What sparked your intrest in 2-channel?

treitz3

What was it that made you pull the trigger for a good 2-channel rig? Hearing it at a friends house, spending too much for HT and having to keep upgrading to keep up with the formats, vinyl, a killer set of speakers, it's all you could afford and have never left, you simply didn't like HT effects, room constraints, WAF, your Uncle Joe's rig when you were young...........?

When did it dawn on you 2-channel freaks that this was the direction you wanted to go?

For me it was hearing my Uncle Tommy's rig way back when I was 8 or 9 years old and then after trying HT and blowing boookoo bucks to get it up and running, only to find out the sound wasn't up to par and add to the fact that every time I turned around, I had to buy something else to be compatible....that right there made me sell all my HT gear and go 2-channel and I've been hooked ever since.

For what it's worth, I'm not looking back either.

danger boy

I never even really considered a 2 ch music only rig till i was offered up a pair of SDA SRS's. then I was hooked. Damn them.

They are gone now, but I am pretty happy where the 2 ch rig has come, to reach this point now. Still SDA's, but much smaller 2B's instead now.

ben62670

You **** did it to me! I want my money, and my life back!!!

BottomFeeder

Always loved music since I was a kid, but either couldn't afford my own rig or was focused on raising my kids. Now that they're getting closer to being grown and I actually have a tiny bit of listening time, the trigger's been pulled!

Lovin' it!

F1nut

'Cause it gets my groove on.

cmy330go

For me it was the late 90's when I bought my first set of what I call "real speakers". I started shopping with the intention of putting together a really good HT system. I ended up at a local shop that carried Marantz, Yamaha, B&W, Energy, etc... I decided to select a receiver and 2 fronts to start. Once I auditioned the fronts (Energy e:XL-28p) with the receiver (Marantz SR-5000) I was hooked. I did eventually end up completing the multi-channel setup, but I never lost the love for 2ch.

engtaz

ben62670 wrote: »

You **** did it to me! I want my money, and my life back!!!

Amen to that statement. Ain't that the truth.

engtaz

Libertyc

I was always into 2 channel. That is what stereo is...2 channel.

I guess it was my first rig back when I was 11 years old. An elerto-brand 8-track AM/FM with a pair of 2-way full range speakers. Man I loved 8-tracks.

george daniel

Always have been,always will be,, for me it started when I was in Viet Nam,the "heads" seemed to have some pretty sweet setups in their "hootch's" at the base. Since audio was on the cheap from Japan, I had a reel to reel,, a Sansui 5000x receiver and a pair of AR 4's or 4X's IIRc in my "hootch". Music was either traded/copied and sent to you from across the pond. So there you have it. Maybe that was why I felt so at home in the "woodshed" at Ted's,,small,full of gear,,great tunes,great folks,, what else could you ask for?

Early B.

My foray into 2-channel was via HT and buying Polk speakers (Rti28s and 38s). That's when I stumbled upon this forum.

I hate you guys.

skipf

It was the new thing when I got into music. They were still producing albums in mono when I started my lifelong obsession with music. Then they came out with this new fangled stereo stuff. I had a Marantz / AR rig for years when the first quadraphonic stuff hit the market. HT wasn't even thought of, so it wasn't an option.

reeltrouble1

F1nut wrote: »

'Cause it gets my groove on.

your bad, over the border bad.

WilliamM2

2 channel was all their was when I got into audio. I find the term "2 channel" kind of strange, we just called it "stereo".

janmike

It's I grew up with. You try other configurations and then back to 2CH. For me there is no other.

Sami

Like some other people here, I am old enough (36) to be from a time when stereo was all there was. For music I still listen in stereo only, none of this surround BS modes. A good home theatre rig can double as a stereo rig, it's just an extension of a stereo rig. I only have 2.1ch rigs because of multiple rooms to have music in, my HT rig is still the major stereo rig.

tonyb

Just wasn't happy with a full blown SRT system for music.Great on HT,but felt something missing in the music dept.I started wanting the best HT system and figured it had to be good for music.In retro,should be the other way around,build a system around music first.
Some of us have different needs and our systems reflect that.Sure,I would die for a 2 channel all on it's own,with some cary tube action,maybe some SP Tech speaks and so on,but my needs are a combined system.The Music that flows out of my 2 fronts was better than all 7 speakers I had before.So basically it comes down to sound quality in a 2 channel that trumps a HT rig for music.Some will disagree on that statement.

Face

Sami wrote: »

Like some other people here, I am old enough (36) to be from a time when stereo was all there was. For music I still listen in stereo only, none of this surround BS modes. A good home theatre rig can double as a stereo rig, it's just an extension of a stereo rig.

+1. Multi-channel stereo sounds like a cacophony IMO.

AndyGwis

I remember hooking up my Pioneer VSX-1015 to my Polk monitor speakers back in Dec 2005. I had received a bonus at work and after doing some research, purchased the entire HT system within a week. Put in a CD my bro had made for me and listened to Black Crows "she talks to angels." Put it on CD with fronts to Large and was floored by how good it sounded, goose bumps and everything. The euphoria eventually dissipated so I added some amps to the mix.

