Epiphany maybe? Getting rid of the complicated HT stuff
stangman67
Posts: 2,289
Hey polkies ,
I was talking to my dad yesterday. He is moving into a new house and looking to upgrade his stereo. He has an endlessly complicated HT/2 channel hybrid and is looking to move up in the world. Since he listens to 99 percent music, I suggested he stop trying to mix the two purposes and get rid of the HT side. Main reason is needing a matching center and stuff really limits your speaker choices and needing 5 or 7 channels of amplication limits electronic choices.
I think he took it on board, and as I was saying this I thought “why the hell am I not taking my own advice?”. I wish I had this conversation a few months ago and it might have changed my calculus with equipment changes.
I am thinking about forgoing they HT side of my stereo upstairs. IE get rid of the Marantz processor, the B&K 7 channel, the sub and the surrounds. This prevents me from having to spend 4K on the matching kanta center and simplify upgrades in the future as I won’t be chasing two separate goals. We use upstairs for football and other sports and occasionally movies but the vast majority of my time upstairs is spent listening 2 channel. What I would end up doing is going full Sonos up there with the arc sound bar, sub and Sonos surrounds. I have a simpler Sonos setup downstairs and honestly it sounds pretty darn good. It won’t be near equal of what I have upstairs but it’s a simpler setup that my wife will actually understand to use and such. She is completely onboard, just not sure if I am going to regret it. Anyone done this and have any opinions/suggestions?
Thanks- Zach
I was talking to my dad yesterday. He is moving into a new house and looking to upgrade his stereo. He has an endlessly complicated HT/2 channel hybrid and is looking to move up in the world. Since he listens to 99 percent music, I suggested he stop trying to mix the two purposes and get rid of the HT side. Main reason is needing a matching center and stuff really limits your speaker choices and needing 5 or 7 channels of amplication limits electronic choices.
I think he took it on board, and as I was saying this I thought “why the hell am I not taking my own advice?”. I wish I had this conversation a few months ago and it might have changed my calculus with equipment changes.
I am thinking about forgoing they HT side of my stereo upstairs. IE get rid of the Marantz processor, the B&K 7 channel, the sub and the surrounds. This prevents me from having to spend 4K on the matching kanta center and simplify upgrades in the future as I won’t be chasing two separate goals. We use upstairs for football and other sports and occasionally movies but the vast majority of my time upstairs is spent listening 2 channel. What I would end up doing is going full Sonos up there with the arc sound bar, sub and Sonos surrounds. I have a simpler Sonos setup downstairs and honestly it sounds pretty darn good. It won’t be near equal of what I have upstairs but it’s a simpler setup that my wife will actually understand to use and such. She is completely onboard, just not sure if I am going to regret it. Anyone done this and have any opinions/suggestions?
Thanks- Zach
2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave
2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
Comments
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I've had a separate two channel system for the last 20 years. My 7.2.2 home theater system is in a larger room with the L800s and L400 up front. I upgraded from a good receiver to an excellent AV processor and amps to match the capabilities of the speakers for music listening on the home theater system. It still doesn't come close to the purity of the music in the separate two channel system. It is excellent sounding but I think that's thanks to the spaciousness the L800s provide in the room. The Magnepan 1.7i do that too but those are hard to fit into a home theater system because they're not dynamic enough.
Having a big screen TV and all the other stuff in the home theater has always compromised the stereo listening experience but if someone only has room for one system I would recommend trying to maximize it for both music and home theater. The center speaker is critical for the full movie experience. The L800s are the first speakers that I really enjoy music on in the home theater room. -
I've been running a separate ht, all in ceiling with an ib subwoofer... Completely independent of my 2 channel.
