How many of you guys are stereo vs 5.1 on your home TV systems?

Recording, Mixing and Producing
#1

How many of you have access to a working 5.1 system in the residential structure you live in? Weird way or wording that…I know.

If you live with your parents and your parents have one. Answer Yes.
If you live with a room mate in an apartment and your room mate owns it, still answer yes.
If your home theater config is 7.1 or higher, also answer yes.
If there is one at your work office but not at your house answer no.
If you own multiple houses, defer to the one you spend the most time in.
If you are like my sister in law, and have and your 5.1 system has been in a box in your closet for 3 years because you don’t know how to set it up, answer no. (And welcome to the forum, there are people who can help you out with setting that up).

-Lets grant that any amp and speaker config that purports to be 5.1 is. So Bose and Vizio sound bars count.
-Stereo headphones running the Waves Neural surround simulators absolutely DO NOT COUNT.

#2

Still running on stereo.

#3

How many of you have access to a working 5.1 system in the residential structure you live in? Weird way or wording that…I know.

If you live with your parents and your parents have one. Answer Yes.
Don’t live with parents. Have three 5.1 systems in two houses.

If you live with a room mate in an apartment and your room mate owns it, still answer yes.
No

If your home theater config is 7.1 or higher, also answer yes.
No

If there is one at your work office but not at your house answer no.
My studio is my work, and yes I have 5.1 here.

If you own multiple houses, defer to the one you spend the most time in.
The home I’m in most often has a Logitec 5.1

If you are like my sister in law, and have and your 5.1 system has been in a box in your closet for 3 years because you don’t know how to set it up, answer no. (And welcome to the forum, there are people who can help you out with setting that up).
I’m good on this one

-Lets grant that any amp and speaker config that purports to be 5.1 is. So Bose and Vizio sound bars count.
I have two Logitech 5.1 units and another at my other house for my TV that I can’t remember the name of.

Granted, a Logitech system isn’t anything to brag about. But I have a pretty decent one that is connected to my studio gear. I bought it mainly for consumer listening, but one day decided to use ARC to correct the sub and stereo speakers of the system and it’s become quite a good reference rig that sounds good. Sonar allows me to mix in 5.1 so I have been toying with it for about a year off and on.

My issue is I can’t seem to make surround mixes sound good on regular speakers. I’ve followed the advice of others as well as people that use Sonar to do this, but for some reason, the surround mixes sound strange through regular speakers. Like, it’s not hiding the surround channels as it should be. But the stuff I’ve done on surround that actually can be played on surround…whew, it’s awesome! Adding in Waves plugs that are made for surround as well as other processing gear that I have makes it really come to life.

It’s not something I am good at and know that a Logitech system is garbage…I’d never sell my surround services…lol…but it has been quite fun. If only I can figure out how to kill the surround channels for regular stereo so that it plays normal. Found an option that supposedly controls that, but it’s not worked as it should for some reason.

#4

Nope. I sold my TV before I moved and still haven’t bought a new one. I don’t watch enough TV/movies to justify spending any effort on the sound. I just use a generic sound bar with a sub.

#5

Nope… Have the speakers for 5.1 but the amp/receiver fried in a surge and I never replaced it. Been using old Alesis M1 Active monitors since and it sounds great!

#6

5.1 in the family room, adding speakers for 7.1. 5.1 in the master bedroom. None of it is connected to my feeble back bedroom studio. I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff over the years of selling it.

#7

No. We have a TV with a 20 year old “hi-fi” system which can be turned on, but that we never use. (And which is also now minus a subwoofer because I moved it to my basement studio where it is used.) :wink:

#8

Same here, except that my hifi set is another 15 years older.

#9

I wouldn’t be surpised a lot of people find 5 or 7 speakers in your room too much bother. Hence the success of the soundbar?

1 Like
#10

Yes, have 5.1 in my mancave/music room that is the audio for my home theater system.

#11

Yes, 5.1 Philips amp in the living room for TV, Movies and Music. Had my trusty old Yamaha TSS-1B 5.1 for main computer until recently… the amp output seems to have died on me. :frowning:

#12

Stereo here. I’d probably scare my kids with a 5.1 system.

#13

Waited 20 odd years to get myself a beautifully tuned 7.1 system. Found it a real hassle getting 6 speakers wired and placed in my living room. So I ended up wiring it up as a 5.1 system instead - but I tell you, the sound is to die for in my house!

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#14

No, I don’t. It sounds like it would be scary.

#15

I did that when I was younger, the surround sound obsession…certain movies made it work (helicopter fx)

but then I found out a cheap Samsung plastic DVD surround sound worked as good and got rid of the large pile of metal boxes and components and speakers…and went with the newer Samsung matching Surround set 5.1 (.1 is the sub)

but now 95% of tv is just stereo on TV, with streaming and no commercials.
the audio sucks but its just easier…like a radio in a car is easier, you turn it on and dont mess with anything.

100% of Music, HiFi is all Mono or Stereo… and I prefer the Mixing and Engineering in the original form…in some romantic vibe of days of old…and all done ITB via USB and my interface with a 96k headphone amp etc…
I dont want to hear Let It Be in surround sound or Jumpin Jack Flash or Queen or Nirvana or Sublime or Offspring in surround sound… actually 98% of the 98% audio is through my BeyerDynamics 880 headphones.

more info than asked …but in short STEREO…the surround sound gimmick was fun 20yrs ago.

#16

I used to feel like this, switch on the amp, TV, select the correct channel on the Amp, grab 14 different remotes to get it all to work. THEN, I discovered the Logitech Harmony remotes. Literally one button press, and everything is switched on, set to the correct channels with no fuss.

1 Like
#17

+1 for this! I started using Logitech Harmony remotes about ten years ago now, and they are great. Use the website to configure your setup, sync with the remote, and done. Sometimes it is a bit fiddly to get the remote to be recognized when plugged in to my computer, but it’s not something I have to do often, so no big deal.

#18

I had 5.1 for a while but didn’t care for it that much, so I’ve been back to stereo for quite a few years. And frankly nowadays I don’t even bother watching anything on the TV. I generally just watch Netflix on an iPad :stuck_out_tongue:

#19

That’s something I couldn’t give up. My “mancave” doubles as the music studio and the TV-watching room for those things that my wife and I watch together, which are not very many. We watch some movies and a couple of shows together (notably Game of Thrones and, lately, an AMC show called The Terror about a mid-19th century Arctic exploration mission gone horribly wrong). That’s when the 5.1 really shines. When I listen to music on that system, though, it’s always just regular stereo, I don’t put it in the config that upconverts to 5.1.

#20

This is really interesting!