After getting the B&K ST-202 integrated and playing Hotel California, the sensation was back and I decided to create a music only 2-channel system with better gear.

SolidSqual

Lack of Cash. I could achieve better sound by focusing on 2 channel.

Sami

My first real system was a JVC integrated with JVC tuner and JVC *single* deck cassette player. Added a Sony CDP and Pioneer 3 way speakers, I was set, almost. Scored a higher end turntable on flee market to complete the system. My first adventure to home theater added a mono VHS player and 22" tube TV. Adding a stereo VHS player made movie watching a whole new experience...

Before that I had some integrated boxes that combined preamp, amp, cassette, tuner and turntable. The JVC was high end compared to those, and for a high school kid it was a really nice system.

ShinAce

I've always been a headphone/2 channel buff.

I am building a 7.1(my first)- for my sister and her new home, but the mains will double as a 2 channel rig because of my own music experiences.

Gadabout

HT has always been my focus since the early 90's. While I have always listened to music, it was always just and after thought or background.

Since I decided to upgrade the HT, late last year, I acquired a Marantz 8260 from the recommendation of a few friends. I figured I would appreciate having a better source for music. The 8260 sounds fine thru the HT system, but realized that while I was happy with my HT setup, I would never realize the potential of listening with that set-up.

I decided that I would quit trying to make the HT system do double duty and start a 2 ch rig, so I could get back to the days in the 80's when it was stereo and I just used to sit and listen for hours. That decision was made after hearing that same Marantz in a 2ch office system and reading these boards with the other audio obsessed.

Sometimes, I cringe at the dollars spent. In reality I wouldn't have it any other way as I search for synergy in the 2ch rig.

Scott

sucks2beme

I never left the 2 channel world. All I needed was for a bit of money to free up.
My stuff was frozen in time for 20 years. Now, it seems, the old stuff
is back in style.

Danny Tse

It was one of those no-name cassette players, a la Walkman.

zingo

I used to be all about HT. I thought it was the coolest thing having friends and family blown away by how good a well made HT sounded. That was my first good audio set-up. Then I found myself always upstairs sitting in front of the TV, just listening to music. I actually started to move my activities to the couch so I could listen to good tunes. It was then that it dawned on me that I listen music 95% of the time I engage in audio. (I like that term ) Thinking logically, it made sense to me to tailor my system to what I most listen to. Let me say that I have never regretted the switch. To me, a good HT was nice for the once a month movie, but listening to music everyday on an awesome system has really pleased me. Plus, it's fun having a system that the modern media buff really doesn't consider. "Hey, what's that for? Surround sound? No, listening to music. Just music? Yup. Wow... Do you want to listen? Of course!" The look on someones face who hasn't heard REAL music in a while is priceless. And the s-eating grin on my face every night hasn't let me down either.

Bass_Pedal

I think it was my interest in hearing music as per the original vision of the artist. When I was in my teens I thought surround sound music was great. Being enveloped in my favorite CD's was fun. As I learned more about HIFI technology and the recording of music I realized that I was listening to bastardized versions of the original artists creations. I started to listen to music in stereo only, and after I got my first half decent pair of speakers there was no turning back. An argument can be made for multi channel SACD as it is engineered with the original artists input (hopefully). But when it comes to artificially matrixed stereo recordings into multi channel, I'll pass.

Stew

My interest in audio was sparked in college when I heard SDA SRS's and Maggies with Carver Sonic Holography in high end audio stores. Remember those? As others have said, stereo was it at the time. I never got used to surround sound. It sounds disconnected to me - for music and movies. I prefer my SDA's for both.

dorokusai

Polk Audio in 1985 @ Sunrise Electronics(Hagerstown, MD). The rest is various **** and not that interesting.

fatchowmein

My mother. She would always have the stereo on (Pioneer stereo, speaker, and record player from the 70's). Later on, she would always have MTV on back during the Martha/Nina days, then switched to VH1, then back to the stereo.

She hates the new stereos, "new" MTV, and fancy remotes. The woman likes dials. I'm a music and book lover because of my mother.

Hmmm... I think it's time I got her another 1970's stereo.

candyliquor35m

A buddy in high school had a 8-track system that we rocked out to. Then jobs and house parties came along and had to have music for the parties. Moved to houston and because I liked the polk speakers in a car I used to have, stumbled across some 2b's a few miles away and the rest is history.

Fongolio

Many years ago I was right into 2 channel and had a pretty good setup but financial situation forced me let it go and I never really got back into good hi-fi. More recently I caught the HT bug and and from that found multi-channel high resolution which I love very much. However the vast majority of music is still stereo and my HT rig sounded good this way but not great. Then, very recently I scored a Carver HR-772 at a pawn shop for $80.00 and paired it with an old classic turntable (Dual CS 606) I bought on epay plugged in the RTiA7's and holy friggn' sh#t!!! Analog bliss. And this is not high end stuff but it just sounded sooooo good. Like back in the old days (before mullets were called mullets). Now I'm checking yard sales and junk shops for good vinyl and scoring some great stuff for cheap. Now I understand why the true audiophiles never let vinyl die.