinions on the latest and upcoming releases. I only have a samsung q series soundbar set up, with rears but it sounds great to me. My other half won't let me have a full set up anyway so not an option, lol.

 

[GOS]

Welcome, please say goodbye to your wallet. As of today, it no longer has anything in it, except receipts. That's all.

 

[stoopid]

Hi all, have started to buy atmos mixes recently and come here to lurk to see opinions on the latest and upcoming releases. I only have a samsung q series soundbar set up, with rears but it sounds great to me. My other half won't let me have a full set up anyway so not an option, lol.

I have a modest 5.1 (non atmos) setup, you don't need to be at the bleeding edge to have a nice sound system nowadays.

Tech like the Samsung Q soundbar have been discussed in the past here, some pan it as a gimmick but understanding how sound works (reflection, timing to ears, etc) this is certainly a reasonable path forward and one that, with lower initial overall cost (time/effort/money) for the listener, may ensure more people get into the surround space at home. I've not yet personally heard a system using this 'phantom' atmos tech, but there's plenty of reviewers in the past couple years that give it a tepid thumbs up. Nothing beats dedicated speakers in the right positions, but at the cost of entry (time/effort/money) these are a viable option. "Better than nothing" as they say.

GOS jokes not about collecting surround releases (and/or dumping money into that 'proper' atmos setup). There's a lot of physical releases in 5.1 (and Quad/4.0) that may never see an Atmos remix. Players that can handle all the old formats, in addition to the newer bluray formats, are getting hard to come by. Many of us juggle two or more players to ensure backwards compatibility with all our various discs. Some rip the content from the discs and host it digitally on a home server, streaming it to their home theater. Obviously there's pros and cons to whatever strategy is chosen.

 

[Stephen Michael]

Welcome, please say goodbye to your wallet. As of today, it no longer has anything in it, except receipts. That's all.

Funny you say that, just shelled out for Kraftwerk's 3d 12345678 blu ray set thanks to a link from here

 

[Stephen Michael]

I have a modest 5.1 (non atmos) setup, you don't need to be at the bleeding edge to have a nice sound system nowadays.

Tech like the Samsung Q soundbar have been discussed in the past here, some pan it as a gimmick but understanding how sound works (reflection, timing to ears, etc) this is certainly a reasonable path forward and one that, with lower initial overall cost (time/effort/money) for the listener, may ensure more people get into the surround space at home. I've not yet personally heard a system using this 'phantom' atmos tech, but there's plenty of reviewers in the past couple years that give it a tepid thumbs up. Nothing beats dedicated speakers in the right positions, but at the cost of entry (time/effort/money) these are a viable option. "Better than nothing" as they say.

GOS jokes not about collecting surround releases (and/or dumping money into that 'proper' atmos setup). There's a lot of physical releases in 5.1 (and Quad/4.0) that may never see an Atmos remix.

All I know, it sounds pretty good to me in a lounge it's pretty suited to

 

[austinsignal]

Welcome! No shame in a good soundbar + surround setup. It's a great way to watch and listen....I personally would love to have a living room with nothing but speakers in it. Who needs a coffee table? My wife - not so much.

 

[Fourplay]

I only have a samsung q series soundbar set up, with rears but it sounds great to me. My other half won't let me have a full set up anyway so not an option, lol.

Let's just call your soundbar "gateway technology." My advice to you is to buy some music she likes in the surround format (Joni?) and get her quad curious. Then on every birthday say all you really want is a true surround system. See where that gets you. Good luck!

 

[Stephen Michael]

Welcome! No shame in a good soundbar + surround setup. It's a great way to watch and listen....I personally would love to have a living room with nothing but speakers in it. Who needs a coffee table? My wife - not so much.

I've thought about trading but no one would take her

 

[stoopid]

I've thought about trading but no one would take her

The rules when we moved into our house 6 years ago was that the speaker cables needed to be mostly hidden. Used some plastic track and painted it with some leftover paint from when they did the living room. Blends in quite well. The rear speaker wires run along the base board with wiring nails to hold it firmly in place. The speaker wire is white to match the baseboard, which does help to blend it without needing to run 25 feet of track.

