Listening to more music lately, even 5.1 dolby and dts convinced me that the vp150 just doesn’t have a chance against the M80s. So I find that 2ch direct/stereo sounds better than 5.1 with my setup. Since I watch most movies and play video games sitting in the sweet spot I thought what would it sound like with movies?
I switched to using a phantom center and at first thought that it’s just not right. But with a little more volume and more toe-in of the M80s everything came alive in a way I’d never heard before.
Here are some of the things I noticed so far:
1. The front soundstage seemed to expand in both width and depth.
2. The side soundstages seemed to expand out.
3. The 360 degree soundstage became even more seamless (something I didn’t think could happen based on what I’ve been listening to.)
4. Subtle sounds from the front became more noticeable. (I think this contributed to #3 as the ambient sounds from the front were more distinguishable.
5. Voices were lower requiring a little more volume which did not, however, cause them to be drowned out.
6. Voices seemed more natural and so far seem to sound better when panning.
I have not watched much off-axis so I’m not sure yet how viable this is for several viewers.
I could use some suggestions on music/movies/scenes with good side to side panning especially of voices, anything with good 360 degree pans and/or lots of ambient sounds.
So far I’ve watched all or parts of
Starwars I and III
Master and Commander
Appleseed
Kaena (opening scene) Wow!
The Fifth Element.
Fellowship of the Ring
Dean
