When I was young I really like surround sound. My dad had a 5.1 surround system and it was awesome at the time.
But now I get older I prefer simpler good ol' stereo. The whizzing spaceship sounds all around you get tiring after awhile.
Moreover, many surround sound design were so exaggerated it's annoying. It's fine for some 5 minutes tech demo to wow people but for a 2 hours movie? No thanks.
I live in a small apartment so I really have no choice, no room for a home theater. I suppose I could invest in a good quality soundbar, but I mostly listen to movies with headphones. I like that for clear dialogue.
System
Totem Acoustic Arro loudspeakers
Bel Canto Design C5i integrated amplifier
Bryston BDP Pi Digital Music Player
Wow I don't even know what brands yours are. Mine are just of mainsteram brands.
A pair of Bose active speakers connected to my PC. I also have a JBL bluetooth speaker. Headphones are a wireless Jabra, a wired Beats, and a wired Sennheiser. I don't like the Sennheiser, it has no bass.
I never took to this new fangled surround sound business so it's stereo for me.
Stereo because surround sound is always either way too loud or way too quiet. Or at least mine have been
shareI was thinking about getting Bose for Xmas.
shareBose is good. Overpriced, sure. But except for Chinese non-brands, what is not nowadays?
shareNice and expensive. I like it.
shareYou want expensive? Consider that this is now ten years old...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXZEEouAqWo&t=3m30s
I'll just add diamonds into my Bose until it reaches $1 million. Probably sounds the same.
shareI kept buying different "sound bars" over the years , but found it didn't make a huge difference in my enjoyment of the movie. My mother in law has the bose speakers mounted completely around her living room. That sounds pretty good.
shareI've never tried soundbars. I'm not sure the size of speakers inside them is big enough to produce adequate quality sound.
shareI'm not sure but I kept buying these long rectangular speakers that fit under your tv. It was supposed to give good sound. I ended up tossing them in my last move.
shareMy tv has large protruding legs so I can't fit a soundbar under it.
shareWhy does this conversation sound weird and disturbing.
shareLol.
shareMy setup is such that a soundbar won't fit (despite what I wrote above). If I was in the market for one, I'd skim threw these reviews to understand what to expect, and what not to except, for particular price points.
https://www.soundandvision.com/category/soundbar-reviews
One of the only times I was in a home that had surround sound, it was so loud as to be annoying. I don't need helicopters sounding like they are landing in the living room. And then good ol' dialog seemed to be somewhere where you might hear it or you might not. I think it's one of those things where something sounds like a good idea but it turns out not to be.
shareI did the 5.1 (and even 7.1) home theater for about 7 years; come to think of it, I have a Yamaha 5.1 sitting in the spare room that I haven't used for a few years - think about selling it but it's not taking up too much room.
share