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In Reply to: Re: Impressions of Surround Sound... posted by John C. - Aussie on December 30, 2001 at 12:06:23:
My impression is properly set up stereo speakers do just a good if not better job than the centre speaker. When I switch to stereo mode, the soundstage is greater and the voices are clearer than with the centre only. Plus you are still left with the impression the voices are coming from the TV.I am coming to HT from stereo. My stereo setup is well balanced and adding HT was done as inexpensively as possible. There may be more if I had better centre and surround speakers, but the cost is more than I am willing to spend. Music still sounds better in 2 channel. At the same time I don't have the quality of setup that you do John. You have obviously spent a lot of time and money getting everything just right. I find that movies at home are still an inferior experience to what you get in a top rate movie theatre.
Follow Ups:
Estes,Center channel speaker quality is an issue, but see my other response to your setup and calibration issues.
I'm able to get outstanding sound from my HT (with the SH500) that bests any local movie theater I go to, even an IMAX theater I was in recently.
So don't sell your system short just yet, try some actual calibration efforts and then let us know how it went.
bstan
You didn't like the IMAX?!?! Aside from the picture quality that kills ANY home theatre setup, I have found the sound to be better than the typical movie house. Heck the best Rolling Stones concert I have been too was in an Imax theatre ;-)That said, I have been to movie theatres in numerous cities and I have found great variability. At their very best the movie palaces of old with 70mm screens are truly wonderful. Unfortunately few of those remain and their numbers are decreasing.
Agreed, picture quality was outstanding at all three IMAX theaters I've been to.The San Jose IMAX does not have good sound, the Luxor in Las Vegas does have great sound (picture and ambience are the best I've ever experienced), and all the theaters I've been to in Silicon Valley have terrible sound.
An interesting aside, the Luxor's IMAX has automated metal seat bars that lock you in your seat, because they don't want the realism to knock you out of your seat.
No matter the format, DD5.1 or DTS, I find most theaters just don't get the calibration right and/or play the volume at really extreme levels (depends on how crowded the theater is).
bstan
When viewing many DVDs, I have my volume set somewhere between -6dB and 0dB for the level of sound I'm projecting into my listening environment, a medium-large room (19' x13' x8-12').I didn't want you to think I don't appreciate what the director has produced. Some movies also supply higher quality sound (less soundstage voiceovers) and actually sound more fluid.
bstan
Hi bstan: Hope you are having a happy New Year! Yes sound quality does vary alot as does the picture quality. I have had similar experiences as yours in Imax theatres. I find that I complain a lot more than I used to of out of focus movies, etc. The same applies to the mastering process for DVDs, some are so poor you can hardly hear what is being said or are very fuzzy. Levels are all over the map. Yet there is some great stuff that I can watch dozens of times (Rio Bravo and Run Silent, Run Deep come to mind). Both were done before fancy electronics took over. Simplier is sometimes better.
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