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RE: Analysis Paralysis

Posted by AbeCollins on October 12, 2024 at 15:21:29:
You gotta do what you gotta do based on your priorities.
I'm not sure if I mentioned that our "surround sound" setup is completely separate from the 2-channel stereo system.
When we watch movies we are using the Sonos ARC soundbar just below the TV. It emits center, left, right, and height channels. The setup also has two rear channel speakers for surround and a separate subwoofer (not the two shown in my room photo). These are wireless over Wifi so there's no cable clutter normally associated with surround sound systems.
The dialog and music levels are fine but the soundbar offers the ability to enhance dialog if desired. That feature can come in handy when viewing movies at low volume but we rarely do that. It can also be set to reduce dynamic range so extremely loud scenes (explosions or whatnot) will not have you jumping out of your seat. We don't use that either. We like to be startled.
If we're watching a concert video some of those don't sound great to begin with and I will switch between my 2-channel stereo setup and the Sonos multi-channel system. The 2-channel setup will sometimes sound better for concert videos.
In the past when I had my AV home theater receiver I would integrate it into my main 2-channel system. In other words, the amps in the AV receiver were used for all channels EXCEPT the stereo Left/Right channels which were powered by a much higher quality stereo amp. In that setup I didn't use a center channel so center channel content was fed to the Left/Right channels. I think some folks call that a "phantom" center channel and it works because you still get dialog that sounds like it's coming from the center if that's where it belongs. However, a true center channel would be better in a home theater system.
The Sonos ARC soundbar, Sonos Sub, and Sonos rear speakers do a surprisingly good job considering it's an easy to setup and use "surround sound" system. This is especially good for my wife. Turn on the TV and all the channels associated with the TV are automatically selected. She doesn't even have to turn ON my 2-channel stereo setup. It's probably one of the best "soundbar" based systems out there. If you're real serious about home theater you probably wouldn't go the soundbar route but for us it's perfect. Oh, and did I already mention that except for connecting the soundbar to the TV's eARC HDMI port all the other speakers are wireless so there are no cables running along the baseboards, under the carpet, or up in the ceiling. Setup requires the Sonos App on your iPhone.
And I still have my totally separate 2-channel system for music.
Sonos ARC soundbar, 2 wireless rear speakers, and square donut subwoofer:

Just like our Sonos system but ours is black