2+2+2

[Steve G]

does ANYBODY like this format?

I forlornly buy them because there are some titles you cannot get otherwise

but what is the rationale?

are you supposed to reconfigure your speakers for 10 discs? and add another speaker and amp?

what am I missing?

(I just bought one today - Schoenberg/Berg/Webern - still psyched about it but what's wrong with regular 5.1? It seems like in 2+2+2 everything is all cockamamied)

-s

[DaveN]

Never even heard of it. Can you (or anyone) elaborate?

[LeeS]

I'm not familiar with this format...do you mean the Chesky surround format?

Chesky uses a 6.0 setup with elevated front speakers. They believe it adds height information.

[Steve G]

it's a label called MDG that does it - I have about three of their discs - and yes, it is based on having two speakers up in the air

I think what they do is they use the center channel for one of these - so it's not really center info

The Chesky disc I have is 4.0 - no problem!

I think that I might simply turn off the center channel on the 2+2+2 recordings and see how it sounds, now that you mention it.

I've reconfigured the surround setup to make that easier to do!

[LeeS]

Chesky was pushing for a 6.0 rig for a while but they offer up 4.0 as well. Actually 6.0 made some sense in terms of sonics but 5.1 got established everywhere else.

[Steve G]

well when you said 6.0 a light went off in my head about turning off the center channel, so now I feel like, STOOPID, but whatever, looking forward to that Schoenberg....

in 4.0....

those 2+2+2 discs sound really messed up when you listen to them in normal 5.1 circumstances, because one of the other two channels comes out the center channel and one comes out the LFE channel.... It makes a crazy acoustical space. They SAY on the cover that you can just listen in 5.1, but trust me it doesn't work.

-s

[Rachael Bee]

I started a thread about this once a year or two ago when I got my one and only 2+2+2 disc. All the discs come from Germany. My disc has instructions on how to set it up. You change your centre and sub channel to the 2 other channels. I stille haven't tried it.

[bdiament]

does ANYBODY like this format?

I forlornly buy them because there are some titles you cannot get otherwise

but what is the rationale?

are you supposed to reconfigure your speakers for 10 discs? and add another speaker and amp?

what am I missing?

(I just bought one today - Schoenberg/Berg/Webern - still psyched about it but what's wrong with regular 5.1? It seems like in 2+2+2 everything is all cockamamied)

-s

Hi Steve,

In my view it is 5.1 that is "cockamamied".

"Mono-in-the-middle" (what I call the center channel) only makes sense if your left - right pair are spaced too far apart. So? I say, don't space them too far apart.

The ".1" channel doesn't make sense to me either. I want all my speakers to be full range and if subs are called for, I'm going to locate them very close to each main speaker. In real life, bass comes from anywhere and despite the conventional wisdom, is indeed in stereo.

That said, I understand there are a lot of disks, both audio and video, designed for 5.1 listening. To my mind though, that doesn't necessarily make the idea a good one.

I applaud Chesky and the others who do so for thinking independently and trying to come up with something better. I think they're onto something good.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

[tomcat]

When you set up your speakers correctly (2 front, 2 back, 2 front up), you'll get a great image of how the music sounded in the room where it was recorded, including the height of the room or the instrument, e.g. a big church organ. This is the big letdown of 5.1: there is no information on height, it's just flat around you. If you hear the church organ coming from everywhere with proper definition, including 3 stories above you, that's pretty impressive...