By music in multichannel as long as you mean surround rather than a multich stereo mode, I do like some music upmixed like that. I prefer actual multich recordings and have built up a decent little collection of recordings on various optical discs, altho I find options somewhat limited for my tastes (not into classical much, altho have some).
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Listening to music in multichannel mode
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dartinbout
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I think that there are different "house" sounds for different MC publishers. For example, Chesky and Pentatone are very different mixes and I adjust to suit them. Pentatone is kind of interesting as they have a large library of albums recorded in the Quad era but release them in 5.1 therefore I "heat up" the center for them. Chesky seems devoted to capturing a "live" sound but has little too much emphasis on the center and rear to which I "cool" them down. Stereo is generally easier to play in 5.1 but with JR but I screw around with albums sometimes as well.
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DavidMcRoy
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I listen to everything that's native 2-channel stereo in Dolby Audio, upmixed to 7.1.4 on my main system, which supports Dolby Atmos. (We have 2-channel systems in the living room and in the kitchen.) Since I got through the rather challenging process of setting up a surround system by the book (and this is key,) I never feel an urge to endure the constriction of the 2-channel yoke if I don't have to.
valerianf
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I listen to Amazon music HD in stereo and my AVR upmix in Dolby Pro Logic II music using a wide center (5.0).
An Atmos capable AVR is planned for 2023: I hope that the multichannel music experience will be enhanced.
An Atmos capable AVR is planned for 2023: I hope that the multichannel music experience will be enhanced.
I was streaming Apple Music from my Mac mini M1 to my Denon X3700H, but turns out the Mac mini M1 can not do full Atmos, so tried instead my Apple TV 4K, which is full Atmos capable, soundstage is now even better, but the best part is the volume balance between Atmos song and stereo songs is now perfect, no need to correct volumes anymore, I am really impressed with the little black box.
Interesting, my X2500H with Audyssey XT (non-32) sets the rear channels too low. Maybe because I'm in a less than perfect room, with both rears on the wall, and one of them in a corner. Maybe it sees extra bass loading from the corner and adjusts the global level instead of a high pass filter.
What I've done is take a mono white noise or pink noise signal (both should work, pink is more pleasant to the ear) and played it in the multi-channel stereo mode, so that all the speakers are playing the same signal, but with levels, delays and EQ applied. Then I have adjusted the levels so that I feel myself evenly surrounded and submersed into the sound, with nothing sticking out. I had to correct quite a bit (3-5 dB) on one of the back and one of the front channels compared to the Audyssey XT auto-calibration. Not sure why, it's suspicious, but I did like the result post manual adjustment.
You can ditch the center channel with no regrets. Just get any 5.1 AVR, even an older one with Dolby Pro Logic, hook up to your 4.0 system, run the calibration, and you can listen to all stereo music (both digital and analog) in upmixed 4.0 mode. A calibration mic is also not strictly required, it's not hard to measure distances with a ruler / laser and set levels by ear, but you won't get room and speaker correction, which I like very much.
.2 being two Atmos height channels? Do they get used by the upmixer a lot, do they make a difference in immersion? I'm torn between upgrading from 4.1 to 6.1 or 4.1.2.
By the way, for me the center channel ruins the front soundstage witdth even with enter spread on, so I removed the center and only had good times since. Did anyone else notice this, any thoughts?
Would you mind naming some of the particularly notable performances that highlight the advantages of a surround system?
Right and with most good multichannel, it sounds that way with the performers up front and with only ambience contributed by the surround/rear sources to provide a sense of the performance space.
Oh, your point and preference are exactly the same as mine. In my post here, I wrote;
At present, since I like the listening feeling as if I am sitting on the best S-class center seat in Concertgebouw Amsterdam, I do not like to have my SWs (sub-woofers) just beside me at my listening position; even with the "complete and perfect" time alignment of SPs I achieved, the orchestral sound should be coming from the stage direction in front of my eyes and ears!
Of course, I know well that in real Concertgebouw Amsterdam (I have been there several times), I hear the entire hall tone (including the reflections, resonances, standing-waves) from all the directions surrounding me, from behind, above (ceilings), side (side walls) and floor. This is the the main reason that I insists we need suitable and preferable reverberations also in our home audio listening room which somewhat "simulates" the real hall tone, but never never to be perfect.
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That makes sense for acoustic classical, but IMO it doesn't make any sense at all for many other genres. There's no reason, for example, for EDM or rock music to try to fake a frontal soundstage. There isn't one in the first place -- the instruments are electronic or even completely digital/imaginary. Even non-acoustic concerts have also always played around with the directionality of sound, Pink Floyd was doing quad at concerts 50 years ago.
This is completely and totally a matter of taste, but people who just refuse to accept that music is more than a frontal soundstage are missing out. It doesn't even have to be one or the other. The excellent Atmos mix of Riders on the Storm on Apple Music uses full Atmos to make the storm envelop you, while the musicians are playing in a more traditional frontal soundstage.
Fortunately, I'm glad that many people are producing content outside the box, and I expect they will do so even more in the future.
Sorry. I don't think you can really fake it that way. No domestic room can simulate a concert space and DSP can probably do better.
I agree. My view is that, in classical (and even that is changing), the entire artistic content is defined by the performance and the venue. As a result, the entire recording chain should be of high resolution, accuracy and transparency. In other genres, the artistic content also involves the coloring, shifting, mixing, layering and mapping of sounds that is part of recording it.
Nope. Just get a swivel chair!I have sat behind the orchestra for a classical concert....what does that mean ? I should listen with my speakers facing away from me?
FWIW, you might take a look/listen at some of the early Tacet DVD-As which offer intriguing but musically valid perspectives. Try this one:
TACET Musikproduktion - english
Hochwertige audiophile Aufnahmen klassischer Musik auf CD, SACD, Blu-ray und Vinyl. Seit über 25 Jahren.
www.tacet.de
LOL. In that particular hall I thought it was still quite enveloping back there (and have sat in other seats in that venue, and they had a sense of immersion, too....good hall I guess). You got a rip of that to share? Not likely to buy one....but thanks.Nope. Just get a swivel chair!
FWIW, you might take a look/listen at some of the early Tacet DVD-As which offer intriguing but musically valid perspectives. Try this one:
TACET Musikproduktion - english
Hochwertige audiophile Aufnahmen klassischer Musik auf CD, SACD, Blu-ray und Vinyl. Seit über 25 Jahren.
olbobcat
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I agree, I have been to a great number of shows over many years and many types of music and surround sound does not make it feel like I am at a show.
dartinbout
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The Tacet Johann Sebastian Bach Motets are interesting but, in my system, I have to adjust MC balance to suit the Tacet "house" sound. These recording really flowered with a few DB's added to the side channels. I adjusted my volume matched channels and was more thrilled by the sound then my normal mix. For example, I find
TrondheimSolistene: In Folk Style
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7987802--trondheimsolistene-in-folk-style didn't require the adjustment but still conveyed the recorded performance with a sense of space. Everybody's system and taste are different but, since there is no common language for MC music production, it pays huge dividends to be flexible.
I was not recommending them because I thought them ideal but because they made somewhat radical choices in listener/performer perspectives. In fact, the perspectives change from track to track by intention.
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