PS Audio - Surround Sound not more popular with Audiophiles?

[esimms86]

Downstairs at CEDIA a few years back I heard a super expensive stereo system that was absolutely breathtaking and wonderful, the best I've ever heard - but I think msrp was like a half million bucks!
If I was a billionaire I'd go for it! If I could remember what it was!

2002 CES I heard the million dollar system which - sounded crappy!

Go figure.

Probably the room setup/treatment explains it.

Edit: Now I see that it was set up in a large theater. You need to bring in experts in theater acoustics to tame a room like that. Not something you could do the night before the show.

 

[esimms86]

You certainly must have very exotic tastes in Rock & Blues, anything there was any real demand for was released on CD. I currently have over 4000+ albums stored on my drives, I'd say about 70% of it classic rock stuff 90's and earlier. I don't much collect "greatest hits" unless it's something special, like the new Chicago IX Atmos bluray.


Much more has been done from designers paying greater attention in radiation patterns of both the individual drivers and from the speakers as a whole.. The speaker/room interface has gotten an lot more attention in the last few decades. Have you read Floyd Toole's stuff?
Are multi thousand dollar beryllium tweeters worth it? Yes very marginally IF you could afford them. I can't LOL
Speaker advancement has been incremental in all areas, but it has advanced.


Sure, the High End has lost all touch with High Fidelity. It's more about bragging rights on the cost of your
system than having something that's really more accurate to the source material. But I do see some light at the
end of that tunnel with more interest being shown to the web media covering our passion from a objective and
measurement based angle. Luxury goods are nice, but many watches keep as good if not better time than some
a small fraction of the cost. The same is true for audio.

A cheap smartphone excels at keeping time.

 

[barfle]

I certainly have no problem with listening to the radio. I sort of got my "jazz education" listening to a weekly show by saxophonist David Sanborn.

My Marantz 7701 has AM and FM tuners, which I certainly used from time to time. I even have external antennas for them. The 7706 also has tuners, and they’ll be part of the program as well.

 

[mandrix]

My Marantz 7701 has AM and FM tuners, which I certainly used from time to time. I even have external antennas for them. The 7706 also has tuners, and they’ll be part of the program as well.

I took down my external antenna almost 3 years ago, and glad I did, since I got hammered with 3 hurricanes afterward.

 

[barfle]

I took down my external antenna almost 3 years ago, and glad I did, since I got hammered with 3 hurricanes afterward.

Both AM and FM antennas are whips, the AM being an old McKay Dymek amplified model. With a power cord, of course.

 

[esimms86]

My Marantz 7701 has AM and FM tuners, which I certainly used from time to time. I even have external antennas for them. The 7706 also has tuners, and they’ll be part of the program as well.

C’mon barfle, let’s be Sirius!

 

[Sal1950]

I don't think that my taste is that exotic but for whatever reason a lot of great music has never been released on CD.

That's true I guess but if large enough demand exists there's always someone willing to make a buck.
Sadly not everything I'd like to hear in multich hasn't been released either, Very far from it.
OTOH, I can't think of anything I badly want to hear on digital that's unavailable ???
How many millions of albums are being streamed today?
So much music and so little time.

 

[marpow]

I thought I would chirp in, been kind of reading this thread.
I have watched many You Tube clips from Paul, but not recently.
I own the POWER PLANT 15
The reason I stopped watching Paul and his videos, I always felt he was a little condescending. Meaning, his tone to me, is I know everything, but I am going to tell you in kind of a smug way.
That said, he most certainly knows miles more about audio reproduction than I do.
Regarding this topic thread on surround listening, I know he is not clueless to surround, he has his own probably great surround system, but as he says he is a stereo store, so of course he will downplay surround a bit.
We here at QQ find that when another downplays or isn't quite hip to surround, it's almost unbelievable to us.
Nice to know however, we are certainly being watched on the sidelines by those in the surround business and some even interact with us on QQ.
If there was a downfall to surround listening in a home, it always comes back to do I have the room and can I afford the speaker cost and layout. This is a significant problem.
Atmos headphones and sound bars help the cause, but they are not the real thing.

I am happy just to be a member of QQ with like minded people, I have learned an immense wealth of knowledge on QQ, but in my personal relationships I have changed no one.

 

[Sal1950]

I am working on modifying some NS1000 that I got with some dead wooofers. I am going to replace the woofs with eight or ten inch and quad amp them with a sub. I mostly cannot generate much enthusiasm for "Room EQ" and correction systems. I was always more of a "switch the tone controls out of the system if possible" type of audio person.

You have the time and passion to design and build your own stuff, how many others have that?
How does that relate to Joe Sixpack looking to buy a system, run the setup, then sit down and listen to the
music he loves?
We've come a long way baby.

I heard a big Atmos setup at the Chicago Audio Expo which was set up by Dolby and Emotiva. It was underwhelming. It was all movie based.
Helicopters flying overhead and rain falling are definitely not going to make me get my wallet out for Atmos. I have a musician friend here in St.Louis who has set up an Atmos system. I am trying to get over to his place to hear it.

Your choice. I added Atmos to my system back in 2017 and upgraded it twice since.
For me it's been worth every penny both for music and movie enjoyment.

If microphones have improved so much why do people pay ginormous premiums to buy ancient Neumann, Sennheiser and AKG mikes??

Nostalgia ?

I took down my external antenna almost 3 years ago, and glad I did, since I got hammered with 3 hurricanes afterward.

I bought an external antenna a bunch of years back that still sits on a shelf.
Do to lightning activity in my area I terrified to put it up.