I give up on HT

So true! Even for an apartment dweller like me, I moved the tv to the long wall of the living room, got a pair of Mission 733i for the fronts and a cheap subwoofer. Use phantom mode which is very natural sounding with the little Missions, enjoy movies just as much.Best of all what the move did for my main system in terms of imaging.

I don't have any choice but to combine HT and stereo. Elgordo has made the key point in why this doesn't work well....lack of imaging and lack of soundstage depth due to the TV (I have a 50" RPTV) between the speakers. I've pulled the front L&R speakers out 2 feet in front of the TV and, while this helps, it doesn't solve the problem. Was listening to Dave Brubeck the other day. The piano was clearly coming from behind and outside the right speaker and drums behind the left. That was good. Then the alto sax came in, dead center (where it belonged) but it sounded like the sax player was sitting in my lap. If you want optimal sound, you need to seperate HT form stereo.

What you can do is run the main two front speaker directly from the PFR preamp through the amp, to preserve the high end sound you desire; and run the other channels through the HT decoder for movies. This will mean using a separate amp to power the surround speakers. Get the best of both worlds. The fronts will have more information than normal because they are two channel, but its better than nothing.

As one such person, who has but one room; I 'hear' all the concerns.I have a stand-alone processor.It has rcas out for all channels. From fronts out,I take a pair of ics;plug them into the aux of my pre. I get true "fronts" information in HT.I switch back to cd input for 2 ch. listening. Then I throw a blanket over the tv for 2 ch listening. No processor/pre is as good as a quality 2 ch.pre amp. This method gives me the best under such circumstances.

Here we Go! A new idea! I am experimenting with having my 2 channel system at one end of listening room & the the TV-HT at the other. Use What ever componets fit for HT, & let my 2 Channel system rule the room, Then I can just move my listing/watching chair to suit which ever system I want to use. This I feel is by far the best solution to a complex problem. Use all your old stuff for HT, speakers, cables, etc.

Let me hear what you guys think?
Audio4Fun