Multi-channel music (5.1/7.1/Atmos)

[NancyJohnson]

Moooorning kids
Just wondering whether anyone has embraced multi-channel audio (I'll refer to it as surround from now on) in any capacity and - if the original tapes are available - what they'd like to see moving forward.

 

My particular take.  While I wasn't a fan of the first album, I really embraced Tears for Fears from Songs From The Big Chair onward.  XTC?  Loved the singles, wasn't really a big fan as such until about 15 years ago.  Both these bands have undergone the Steven Wilson effect, with the first three albums and The Tipping Point from Tears for Fears albums released in surround and by my count there's seven XTC albums.  While a lot of people are backsliding furiously to embrace vinyl (and I have no issue with that), I just feel that the surround releases just (literally) expand the listening experience and credit to Steven Wilson for releasing new material in this format at the same time he releases music in a stereo format.

 

I'll admit that playback is a bit of a faff if I'm actually putting the discs in a Blu-Ray machine, but the discs are easy enough to rip and stream from a NAS.  The Seeds Of Love album is mentally good.

 

Moving forward, what would I like to see?  Selfishly these would be based around personal choice.  Something from early Japan (Quiet Life, probably), Extreme Pornograffiti, maybe Jane's Addiction Nothing's Shocking! or Vivid by Living Colour.  Jellyfish.  Man alive, the format would just live for both the original Jellyfish albums.  Just for the craic some of Danny Elfman's whimsical soundtracks for his Tim Burton projects (there's a 17CD Box of stuff, loads of extra material, that's mind-blowing in it's scope, so it would lead you to believe that there has to be content to allow a surround mix.)

 

 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

I’ve only got a few. Zappa and Alice Cooper. It’s definitely an enhanced listening experience for me.

I really should look into other artists/titles. Would love to hear Seeds of Love in multi channel.

[NancyJohnson]

27 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I’ve only got a few. Zappa and Alice Cooper. It’s definitely an enhanced listening experience for me.

I really should look into other artists/titles. Would love to hear Seeds of Love in multi channel.

 

Didn't I send that one to you?

[NancyJohnson]

8 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

Didn't I send that one to you?

 

Possibly not...it's 10gb.

 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

24 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

Possibly not...it's 10gb.

 

You sent me the live one.

[Leonard Smalls]

I ran a pseudo surround set up for years in my hifi, called a Hafler Circuit. In effect it puts a difference between left and right channels signal into a pair of rear speakers. It gives a surround experience for any stereo recording, though some were more successful than others! But it doesn't have to be a surround recording...

You wire your front speakers as normal. Then you put a 2nd set behind you listening position - if they're more sensitive than the fronts you'll get more from them, they also do't need to go very low as bass is less directional. You get a single bit of wire from amp R+ to 1st speaker R+, then from speaker R- to other speaker L-, then from R+ back to amp L+.

[Dad3353]

44 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

....You get a single bit of wire from amp R+ to 1st speaker R+, then from speaker R- to other speaker L-, then from R+ back to amp L+.

 

Yay..! Free smoke machine..! Yay..! 

 

...

 

 

[Leonard Smalls]

39 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

Free smoke machine..! Yay..!

Mine worked for many years using Lumley valve monoblocks, a Rotel integrated, a Radford and a beast of a Bryston with nary a shower of sparks between 'em!

[NancyJohnson]

1 hour ago, Leonard Smalls said:

I ran a pseudo surround set up for years in my hifi, called a Hafler Circuit. In effect it puts a difference between left and right channels signal into a pair of rear speakers. It gives a surround experience for any stereo recording, though some were more successful than others! But it doesn't have to be a surround recording...

You wire your front speakers as normal. Then you put a 2nd set behind you listening position - if they're more sensitive than the fronts you'll get more from them, they also do't need to go very low as bass is less directional. You get a single bit of wire from amp R+ to 1st speaker R+, then from speaker R- to other speaker L-, then from R+ back to amp L+.

 

I have a distinct image in my head of this being explained to me by a sound tech when we were doing a gig at my college, early 80s.  Strodes College, Egham.  I recall him drawing out a reasonably simple wiring diagram explaining exactly this, explaining part of the effect down to things being partially out of phase with either side of the stereo output. 

 

There were four of us sagely nodding our heads, all the while clearly not understanding a thing he was saying.  Must have born fruit somewhere along the line, all four of us ran studios at some point and two of the number run an extremely successful mastering business to this day.

[JapanAxe]

 

[Earbrass]

I was just about to post the same video.

1 minute ago, JapanAxe said:

 

[Beedster]

8 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

I ran a pseudo surround set up for years in my hifi, called a Hafler Circuit. In effect it puts a difference between left and right channels signal into a pair of rear speakers. It gives a surround experience for any stereo recording, though some were more successful than others! But it doesn't have to be a surround recording...

You wire your front speakers as normal. Then you put a 2nd set behind you listening position - if they're more sensitive than the fronts you'll get more from them, they also do't need to go very low as bass is less directional. You get a single bit of wire from amp R+ to 1st speaker R+, then from speaker R- to other speaker L-, then from R+ back to amp L+.

That brings back memories. IIRC did some odd things to eat Beatles stereo where instruments and sometimes voices were only on one channel. Definitely interesting though 👍

[JapanAxe]

8 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

I ran a pseudo surround set up for years in my hifi, called a Hafler Circuit. In effect it puts a difference between left and right channels signal into a pair of rear speakers. It gives a surround experience for any stereo recording, though some were more successful than others! But it doesn't have to be a surround recording...

You wire your front speakers as normal. Then you put a 2nd set behind you listening position - if they're more sensitive than the fronts you'll get more from them, they also do't need to go very low as bass is less directional. You get a single bit of wire from amp R+ to 1st speaker R+, then from speaker R- to other speaker L-, then from R+ back to amp L+.

I used to have this setup in my car. It could sound a bit weird...

[SpondonBassed]

9 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

I ran a pseudo surround set up for years in my hifi, called a Hafler Circuit. In effect it puts a difference between left and right channels signal into a pair of rear speakers. It gives a surround experience for any stereo recording, though some were more successful than others! But it doesn't have to be a surround recording...

You wire your front speakers as normal. Then you put a 2nd set behind you listening position - if they're more sensitive than the fronts you'll get more from them, they also do't need to go very low as bass is less directional. You get a single bit of wire from amp R+ to 1st speaker R+, then from speaker R- to other speaker L-, then from R+ back to amp L+.

 

I've done this with a single speaker at the rear.  It's astonishing how some things jump out from the back.  I ran it for many years without problems.

 

For the last ten years I've had multi-channel in 5.1 with a wish to go to 7.1 but with the extra speakers above the front pair to give a sense of height on some of those Dolby Atmos soundtracks you get on action films.  I'd need something like a pair of PA speaker stands in my living room so I haven't bothered (yet).  The other option I considered was to attach a couple of smallish wedge cabs to the ceiling but it's a very old house and I daren't.  I'm not sure it would be worth the effort.  I'm quite happy with 5.1.

 

On Blu-Ray Audio I have

• Supertramp - Crime of the Century
• Genesis - Selling England by the Pound
• Pink Floyd - The Endless River
• Pink Floyd - Animals 2018 Remix
• The Beatles - 1
• The Beatles - Eight Days a Week
• David Gilmour - Rattle that Lock
• Bob Marley - Legend

There isn't as much available in that format as I'd like.

 

[Beedster]

22 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

 

There isn't as much available in that format as I'd like.

 

Music industry going in very much the opposite direction 😕