Long Live 2 Channel audio......???

Yes the vast bulk of "consumers" are buying HT, but they are not buying high-end HT, they are going to Circuit City and Best Buy. If we are going to include the average consumer in the mix, then 2 channel still wins if we include the consumers who buy Boom Boxes Stereo units which sell in the hundreds of millions world wide.

Back when I was sellinng HiFi most came in looking for surround sound. I asked them, have you ever heard a very good two channel system? Most replied no. So I proceeded to show them a highend two channel system. In most cases the customer was blown away! They did'nt know that two channel could sound that good. LONG LIVE TWO CHANNEL!!

While I too would have agreed that multi-channel audio is only for home theater, this is changing. With modern delivery devices such as DVD-A, we are not constrained to the assumption that our only choice is a 5.1 configuration. At the 109th AES convention (Los Angeles September 22-25) we were able to demonstrate a 6.0 (X-Y-Z) configuration that in everyway left the listener with the impression that simple stereo is no longer good enough. I would urge anyone that is interested in the pursuit of a more realistic listening experience to not out of hand discount multi-channel audio. A follow-up report will be available on the Muse Electronics website next week (www.museelectronics.com). The future of high resolution is coming; don't discount it without giving it a listen first. Kevin Halverson

Let me put it this way Kevin. HT or multi channel,what ever one chooses to call it,will not only have to be better than 2 channel,but vastly better in every shape,form,and fashion. Those of us who were around in the mid 70s when the first attempt at multichannel came on,kow first hand of that disaster. Basically Columbia & RCA couldnt agree of decoding to we had SQ4 and CD4. Coupled to that the absolutely horrid products in the market place. I recently auditioned a high end HT unit. Well no sale here the dynamics were extreme and exagerrated,not even close to what music is suppose to sound like.For movies it might be acceptable,though I would not buy it for that use.Having been in ths hobby since 1957 Ive seen damn near ever fad come and go,but 2 channel.I do not forsee the time when 2 channel will not be viable. Just my opinion.

why does imaging and soundstage improve when you close your eyes? could it be that speakers and audio racks don't give you the visual clues that are as much a part of live music as the audio? sure the engineers measure reflected sound, but unless its the antiphonal trumpets from the choir loft in handel's messiah, you're looking front at the orchestra or group. and your speakers are reflecting off the walls just as the live performers are, albeit with a vastly different delay due to room vs. hall size which effects timbre and pitch. now, if the surround folks could come up with that simulation as well as the visual,holograms, maybe?, then surround for music listening might make sense. let me know when the holo-suite is on line, commander laforge.