Hate to ask......

I am an American expatriate living in Taipei, Taiwan. I have spoken to many high-end audio dealers here and they all say that the market trend is overwhelmingly toward HT, rather than 2-channel hi-fi. In fact, of interesting to note is that there are two international high-end audio shows here every year. One is for AV systems and the other is for hi-fi systems. Guess where the hi-fi show is trending heavily - you got it, HT with a great hi-fi.

Dealers told me that most customers have only one room and one budget for one system. Also, many AV processors have been upgrading their preamp to improve audio quality. In the end it seems there will be a convergence where consumers will be able to have both!!

I currently have a HT system with a Lexicon MC-1 processor/Krell 250cd player/Sony DVP-9000ES/Krell KAV-1500 5-channel amp/B&W Nautilus 801s as fronts/HTM-1 as center/Nautilus 805 as surrounds/Magnum Dynalab 101a Etude tuner/PS Audio Power Plant 300.

I can say with confidence that when I play my system on 2-channel sound, it can match or outperform many of the best 2-channel hi-end audio systems in the market. But it has also terrific HT, which none of the Hi-Fi systems out there can put any claims on.

So there is hope for us who want to have both great HT and great Hi-Fi after all!!!

Avguy, I agree that a comination system can be assembled which does justice for both music and movies. I went with all Proceed source components and amps ( pmdt / avp / hpa's 2/3 )and B&W Nautilus series speakers ( 802's for mains / 803's for surrounds / HTM-1 center / Velodyne HGS-15 sub)with cabling by Transparent. Couldn't be happier, for now !

sorry guys, but you CAN NOT get the best 2-channel sound when you have something, anything between your audio-only speakers. you also CAN NOT expect to get the best sound possible when you have processors or the like in your electronics chain. if you don't believe me, set up your system for 2 channel only. THEN LISTEN. i don't hate HT but i am disturbed by those who think they can have the best of two entirely different worlds with a single, integrated HT/audio system. an analogy: do you think an m-class mercedes can keep up with a 500 sl in a race over independence pass just because they’re both made by the same company? -kelly

For the record I was agreeing with you kelly just trying to justify my system, you know how it goes. And there is a chance that a Brabus tuned ML5.8 can keep up with a SL500, I would like to see the results of that race.

Hi everyone, good to see you posting again Tireguy, well... I hear the best of 2 channel audio frequently, and use it as a benchmark for my HT set-up. I try to attain the best of both worlds because of space and budget constraints. I recently upgraded from a Denon AVR-5700 to a Musical Fidelity HT600 5 channel amp and a B&K pre-pro in order to improve my 2 channel playback. They withstand comparison to any very good dedicated 2 channel system. The line between 2 & 5 channel playback will continue to blur. There will always be a market for the purist and connoisseur, so they really have nothing to be concerned about, but the stereo format is not all that "pure" anyway. Due to various problems with the format, the earliest developers of stereo actually wanted a 3 channel system, but felt that the public was not ready for it, so it took many years of refining to overcome inherent limitations and achieve the quality we have available today. Give the high resolution 5 channel SACD format time, and it might become a new standard. In the future I bet there will be debates between 10.2 channel users, and 5 channel users over which system is best.
I appreciate high end stereo playback very much, but love the combination of home theater and stereo in one system as well. There really is no conflict. The more people who become interested in high quality sound reproduction, whether it be 2 or 5, or 7.1 channels, the better for all of us. Ninety percent of the time more sales equals higher and higher quality at lower costs.