Sander deWaal wrote:
said:
- Ever seen someone with 5.1 ears? So, what does that tell you? -
It tells me that you don't care for the fact that ears are perfectly
capable of hearing 5 or more separate sources of sound, and that you
may not have ever heard a properly set up 5.1 setup.
Delusions of omniscience noted (© Arny Krueger).
I only listen to music, for which stereo is enough in my case.
I don't need weird, artificial reflections from the rear and a booming
sub to go with it.
Who said anything about weird or artificial? Not that it really
matters, My only concern is, does it improve the experience or not? If
you watch a scene in a movie that has jets flying overhead or bullets
flying by, then having the sound travel from front to rear or vice
versa adds to the dram and realism IMO.
As for sub-woofers, they have the same job as other speakers, to
produce the sound that was recorded, nothing more, and there is plenty
of music that has content in the bottom octaves, that makes a
sub-woofer an added benefit IMO.
When you listen to live music, the sound bounces around the room,
arriving at your ears at different times. Multi-channel recordings are
trying to accomplish the same thing, and I suppose you might say it is
done with various levels of success. If you're happy with simple 2
channel listening, fine, but as the technology moves on, there will no
doubt be improvements in 5.1, 6.1 or whatever number of channels is
determined optimum.
I've heard some very good 2 channel recordings that gave me the
impression that the sound was moving from front to back. Of course
music other than pop/rock, etc. tend not to have use for such things,
but I and probably you listen to more than one kind of music.
Well recorded music in 5.1 is a treat to my ears, it's just a pity
there isn't more of it IMO.
I do prefer DTS to Dolby though, especially for movies. The scene in
War of the Worlds where the lightening bolts are being observed by Tom
Cruise and Dakota Fanning are much more impressive and tension inducing
in DTS, and the film O Brother Where Art Thou, and Peter Gabriel's
concert videos all sound better to me in DTS.
Now that you mention it, I *might* not have ever heard a properly set
up 5.1 system.
I only installed many of them, and adjusted them per the manuals.
Ergo: either the manuals are all wrong, or there's something wrong
with the standard.
Or you just don't like it. It's still and always has been a matter of
choice.
--
As with regular 2 channel recordings, the really good ones are few and
far between.
A good one IMO is Last of the Mohicans where the extra channels add
depth and give the viewer/listener a better sense of being in the
places where the movie is set.