What sparked your intrest in 2-channel?

shack

Back in 1968 it was time to upgrade to stereo from mono.

steveinaz

Been 2-channel from day 1. I always liked music, but what got me started in "hi-fi" was a friend of mine. Around 1974 John moved into the neighborhood. His family was pretty well-to-do and he had his own stereo system in his room. It featured a Harmon/Kardon receiver, Pioneer flat-lay type cassette deck, Dual turntable, and Quadraphonic (brand) speakers. I had never seen nor heard anything like it. I was hooked after the first song...

cubdog

I've always had one. Never thought it was unusual.

cubdog

MillerLiteScott

Back in high school and through college I had a respectable little 2 channel system. I used to listen to music a lot. Then I was in a band and played music a lot more than I sat down and listened to it. Then I bought HTIB for my first house and was never happy with the way it played music. I then bought some RTi10's for the mains in my HT and again was not happy with the way music sounded especial using an AVR. I then discovered CP and vintage Polks and now I almost exclusively listen to 2 channel. I am quite happy with my combination HT/2 channel system that works well for movies ( I rarely watch movies now ) and my 2 channel works fairly well also. I need to get rid on my entertainment center and get better speaker wire and I should be set for a while.

Scott

zingo

I actually had a friend ask me about my set-up last night. He said, "You don't listen to music on your surround sound; Just those two speakers?" I responded, "Yes, that's the way it was recorded and meant to be heard. That's the way it sounds best" He responded, "Wow, a purist." Maybe that response still shouldn't surprise me in a time of box HTs and iPod "mini Hifi". However, he did end with, "That sounds REALLY clear; sounds good!" I guess that's the plight of the audiophile...

bluzrip

Back in 1968 it was time to upgrade to stereo from mono.

Bingo!

My first gear experience that really moved me was a pair of Klipschorns and an Eico tube amp. I'm still not certain how they got those things into the room.

madmax

shack wrote: »

Back in 1968 it was time to upgrade to stereo from mono.

And to think I just finished building my mono rig last year...
madmax

bluzrip

And to think I just finished building my mono rig last year

I finally disposed of my vinyl a few years ago (hear the groans!). My collection included a MONO copy of the first Doors LP. And so it goes.

dragon1952

Back in high school everyone had a stereo. This was back in the 60's. Some of the guy's fathers had killer systems. After high school some guys joined the Navy and came back from Japan with some flashy Sansui receivers and stuff. I've had a stereo of some sort since I was 15. I joined the Air Force in 73 and went to Germany. Audio/Video city! You wouldn't believe the on-base A/V stores. They had everything, and I mean everything. And at about half of what it was going for in the States. And when you bought your system you got one of everything too. Receiver, speakers, turntable, reel to reel, cassette player, equalizer.....sorry...no CD players yet :cool:

dcmeigs

Some of us are so old that 2 ch is all we know.:rolleyes: What is this HT thing you are talking about? Something to do with turntables?

janmike

Sometimes it's good to be old.

ShinAce

The best system I've ever heard is in a town of 20,000 peeps. 90% of my fam lives there. It's called Ville de la Baie, Qu

Yashu

When I was younger and I listened to Earth Wind and Fire's All 'n All on my parents hifi. Not sure what it was about that record, but I loved it and played it to death. My father gave me the gear and I fixed it all up, later refoamed the speakers, and then the rest is history. I was the last person I knew to have owned a CD player out of all my friends. I was also the first person to figure out that the computer could be used for music playback and recording. (when 1gb was a huge HD size, I would record uncompressed .wav files from the radio, so I could easily shift them onto tape in whatever order I wanted) I still have the TT, the last thing to go before that was the tape deck, but only because it broke beyond what could reasonably be fixed (friction clutch mechanism).

I never got into HT. I don't know why. When Stereo Review turned into Sound and Vision, I dropped my subscription.

thebluemonkey

A buddy had a simple bose 301 and sony reciever setup with a nak cd player and from there i was off!

BaggedLancer

Buying 2 speakers instead of 5 sparked my interest.

Mike Reeter

Back in the day when I was growing up in the 60's-70's Rock and Roll was coming of age...I could never afford anything more than a cheap t/t,a receiver and a pair of poor speakers...But we ROCKED:D

Made a visit to the Polk Audio Forum and learned of the vintage Polk sound.

