PS Audio - Surround Sound not more popular with Audiophiles?

[mandrix]

My wife could listen to anything in mono, she don't care.

 

[Wagonmaster_91]

I am careful about talking up 5.1, 7.1 or Atmos to my friends. When I play them music they usually assume it sounds so good and immersive because I have good equipment, five speakers on the floor, four in the ceiling and three subs. "That must be why background vocals seem to be coming from behind me and some sounds even above my head." They also comment that you can't see a single wire running to/from the speakers or equipment.
I have found that if I explain what is happening too much, the next thing they want to know is when can I come over to their house and a install a system in their listening area. I have to crawl through my own attic enough, thank you. I'm not looking to crawl through their attics which usually aren't as accessible as mine.

 

[Marplot]

Ah, my friends helped me run the 4 in the ceiling so if they ask for help I have no choice but to reply in kind.
I hope they do though since it would increase the music I can listen to without breaking the bank. (Ok we all know the bank is already broken and the piggy is hiding)

 

[marpow]

My wife could listen to anything in mono, she don't care.

Same.

 

[ar surround]

My wife could listen to anything in mono, she don't care.

Same.

Ditto.

 

[ar surround]

I have found that if I explain what is happening too much, the next thing they want to know is when can I come over to their house and a install a system in their listening area.

I WISH my friends would ask me to come over and help them install a surround sound system. To them, audio is just not worth the hassle of more than two speakers.

 

[esimms86]

I am careful about talking up 5.1, 7.1 or Atmos to my friends. When I play them music they usually assume it sounds so good and immersive because I have good equipment, five speakers on the floor, four in the ceiling and three subs. "That must be why background vocals seem to be coming from behind me and some sounds even above my head." They also comment that you can't see a single wire running to/from the speakers or equipment.
I have found that if I explain what is happening too much, the next thing they want to know is when can I come over to their house and an install a system in their listening area. I have to crawl through my own attic enough, thank you. I'm not looking to crawl through their attics which usually aren't as accessible as mine.

Try playing back the same recording for them in stereo and surround. You wouldn’t need to ask any questions. Anyway, most people won’t want to go down the surround rabbit hole when faced with the investment in time and money. Honestly, most people are happy with a Sonos or a soundbar.

 

[Rhinojack]

I have an ATMOS set-up that could and should be a lot better than it is. 7.1 speaker set up with the heights angled on top of my tall speakers to reflect (minimally) off the ceiling with a couple of satellites speakers on each side. Any ATMOS I've played is just kind of meh though of course sounds really good. My new apartment isn't speaker arrangement friendly short of having to hide wires across the floor and up the walls. Anyway, I feel that I've never truly experienced it the way it is designed, and often feel standard side surround showcases the concept better. This is very obvious when comparing the ATMOS mix with the 5.1 mix in a lot of cases on certain Bu-rays.

 

[esimms86]

I have an ATMOS set-up that could and should be a lot better than it is. 7.1 speaker set up with the heights angled on top of my tall speakers to reflect (minimally) off the ceiling with a couple of satellites speakers on each side. Any ATMOS I've played is just kind of meh though of course sounds really good. My new apartment isn't speaker arrangement friendly short of having to hide wires across the floor and up the walls. Anyway, I feel that I've never truly experienced it the way it is designed, and often feel standard side surround showcases the concept better. This is very obvious when comparing the ATMOS mix with the 5.1 mix in a lot of cases on certain Bu-rays.

Much has been written about how having angled height speakers sitting on top of floorstanders is suboptimal for Dolby Atmos. Anyway, we all have to live within what our domestic spaces allow. 5.1 is also amazingly rewarding.

 

[DuncanS]

I don't hate Atmos, but I feel that there are many more blasé professional Atmos mixes than quad and 5.1 mixes. But I'm weird...I prefer to watch movies in stereo and listen to music in surround. So there.

That sounds normal to me!

 

[esimms86]

I WISH my friends would ask me to come over and help them install a surround sound system. To them, audio is just not worth the hassle of more than two speakers.

Most people that I know are content with a single Bluetooth speaker. That includes my wife.

 

[Glentheed]

My wife could listen to anything in mono, she don't care.

My wife is the same.

 

[armyjazzer]

My wife is the same.

My wife also.

I wonder if it is another male/female difference, since most of the stereo and surround enthusiasts seem to be men. There are always exceptions to the norm of course.

 

[ar surround]

My wife could listen to anything in mono, she don't care.

I'm sorry, but I there are times when I simply cannot Help (ahem...) myself:

She's gotta listen in mono
She's gotta listen in mo....no
She's gotta listen in mono
But she don't care



Geez, that was bad.

 

[AudiophileStyle]

When I met my wife, she was playing CDs in the DVD player that was in her all-in-one 25 inch TV. The sound coming out of the tiny speakers below the screen was good enough for her. She didn't even know something better existed.

To me it's all about options. I like having options. Nothing is best for everyone. When mono transitioned to stereo, many people were up in arms and claimed it was just a ploy by the manufacturers to make more money. This same sentiment has been expressed by people at almost every technological change in audio since that time in the late 1950s.

People now claiming that Atmos is a solution looking for a problem, could've said the same thing, and likely did if they were alive, when mono > stereo > quad > 5.1 > 7.1 > Atmos etc... We all like what we like and that's just fine.

I look at immersive audio as the first time we have speaker placement in new locations and a format that adapts to whatever the environment is. That's a real solution in my opinion. With respect to the mixes, Atmos music is so knew that the engineers are still a ways away from perfecting it. The engineers I talk to who mix this stuff, wish they could go back, even a few years ago, and make changes to what they mixed in Atmos becuase of what they've learned. It will only get better.

 

[jane23]

The first trombone not on "Mars"? I listened but didn't hear it.

 

[briscoeadams]

Here is what I think!

Back in the 60’s and 70’s when I started buying albums and lots of them, each one was like its own experience. It was a sit down, listen and pay attention to the music, the production, the quality. Then invite friends to listen and enjoy the experience. Listening to the album again and again was an experience.

When CDs came out, the hype was digital and what you here should sound just like the master tape. Many CDs were transferred with very poor quality, many where the vinyl counterpart was much cleaner. The “DDD” cds were better sounding but were still lacking in frequency range, compared to today.

DVD-Audio was better with better frequency range, but many were mixed from poor masters. 5.1 audio was at times gimmicky. I do have to say there are some DVD-A that sound better than the Atmos version

Dolby Atmos makes me feel like a kid again. My system is 7.1.4. With each Atmos disc I get, it is an experience. Sit down and listen or stand and listen or walk around the room and listen. The Blu-ray frequency range is so much more. As an example, listening to The Beatles Abbey Road in Dolby Atmos, there are so many things I hear now that I hadn’t noticed, that were buried before in Stereo. Some of the mixes are different and should be for this technology. Some productions are gimmicky and not done well, but that has always been the case since stereo began.

When I pull out an already listened to Dolby Atmos Disc, that same listening experience of buying albums is back, and yes, I invite friends to listen.