Me, personally I never got into the whole integrated video/audio scene. The closest thing to modern day multi-channel listing I have ever messed with was quadraphonic or quadrophoninc depending on which stereo brand you chose. Yes, four channel stereo, there were a bunch of variations, QS, SQ, Matrix, Discrete CD-4. And to be honest with you… Quad or 4 channel was a real pain, not worth the energy, expense, and time. At least not to my ears. You needed four identical speakers spaced and angled just right to hear any kind of separation. A dedicated turntable cartridge/stylus, 8 track player etc. was needed to decode the magical 4 channel experience. I don’t believe any radio stations broadcast in quad but I may be wrong.
Flash time up to the current day and we have home theater which is real multi-channel audio. The separation and detail is nothing less then magnificent when using audiophile grade equipment. Even the mid fi stuff sounds great. I helped my son set-up a Harman Kardon Logic 7.2 system in his room. The receiver was amazing with it’s blue back-lit volume knob and glass face plate. After setting the unit up with the supplied microphone on a wand it sounded better then anything I have ever heard. Equalization, separation, dynamics, volume, echo, etc. was done by placing the mic in certain areas of the room to adjust parameters. Where is that system now? Given to a friend…but why? He had 6 main speakers four of which were on pedestals or stands, two more were on shelves, the center channel took up space under the TV and the subwoofers placed in diagonal corners of the room. His room is a decent size I would say about 22ft X 17ish. The darn speakers took up too much room along with the monster receiver plus the speaker wires were everywhere. You can’t conceal everything all the time. Anyway, the whole she-bang is gone and not missed. What does he use now? A new Sony 4K TV with speakers built on the sides and a wireless subwoofer. Sounds great, not as great as the HT but guess what? He enjoys it more with out the speakers on stands, wires and mess all over the place. One remote control operates the whole thing, even the sub. The TV is 65″ inches and has almost an industrial look. Personally I think it’s crazy cool.
From what I can see home theater in general had a short life. Most people don’t have the time, patience, room, or money to set up a complete home theater system. In a 7.2 system you need a total of 9 speakers with subs. An amplifier section for each speaker, wiring, cabling, a tv worthy of such an audio system. What a pain in the &%*;$$% for the average Joe or even the audiophile, plus the cost is offensive if you opt for high-end speakers and components. Most quality TV’s or monitors have add on sound-bars today if so desired. As of 2017 I even see Samsung TV sound-bars with vacuum tubes, lol. I won’t get into that…not going there. Basically what I am saying is that home theater simply isn’t worth the trouble and expense. From what I can see much of the audiophile home theater craze is now being rejected due to space and money considerations. There is always “Bose” which is an all in one solution for the video/audiophiles. Small footprint, affordable sound in a box…
Sony 2017 with built in Woofers, Mid-Range, and Tweeters. Optional wireless subwoofers. 4K XBR quality and super sound without a massive surround sound system or home theater.
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