Now ceiling mounting would be trickier, I've seen ceiling mounted setups using painted track as I describe and even my eyes can't pretend they're not seeing it. If you had drop/tiled ceiling in the living room area, it would be easier to run the wire out of view, but in most homes it's too much work (especially for casual use) or you live with the eye sore (*). That's where the phantom tech comes in, provides much of the experience sans a bit of the audiophile polish, but at a very low cost in time/effort.

(*) I don't find 5 sections of 6 foot track cleanly/directly leading up to the base of a wall mounted speaker as visually distracting as 12+ feet of track running all the way up a wall and part way onto the ceiling to a hanging speaker. If the speaker could be mounted flush in the wall and cable run behind the wall that would be ideal, but aside from new construction this is a daunting task to execute in most existing homes.

** found a pic taken shortly after everything was moved in and the speakers put up.

 

[dr. simple]

Welcome, please say goodbye to your wallet. As of today, it no longer has anything in it, except receipts. That's all.

Seriously, this place is like the opposite of "anythings anonymous". We don't beat our addiction; we make it worse! All I need is a couple members here to say that the Atmos mix of "Moving Pictures" is way better than the previous 5.1 mix, and poof! $150 just disappeared.

Which reminds me - $150 for that box was a good deal, and good deals (most often learned of HERE) also make me buy things I don't need. I was perfectly happy with the SACD of "Madman Across The Water", but show me a good deal on the deluxe box that doesn't have anything my Elton John SACDs don't have, and poof! There goes $40 more.

 

[Chronic Quadraphonic]

Funny you say that, just shelled out for Kraftwerk's 3d 12345678 blu ray set thanks to a link from here

I’ll be seeing Kraftwerk perform on March 29 at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago.

 

[key_wiz]

Let's just call your soundbar "gateway technology." My advice to you is to buy some music she likes in the surround format (Joni?) and get her quad curious. Then on every birthday say all you really want is a true surround system. See where that gets you. Good luck!

Yep. My guess is very few of us, if any, started with the types of systems we have now. We all started with transistor radios, or something similar, and worked our way up from there, each new upgrade being a welcome and much enjoyed improvement over what we had before. Few people go from A to Z in one bite whether that is due to cost restrictions or space restrictions or we simply haven’t developed an ear or taste for something “more”.

The point, as always, is enjoying the music!

 

[GOS]

When I was a young kid (8-10 years), I had a red Realistic AM radio that I kept in my bedroom window. Every night I would listen to WLS and all the excellent music they played. That was around 1970-1972.

In my young teen years, obviously I had no money and even though I worked on the family farm, I didn't get paid. That said, my oldest brother had moved out and left his Craig underdash 8-track player. I fabricated a stereo in my room with a car battery, the 8-track and some speakers I stole out of my dads Zenith console stereo. (well, borrowed)

Finally, I got a job detassling corn and walking beans and bought my first "system". It was a Kenwood system with receiver, turntable and 2 speakers. I was on my way. I bought the system at K-Mart. Yes, K-Mart.

I've never been the same since. lol

 

[stoopid]

I had a boom box, then one of those Yorx systems as a kid mid '80s. Despite being from a lower income household, both myself and my parents always tried to keep decent stereos and music around. My first Pioneer component system in college was a splurge, but man that thing rocked. I've tempered my spending after buying up and realizing 98% of the way there was good enough. We all find out sweet spot if not chasing some dubious ideal.

[I think mine was blue?]

 

[4-earredwonder]

When I was a young kid (8-10 years), I had a red Realistic AM radio that I kept in my bedroom window. Every night I would listen to WLS and all the excellent music they played. That was around 1970-1972.

In my young teen years, obviously I had no money and even though I worked on the family farm, I didn't get paid. That said, my oldest brother had moved out and left his Craig underdash 8-track player. I fabricated a stereo in my room with a car battery, the 8-track and some speakers I stole out of my dads Zenith console stereo. (well, borrowed)

Finally, I got a job detassling corn and walking beans and bought my first "system". It was a Kenwood system with receiver, turntable and 2 speakers. I was on my way. I bought the system at K-Mart. Yes, K-Mart.

