Very interesting observations, thank you for posting them! In a recent post I was mentioning how I have slowly, but surely, been transitioning to more stereo listening (at least with the front speakers) over the last several months. I have always assumed that my space limitations are what lead to a the better sound with just the M60's and a phantom center. Dang it, now I'll have to kill several evenings playing with the system
I went through the exact same transition ending up “backing” into mostly 2ch music listening. I say “backing” into because I’m no life long audio snob who pines for the good old days. I didn’t really start serious music listening until I had 5.1 yet slowly found I preferred 2.0/2.1 for most stereo music (dedicated 5.1 is a different story).
I found that moving to a larger room w/vaulted ceiling makes stereo even more enveloping for me. Elevating my M80s also enhances that effect which makes me curious to try Dolby PLIIz presence channels since I’m totally under-whelmed with PLIIx rear channels.
No not really, actually if you've read my posts you'll have seen when I mentioned that I actually prefer to move some of the center channel duty out to the M80's myself. For me it creates a more 'enveloping' atmosphere. In my 7/5 channel mode I use for music I have the M80's handling about 75% of the signal and the VP150 the other 25%. And it sounds so fantastic I can hardly stand it!!!
Good point that reminded me of something I forgot to mention. Not all movie soundtracks sound better in 4.1/6.1 (phantom center) than 5.1/7.1 to me. While researching this I read that some sound engineers mix some of the center channel information into the L/R mains because I helps create a more seamless front soundstage which may be the reason. Sounds like that’s exactly what you are doing by moving some of the center channel duties to the M80s.
It our money, I say we use it however it suit s us best. I too believe that the 'usual' set up is just the best set-up for the majority of people, not for ALL people…But then when it occured to me that $50 dollars worth of Dynomat may make it even better,
My feelings exactly. Conventional wisdom usually develops as a good general compromise for people who just want things to work well. I view the denizens of forums like this as not your average user but more power users who may benefit from tweaking and experimentation. I love learning from the experience of others who like to experiment especially with things I might not have considered or thought important enough to try.
