Stereo or 5.1

I have a simple stereo set on my bar: A Yamaha amplifier and a pair of Bose 301 series IV speakers with a TEAC CD player (and now a 32" LCD and a LG DVD player recently attached...).  I have been blasting this system for almost 12 years and had no complain at all, it sounds like the day I unpacked them.  Now I want to assemble a new system and bring the Yamaha-Bose equipment to a nice retirement in my bedroom.  My question is, Should I switch to 5.1? It is really worth it? My original plan was to repeat the formula Yamaha-Bose because I never feel the necesity of five speakers.  What do you prog fans think? I am missing a whole new experience and must run to the shop for a 5.1 system?

For movies: Definitely. For music: It's not really that important. There are a couple of nice 5.1 mixes of prog albums, but they're not exactly mind-boggling.

I prefer Stereo to surround for music listening.  Surround is a nice gimmick, but I find it more distracting than anything else (for music)

NotAProghead wrote: I can't agree with Mr. ProgFreak, there are lots of live music DVDs with great DD5.1 or DTS sound.

I'd say that those are movies (DVD) rather than music (CD, DVD-A, SACD). Of course you'll need a 5.1 system to properly watch live music DVDs.

^ true, but some 5.1 music mixes are nice indeed ... for example you can place strings on the back speakers and the rest in the front, or place the whole band around the listener. And of course live music DVDs benefit from 5.1 in that the audience ambience (sic) can be placed on the back and front speakers while the music remains in the front ... giving you the feeling of being among the audience.

5.1 anyday for me...

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/speakers_audio/home_pc_speakers/devices/224&cl=US,EN

Find yourself one of those old quadraphonic systems.

Isn't it weird how that was a fad in the '70's but came back as surround sound?

On a serious note, you can still do stereo on a surround sound system, so why not go that route?


Edited by Slartibartfast - July 25 2009 at 08:02

I've never understood what's so special about 5.1 mixes for music listening alone. I am perfectly fine with what my headphones give me. :)

Slartibartfast wrote: p0mt3 wrote: I've never understood what's so special about 5.1 mixes for music listening alone. I am perfectly fine with what my headphones give me. :) To heck with that.  Mono baby! What's so special about surround mixes?  Well, they do add an extra dimension to the music.  But let's face it, if the music is crap a 5.1 mix won't make it any better.  For those who take the position that albums are best sat down and listened to with your undivided attention, surround mixes aren't particularly amenable to portable listening experiences.  I suppose maybe there will be car systems where you can do that if there aren't already, but until we grow extra ears, headphones are right out.

May grow some extra ears some day, but in the meantime, I'm gonna grow fins