Originally Posted by rrlev
Chess, no dig intended. I was having fun with you. smile
Ah geez don't get me riled. I been having insomnia this week and my mind is already wired!
I probably could've used a big a@@ smiley face.
Something like this perhaps?

[Linked Image from res.cloudinary.com]

Originally Posted by rrlev
I’m with you on that the majority of people out there don’t upgrade often. As long as they can get the radio or Spotify they are happy as most don’t even connect it to the tv. Of the ones who do half bought a big box store package system. This is partly a money issue and partly one of sophistication … how much they know or care about sound and/or video. I also think a lot of people have abandoned thier receiver for the phone, ipad, computer, sound bar, etc …
What never ceases to amaze me is how few people I know have even a basic 5.1 system considering how long they've been on the market, how inexpensive some can be and how much these people afford for other electronics, and that they try to sell these surround sound items along side the TVs which we know people are buying (new 4k have been marketing heavy, big screen <40" LED are almost ubiquitous and cheap at $500 or less). The stats here show how fast 4k is catching on and compared to the multi-year, older stats on surround sound, TVs are being turned over much quicker.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1247334/4k-ultra-hdtv-us-household-penetration/

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So what about the OP … just being on this board tells us a lot. There is an interest in sound and once someone starts talking 4K, 7.1, ATMOS, etc they are concerned with surround formats and picture. I suspect that interest will not disappear just because they bought a system.
Possibly.
But then am i an exception to that assumption? That my upgrading should come more often because of my strong interest?
I'm not as crazy as some, like those who build HT rooms out of bomb proof materials [ahem rrlev ahem ahem], BUT i do own about five speaker sets (pairs or complete sets), 3 or 4 different receivers/preamp-pros, and spend as much on a small used car to change over gear; YET, i upgrade my AVR once every 15 years. And have no interest in adding Atmos speakers...

If i were to peg a number to it, i would say surround sound owners are primarily HTIB or sound bar based (of that approx. 40% i would say at least half). Of the remaining 20% i figure maybe 15% are 5.1 systems that came from a boutique store or are at least a brand name from a big box store (Best Buy and Klipsch systems for example). Of the remaining 5%, i suspect 4% are probably just beyond the 5.1 such as myself and the OP, a 7.1 setup. The remaining 1% are the 7.1+ club. Now 1% of USA household population (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/HSD410219) is still pretty large equating to approximately 1.2 million households that might have a surround sound system with more than 7.1 speakers, or most likely those who have adopted Atmos.
This is just my thinking on it. I certainly haven't seen any polls on how many people own/setup Atmos in their homes to confirm. If someone has a source for real credible poll data, i would be curious to see it.

"Those who preach the myths of audio are ignorant of truth."