2 Channel as Home Theater - Stranger Things Edition

rooftop59

My daughter finally caught up to season four (which I had put off watching to wait for her) a couple of weeks ago, so we started watching the new season. We were in the main living area where my two channel is located, and the furniture is MUCH comfier than the game room/HT. I knew my wife and daughter didn't want to move, so we stayed. Once again, I was reminded how well a really good 2 channel setup can handle material intended for surround sound. While no one would be fooled into thinking sounds were coming from above or behind you, the soundstage is massive, having a slight wrap-around feeling with plenty of height and depth to provide space and some directional cues for all the different sounds. And vocals were never muddled or buried; everything was easy to follow and understand. But...this season is available in atmos, and a LOT is going on, so after 3 or 4 episodes, I said, let's go into the HT room.

All I can say is...my goodness, what a difference. This season is much more intense than previous ones, and they have taken full advantage of the atmos. I don't love metal or even hard rock, but this was one of the coolest scenes I've ever encountered. It is definitely demo-worthy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXnk3n-qNrI&t=8s

We finished season 4, and my daughter thought season 5 had already dropped (it hasn't). When we headed into the HT room, she protested, saying, "Dad, it's WAY scarier in there"

All that to say, 2 channel is great for the vast majority of the content that we watch. I definitely would cry (too much) if I lost the HT. But...on the right material, it just can't hold a candle to a good/great HT setup. @Joey_V's thread reminded me of this...

Upstatemax

Agree, 100%.

I watch a ton of stuff on my 2ch system, especially with my daughters.

We like to escape into my music room and hang out one on one and watch something great.

All the Star Wars movies, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Pirates of the Caribbean…

Yes, I have a preference for the HT and surround sound system for a lot of those movies, but nothing beats the atmosphere of hanging out with one of my daughters in “Dad’s room” and the 2ch system honestly sounds awesome still.

jbreezy5

I’ll be experimenting with this again in my living room system soon. Since recently purchasing the Audio Research SP16L, I want full frequency response capability from my speakers (vs. what my Mythos Ones are capable of), so brought my Gallo Reference 3.1s in to run using HT bypass for music, while still having 2.1 capability for movies.

So far it’s not too bad with the receiver and amp (sans SP16L).

It seems what makes or breaks this approach is if one’s set-up is capable of downmixing surround tracks to 2-channel, or not. Without this, much is left to be desired due to so much missing information from the center channel.