I've never been the same since. lol

"Realistically" speaking, Gene...we ALL started out small. My first real job at 15 was working for the County Of Westchester and the pay was a 'measly' $1.25 an hour. With tax taken out, I'd work 96 hours and get paid $96 [we were paid every two weeks]! In those days I was an 'auteur' shooting 8mm and later Super 8mm movies and all my hard earned wages went towards editing equipment and film/processing expenses! And yes, Lafayette Electronics with their 'realistic' brand of speakers/components also factored into my life! They even sold Open Reel Tapes!

Nowadays, after my salary exponentially increased [and so did my taxes!!!!!], I have a lovely state of the art system and my penchant for 'cinema' is NOW confined to watching other peoples' films. Ironic, since a basic iPhone is now capable of shooting in 8K [no more film/processing BS] and I have no desire to pick up a camera....but EVERYTHING does sound more REALISTIC than ever!

 

[barfle]

Hi all, have started to buy atmos mixes recently and come here to lurk to see opinions on the latest and upcoming releases. I only have a samsung q series soundbar set up, with rears but it sounds great to me. My other half won't let me have a full set up anyway so not an option, lol.

Like everyone else here, your starter system is just a gateway drug. The high you get from that just feeds the needs. No reason for apologies, as we know that our systems expand as finances and other circumstances allow. I finally have a room pretty well suited to what I wanted for about sixty years, but it’s far from stagnant. moving ahead fairly often.

Welcome to the worst group of addicts I’ve run across. No counseling here - we’re all into the joys of sound.

 

[Shermatz]

The rules when we moved into our house 6 years ago was that the speaker cables needed to be mostly hidden. Used some plastic track and painted it with some leftover paint from when they did the living room. Blends in quite well. The rear speaker wires run along the base board with wiring nails to hold it firmly in place. The speaker wire is white to match the baseboard, which does help to blend it without needing to run 25 feet of track.

Now ceiling mounting would be trickier, I've seen ceiling mounted setups using painted track as I describe and even my eyes can't pretend they're not seeing it. If you had drop/tiled ceiling in the living room area, it would be easier to run the wire out of view, but in most homes it's too much work (especially for casual use) or you live with the eye sore (*). That's where the phantom tech comes in, provides much of the experience sans a bit of the audiophile polish, but at a very low cost in time/effort.

(*) I don't find 5 sections of 6 foot track cleanly/directly leading up to the base of a wall mounted speaker as visually distracting as 12+ feet of track running all the way up a wall and part way onto the ceiling to a hanging speaker. If the speaker could be mounted flush in the wall and cable run behind the wall that would be ideal, but aside from new construction this is a daunting task to execute in most existing homes.

** found a pic taken shortly after everything was moved in and the speakers put up.

View attachment 112717

Oh man, I'm not gonna drag you too far into the weeds here, but circa 1986 or so, I had to remove the decrepit plaster & lath ceiling in my living room, & before getting it drywalled, I built four ceiling mount shelves with corresponding speaker wire to enable a 4.0 quad array. I know audio purists decry ceiling mounts BUT floor space is at a high premium, and this arrangement has just plain served me well both acoustically & aesthetically for the decades following. Maybe 5 years ago, with some truly vexatious retrofitting, I was able to add side ceiling mount surround speakers, extending the full array to 7.1, which is where I'm just gonna "declare victory" & live happily ever after.

As in so many other of life's endeavors, I started from where I was & built by inches over time. I was VERY fortunate in that I had (and have been able to stay put in) my 1918 vintage "Batcave" here, and have nibbled around the edges to make AV improvements as new superpowers came onto market.

I agree that ragged, exposed speaker wire runs are a 100% dealbreaker, BUT to each their own. I can completely relate to the baffled 1971 consumers who flinched & rejected the newfangled quad rigs, with all the extra speaker wire, placement, expensive new styli & cartridge, etc., "who needs it"?!?! Despite the steep hills to climb, I still thought the quadraphonic ideal was still worth grasping for, and I was thrilled to see the new "home theater" AC3 receivers emerge in the '90's, pumping some new life into the by-then archaic quad mirage.