Best decision I ever made and is much easier for the family to use since the TV remote controls the ht- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
Yea seems like the convivence piece would also sway us into using upstairs more too. I think I have pretty much convinced myself this is the right move. Just need to figure out what my equipment rack setup is gonna be now. I think I can get everything on the rack below the TV now and the other rack can go away (makes me a bit sad because I love that rack). Thinking Modwright amp , streamer, power conditioner down below. Record player, preamp, phono pre-amp on the top shelf. Only issue is the record player is gonna be a bit low but I can get over that I think
2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave
2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius -
Could always do a wall mounted shelf for the TT, or put it over here instead:
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I personally would regret no having a good HT setup, but I will admit my two channel in the main living area sounds awesome for about 95% of what we watch - sports and tv shows. But I really like being able to slide into the theater room to watch movies or shows like the watchmen or stranger things.
It is definitely simpler to separate them…Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
I'm in that same boat. Gonna get rid of the HT. Why ? It hasn't been turned on in almost 3 years. Wife always complained it was too loud but since she's been working from home now I can't turn it on. At night, it's too loud for her to watch her shows in another room. I like to listen at close to reference levels, no point in listening at low volumes imho. So now I'm kinda forced to listen to movies at normal volumes and the subwoofer and speakers become just objects in the room.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
With my home theater system, most of the time for TV listening I just turn on the front soundstage and subwoofers. The surrounds and Atmos modules are on a separate 7 channel amp that only gets turned on for movies on disc. The L800s do an admirable job of creating a wide soundfield without the surrounds turned on but there's no substitute for immersion with a full setup.
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A lot has to do with your available space. When we moved back to our house we just didn't have room for 2 systems. Got rid of the HT and never looked back...Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me
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I ditched my ht rig years ago for a soundbar and bt sub and even that barely gets used.
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People have different needs, wants, and situations.
When I watch TV in stereo I have a harder time hearing or understanding dialog at times. The Mrs. noticed the same thing. I've tried it with different brands of speakers, many presented a nice phantom center. The little KEF speakers were good at this also. However, as soon as the center is turned on, TV & movie watching LIFE is good again! Phantom center can't match 3.1, 5.1, etc.
While I don't always turn on the surrounds, and the sub/s volume goes up and down, the center channel is hear to stay!
Here's Why Movie Dialogue Has Gotten More Difficult To Understand (And Three Ways To Fix It)
Read More: https://www.slashfilm.com/673162/heres-why-movie-dialogue-has-gotten-more-difficult-to-understand-and-three-ways-to-fix-it/?utm_campaign=clip2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2 -
Dialog intelligibility is quite a bit better on the Reserve and Legend line center speakers than on the LSiM line. They should have made an additional smaller center speaker choice for the Legend line IMHO.
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Dialog intelligibility is quite a bit better on the Reserve and Legend line center speakers than on the LSiM line. They should have made an additional smaller center speaker choice for the Legend line IMHO.
You know, I actually asked a question during their Reserve press event about center channels.
Both the Legend and Reserve offer 5-1/4" bookies up to large 8"-10" woofer towers. Why does the Reserve line not offer a large 3-way center channel? The R400 should have been that. The Legend line for sure should have a small center. They offer five different lines of speakers, it seems this would make sense for the two higher end lines. Heck, an L800 owner with a 70"-80" TV and high power dynamic theater system might want an even bigger horizontal center with dual or larger woofers!
Of course a full blown L800 projection theater might have an L600 or an L800 (Not sure how to make it work) across the front.
2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2 -
Dialog intelligibility is quite a bit better on the Reserve and Legend line center speakers than on the LSiM line. They should have made an additional smaller center speaker choice for the Legend line IMHO.
Yes, as an older guy I noticed a big difference with the L400 compared to the LSiM 704 center as far as dialog.Yamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables. -
Appreciate all the comments everyone! I went ahead and committed. And I feel really good about it. Bought the Sonos arc sound bar, sub, and a pair of SL1’s as surrounds. I don’t have the sub yet, but the performance of the sound bar and surrounds alone seems more than adequate for me!2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave
2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius -
stangman67 wrote: »Appreciate all the comments everyone! I went ahead and committed. And I feel really good about it. Bought the Sonos arc sound bar, sub, and a pair of SL1’s as surrounds. I don’t have the sub yet, but the performance of the sound bar and surrounds alone seems more than adequate for me!
But does it get BBC?
