Has anyone stepped down from a 5.1 to 2.1 setup

[funnyprogrammer]

2.1 makes sense for most multi functional rooms and it's easier to setup.
I see that many users are using stereo even for HT.

What's your reason for downgrading from 5.1 to 2.1 ?
Do you regret it?

 

[Nitin K]

2.1 makes sense for most multi functional rooms and it's easier to setup.
I see that many users are using stereo even for HT.

What's your reason for downgrading from 5.1 to 2.1 ?
Do you regret it?

Earlier I had a simple bose acoustimas 5 system. Issue was, in stereo I found the dialogues less clear. With a 5.1 having a dedicated centre channel, dialogues made a big difference to me.
Frankly speaking I can be very content in a small to medium room with an amp that has 3.1 channels.
It may be more subject to the room size and your preferences.

 

[funnyprogrammer]

Frankly speaking I can be very content in a small to medium room with an amp that has 3.1 channels.
It may be more subject to the room size and your preferences.

For small rooms anyway we would be sitting in centre, even then is it a problem?

3.1 is ideal setup for most living rooms but most of the amps will be 2 channel or 5+ .

 

[MaSh]

2.1 makes sense for most multi functional rooms and it's easier to setup.
I see that many users are using stereo even for HT.

What's your reason for downgrading from 5.1 to 2.1 ?
Do you regret it?

Yup, I went from a 5.1 setup to a Bose 900 soundbar + SVS sub. Never been happier. I will add the wireless surrounds sometime later this year.

MaSh

 

[chander]

Yup, I went from a 5.1 setup to a Bose 900 soundbar + SVS sub. Never been happier. I will add the wireless surrounds sometime later this year.

MaSh

When did this happen?

 

[funnyprogrammer]

Yup, I went from a 5.1 setup to a Bose 900 soundbar + SVS sub.

I went the other way. From q990b soundbar to 5.1. Now planning to downgraded to 2.1 or 3.1 because of space constraints.

 

[sbg]

7.1 to Headphones.

 

[funnyprogrammer]

7.1 to Headphones.

While watching room acoustic treatment videos i felt that's the best option

 

[mbhangui]

While watching room acoustic treatment videos i felt that's the best option

acoustic treatment is hit and miss. But I still haven't been able to come to terms with using headphone. The inside the head soundstage sounds very unreal and puts me off and prevents me from enjoying my favourite tracks and the music that I love.

 

[sbg]

While watching room acoustic treatment videos i felt that's the best option

hmm, I'm more of a nocturnal animal so headphones have become agitator of the primary senses.
also that my genre of contents have become scarce or the other way to put it, do not enjoy as I used to earlier.

 

[mbhangui]

FWIW you have to ask yourself what do you prefer. I for one has gone from 2.0 to 2.1 to 3.1 to 7.1, back to 2.0 and finally settled at 7.1. I started investing into gears seriously somewhere around 2004. The journey has been difficult. Most people said stereo is best and AVRs don't sound good, not enough power, etc, etc. I kept on changing my setup. Had a brief romance with tubes, then divorced and again remarried, etc. So I have figured that everyone listens to music differently. Their opinion may not match yours. Over the period I figured out what I like the most and below is the gist of it

1. Instruments should sound real. Most amps fail to produce enough dB (especially the tube based IME) in the high frequencies. Especially metal or wood striking metal. The shimmer and decay is subdued. Once you have this, the 7.1 sounds sublime for me.

2. Genre of songs. If I listen to Hindi, It is always songs before the 80s (50s, 60s and 70s). Just handful of songs from the 80s and not a single song from 2000 onwards. Mostly it is Jazz, Oldies, Rock, Hard Rock, etc and Western Classical
Everytime I listen I look for spaciousness of the music and the top end. In the end I found out that I enjoy my AVR in 7.1 mode much more than all my other amps and this is what has been my main setup for the last 8 years or so. And Yes, I got nirvana with my AVR only after doing the YPAO setup and some amount of sound treatment. In 7.1 mode I get a very large soundstage. The instruments are crisp and clear. I do lack a bit of bass but getting that will probably be for another day when I get a better subwoofer.

