Do you prefer 5.1 music to stereo?

[Don Vito Corleone]

So I have a decent home theater system (including, in relevant part, a Denon AVR-3808ci receiver, Phase Technology Teatro speakers - I am thinking of upgrading from these - and a Hsu Research STF-3) and just purchased a dedicated CD player (a Cambridge Audio 640C V2) - I hadn't owned one in many years.

I love music but haven't been in the habit of listening to it through my system at home in some time - many of my emotional moments with music have been in the car, on iPod headphones, etc. I have realized that in my old age I've grown accustomed to the surround-sound experience, since I ALWAYS watch TV and movies in 5.1 and obviously have multipoint audio in the car (actually I have a pretty nice Harman Kardon Logic7 system in my car). I guess the point is that I'm used to being in the middle of the sound rather than in front of it, if that makes sense.

I am now realizing that stereo just sounds a little hollow to me, and that I seem to prefer music with some kind of surround processing enabled (I think neural-THX is my favorite; I also like ProLogic II and, to a lesser extent, DTS Neo:6). I know many purists will say this is "wrong," and that stereo is more authentic than electronically processed 5.1. I'm sure I will enjoy stereo more when I upgrade my speakers, but for the time being I really prefer the 5.1 experience.

If you have access to both, do you prefer stereo or 5.1/7.1 surround?

 

[krotchy]

I prefer surround music, though I was hasty clicking the poll and hit I prefer Stereo by accident. Shift the Poll +1 for Surround -1 Stereo.

 

[Tiamat]

Stereo music definitely. Surround is much tougher to setup correctly. With stereo, I get an enormous and enveloping sound stage. As long as you minimize early reflections and set up the speakers correctly while placing the listening position in the optimal location within the room, it is not difficult to have an excellent sounding stereo setup. Many multichannel setups I have heard were very compromised in the layout with the resulting sound just being a confused mess.

 

[EvilYoda]

Stereo for me...a couple of years ago, I had a full 5.1 Paradigm Reference system but when time came to upgrade, I decided to spend more money in fewer components. At first, I missed the sensation of a properly done surround soundtrack, but more and more, I came appreciate the better music reproduction. Even though I watch a lot of movies and TV, I still am very glad with my choice, as the music gives more of an aural satisfaction than the movies or TV. The other big thing is that the movies with great use of surround sound are usually ones that I catch in the theater, so I get to experience it anyway.

I'll be coming up to a new upgrade session soon and never once have I considered going back to a surround system. I definitely can't afford the requisite surround components with my ever-improving tastes

 

[Elcs]

As a non-audiophile with Creative Labs "PC Speakers" (Inspire 5500 5.1 Digital), I have to say I am a switcher.

Ive stood in my room and played a track such as Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott - Hero and Air Guitaring senselessly. Its one of those music tracks that has a lot of oomph and feeling and the sensation of surround sound is fantastic.

I like Stereo but then if I switch to Surround, I'll generally prefer that. After a few days, I could switch back to Stereo and prefer Stereo.

Ive got my first nice speaker set (Onkyo HT-S5105) coming in the next week or so. I'll try again after that.

 

[Loreena]

A good system will surround you in music without the gimmick of speakers everywhere in the room. Surround is for movies.

Most have never heard a properly set up stereo. system with a good recording. Sound stage will spread well beyond the boundary set up with just two speakers and have depth to the next state. When people look around and ask "where are your surround speakers?" is THE priceless question!

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: Loreena
A good system will surround you in music without the gimmick of speakers everywhere in the room. Surround is for movies.

Most have never heard a properly set up stereo. system with a good recording. Sound stage will spread well beyond the boundary set up with just two speakers and have depth to the next state. When people look around and ask "where are your surround speakers?" is THE priceless question!

Yep. Tell me that you need more than two speakers after listening to binaural recordings on some good headphones.

 

[erwos]

Stereo, hands-down. I have a pair of PSB T65s for my fronts, and I still get amazed by the stuff they bring out that gets missed when listening to them in less optimal circumstances. Mind you, if I was having a party, I'd turn them all on just for maximum effect. But for private listening, stereo all the way.

Of course, there are actually surround recordings now on SACD and DVD-A - that might be worth investigating if you've got the right hardware.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Yep. Tell me that you need more than two speakers after listening to binaural recordings on some good headphones.

I'm not counting headphones for purposes of this discussion - obviously they effectively "surround" the listener with sound anyway. I am just talking about sitting and listening to music with speakers.

It may well be that I am just not thrilled with my main speakers (which is the main reason I am looking to upgrade) and that all will be well once I get some more substantial ones. Mine are floorstanders with a soft dome tweeter and a single 7" mid/bass driver. This has been sufficient for HT in a small room largely because I have a pretty nice subwoofer, but they lack a certain warmth and musicality. I am thinking of upgrading to these, which should help considerably.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Yep. Tell me that you need more than two speakers after listening to binaural recordings on some good headphones.

I'm not counting headphones for purposes of this discussion - obviously they effectively "surround" the listener with sound anyway. I am just talking about sitting and listening to music with speakers.

It may well be that I am just not thrilled with my main speakers (which is the main reason I am looking to upgrade) and that all will be well once I get some more substantial ones. Mine are floorstanders with a soft dome tweeter and a single 7" mid/bass driver. This has been sufficient for HT in a small room largely because I have a pretty nice subwoofer, but they lack a certain warmth and musicality. I am thinking of upgrading to these, which should help considerably.

Yeah, I should've read your OP. Sorry for my first post which really didn't offer anything to this thread.

Definitely need to find some speakers that are better suited for music, I think that'll help a lot.

Also, check your room acoustics, you could be getting some strangeness caused by that.

 

[sdifox]

DVD-A for me

 

[Tiamat]

how are they setup within your room? Proximity to the front wall causes problems in the upper bass and "grunge" of the guitar.

 

[spidey07]

Overwhelmingly stereo. I don't like the surround mixes, they sound unnatural. It's a neat gimmick but not how music is heard in real life.

Also agree with others that it takes a good amount of time to properly place speakers and by far most people have never heard a properly setup stereo.

-edit-
Therer's a reason I have a stereo system and a home theater. It's almost impossible to do either very well if you combine them. Even more difficult to get surround MUSIC speaker placement correct because it's totally different than placement for home theater.

 

[pennylane]

Surround for me. I find Pro Logic II/Logic 7 to be pretty subtle. I find that the vast majority of the sound comes in from the front and the rears just add to the ambiance.

As for SA-CD and DVD-A, that is pretty cool, too. Some of the music is surround music where instruments are literally coming at you from all directions (like DSoTM, the Beatles Love), but others use the surround channels just to provide ambiance like at a live set.

Still, maybe I'll give stereo another go, especially since I've recently put up sound absorbing panels to account for first reflections.

 

[Elcs]

Apologies for somewhat of a Hi-jack post but I have a question.

I am potentially going to be setting up my 5.1 system in a friends house for a party at New Year and taking a PC down to pipe music through. Now I would want each speaker to output the same sounds and similar volumes. What would be the easiest and best way to achieve this? Acoustics arent too important because they'll all be too drunk to appreciate the finer points out sound. I just want to make sure that the room is "full", sort of nightclub style.

 

[EvilYoda]

Most systems with a digital output should give you the option to a "5-channel mix" or something similar, which will mix the 2-channel original and then pump it through every speaker.

It's been a while since I've had to do that though, so I might be a little dated