I've always loved music,and now that I can afford to indulge a little,I'm enjoying 2-channel once again.

StevieB

A hit of acid and Led Zeppelin's first album.

nspindel

StevieB wrote: »

A hit of acid and Led Zeppelin's first album.

Only one hit?

Interesting, the subject of this thread really shows that the OP is on the young side. Nothing ever "sparked my interest" in 2-channel, it's what I've always known. I grew up on Zep, Beatles, Doors, Floyd, Stones, Who, etc. And God said "Let there be stereo." And God saw the stereo was good....

For me, it's more like "What sparked your interest in 7.1 HT?" It's great for watching a dvd, but cd's are mixed on 2-channel, and that's how they're meant to be heard (and I'm not talking about the trash that's produced today...). All the digital effects, IMO, that turn 2 channel recordings into 7.1 are really just meant to compensate for crappy amplifiers and speakers that don't sound good without a subwoofer. I love my home theater setup when I get home from Blockbuster. But when I'm ready to listen to music, I head down to the basement to my STEREO.

ben62670

nspindel wrote: »

Only one hit?

You beat me to it:D

Nobody talks to much of the bad trips:eek:
Off topic.
I was in a head shop today. My friend smoke some weird ciggaretts. Some clove Bail-Hali, or something. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the prices they get for bowls, and bongs. I quit the dumbstuff years ago. Bowls where like $10 for something decent, and bongs where like $30. Same stuff today is off the chain. These kids are paying $60 for a bowl, and bongs basically start at $130:eek:

nspindel

ben62670 wrote: »

You beat me to it:D

Nobody talks to much of the bad trips:eek:
Off topic.
I was in a head shop today. My friend smoke some weird ciggaretts. Some clove Bail-Hali, or something. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the prices they get for bowls, and bongs. I quit the dumbstuff years ago. Bowls where like $10 for something decent, and bongs where like $30. Same stuff today is off the chain. These kids are paying $60 for a bowl, and bongs basically start at $130:eek:

Kids today....

Gasoline was 79 cents a gallon back then, too...

NJPOLKER

Back in the late 70's when my father bought my brothers and I a pair of Bose 901's, a Rotel receiver,Bi-amp equalizer and a Dual TT I must say that did it. We cranked tunes beyond belief. Thinking back on those days had me wondering if I could ever have it soooo good again. Oh well it was great being young and am feeling kinda young again cranking tunes like a kid again.
Drew

riglehart

Boston
Van Halen
Queen
Journey

tonyb

2 of anything......is all a man can handle.

jerrymb

2 ears 2 channels

riker1384

What is this place, a bunch of kids? I'm a young man and surround-sound didn't get big until well into my lifetime. I'd get a high-end surround sound system if I could.

dragon1952

What's 2-channel got to do with kids? I would think just the opposite. BTW, what the hell does surround sound got to do with this thread? :rolleyes:

AudioFilet

This is an amusing thread, at least for me. The question seems to invite the reader to reminisce about 2-channel audio as though it was no longer the dominant method of reproducing music. As far as I know, there has never really been any serious threat to the use of 2-channel for music, unless I missed something. I remember quadraphonic hanging around for a while, but it really was kind of lousy, and it never really took off. Is there something else? What am I missing here??

dragon1952

I respectfully disagree. I feel 2-channel definitely has been supplanted in the majority (as in over 50%) of US homes since the inception of surround sound. Many of us here got sucked in for awhile and went back. I would question whether or not 2-channel is still the dominant method of reproducing music in the home today.

AudioFilet

Yes. And listening to 2-channel CD's. Even most of the surround sound audio discs were mastered from 2-channel ones. On most of the surround sound systems I have seen, mine included, are so lousy at 2-channel, you just about have to listen to it in "surround", or 5-channel stereo, as mine calls it. I have 2 surround systems, one in the living room (7.1 channel), and one in my bedroom (5.1 channel). I never use either one of them for music. They suck at music. At least compared to my 2-channel systems (of which I have 3).

steveinaz

I'll go surround right after I grow 3 more ears...:D