3. I have also expermented with sitting position, recliners, etc. At the moment what I find most comfortable is the Amazon Basics zero gravity chair. But more than 3-4 hours on a chair, recliner, etc becomes uncomfortable. So at the moment I'm trying very hard to get the right kind of sound from Headphones. Though Headphones provide clarity and with proper headphone amp you get all the instruments, vocal clear, there are two things that I think are impossible to get in Headphones. One is the bass, the kind of bass that hits your chest and the other is the attrocious soundstage where all singers and instruments do their thing and create a cacophony inside the tiny head of ours. So I'm back to listening to music in 7.1 lying on amazon basics chair with a glass of whisky on my side and a raspberry PI streamer with a LCD screen that displays artwork and a TV playing visualization of the music being belted out from the speakers.

So your journely could be different. It took me a long time to get the speaker placement to my liking. At the moment my room is extremely crowded and messy, but I get the sound I love. Once you reach that stage, rest all becomes secondary.

 

[MaSh]

When did this happen?

He he sometime last year. It was too cumbersome to lay the cables, find space for all the boxes in the new place. So ditched everything and got the Bose 900. Its absolutely awesome. It drives the SVS Sub better than my Marantz receiver. Its 90% of the 5.1 setup minus all the headache of setting it up.

I went the other way. From q990b soundbar to 5.1. Now planning to downgraded to 2.1 or 3.1 because of space constraints.

Exactly. Space, Aesthetics, etc. Also, after years of fiddling with the systems, I feel to really use the systems to their potential, one needs a dedicated or a mildly treated room. A living room is not the place for an audiophile setup.

MaSh

 

[chander]

Its 90% of the 5.1 setup minus all the headache of setting it up.

I understand what you mean. Though not apples to apples, ~95% of the times, it works just about fine. Beginning of this year I helped a friend setup a full Sonos system in the house, The bar + The sub + 2 wireless surrounds. I can't say I would complain at all if I had that setup + a dedicated stereo. That is all you need

 

[Nitin K]

For small rooms anyway we would be sitting in centre, even then is it a problem?

3.1 is ideal setup for most living rooms but most of the amps will be 2 channel or 5+ A

In a small room, 3.1 should be absolutely fine.
In this case you can search for an amp/avr with decent power. Even if it is a 5.1 avr, you can use it in 3.1 mode. Or if there is any single box amp supporting 3.1 channels with decent power, then you could be happy with it as long as the need to upgrade is not there.
Sometimes having a simple uncomplicated neat setup with less wires feels great.

 

[MaSh]

I understand what you mean. Though not apples to apples, ~95% of the times, it works just about fine. Beginning of this year I helped a friend setup a full Sonos system in the house, The bar + The sub + 2 wireless surrounds. I can't say I would complain at all if I had that setup + a dedicated stereo. That is all you need

Exactly. That is what I have. The 900 + sub for HT and a dedicated Stereo system for music.

MaSh

 

[funnyprogrammer]

Even if it is a 5.1, you can use it in 3.1 mode

Yeh, right now I am using x3800h. Configured 3.1 in one preset and 5.1 in 2nd preset.

 

[funnyprogrammer]

Exactly. Space, Aesthetics, etc. Also, after years of fiddling with the systems, I feel to really use the systems to their potential, one needs a dedicated or a mildly treated room.

My current setup is in dedicated room but it’s a small room. Currently using surrounds by mounting on stands and ran wires below carpet. Now after adding more chairs I feel that surrounds are getting blocked, to mount higher on walls I need to do the wiring and conceal them. Planning to shift in few months, so it’s a hassle.

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

2.1 makes sense for most multi functional rooms and it's easier to setup.
I see that many users are using stereo even for HT.

What's your reason for downgrading from 5.1 to 2.1 ?
Do you regret it?

I went from 5.1 to 2.x because I care about music. I could not care less about movies. Movies are not important, that includes the sound.

No, I love it. I consider it an upgrade.

 

[rwnano]

I was using a home theatre in a box speaker set from Harman kardon with a Harman kardon amplifier AVR . Chucked the speakers and kept the AVR in a 2.1 setup.

 

[ssf]

2.1 makes sense for most multi functional rooms and it's easier to setup.
I see that many users are using stereo even for HT.

What's your reason for downgrading from 5.1 to 2.1 ?
Do you regret it?

When my HT Receiver broke down, I was forced to do a 2.1 for movies. While I did not have much to complain on the quality of sound, the immersion was missing. I was extremely happy to get my receiver back from service and once again get back to movies in 5.1.4.