Better for album listening - Arc + Surrounds, or Stereo Fives

  • 4 January 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 251 views

TLDR: What is the best way to enjoy albums given you already have an Arc and Sub?

 

I have an arc and sub in our media room.  I’ve recently gotten a port to attach our turntable, and am wondering about getting a more expansive sound.  Broadly speaking, could I expect a pair of fives facing me, or a pair of ones behind me set up in a surround system to offer a better experience?  I’m wondering if a pair of surrounds behind me would offer the same kind of stereo experience as speakers facing you, and if the sub and or arc would work with the fives, i.e. would I be losing bass if I ran the turntable through the fives.

 

 


5 replies

Userlevel 7

From my experience, when listening to music in stereo, a pair of Fives is the best option that will give you the best stereo imaging. But when listening to music in 5.1 surround or Dolby Atmos, the full 5.1.2 setup is obviously the best option.

Thanks GuitarSuperstar

I have a similar set up with a turntable connected to a ‘5.1’ (playbar, gen 2 sub and 2 x play 1s) via a port. Have to say it does sound v good but I always intended to run the turntable via a pair of 5’s eventually for a more ‘pure’ stereo sound.

 

Userlevel 6
Badge +11

@Monkeydeus 

I have both an arc 5.1 setup and a pair of 5's in my main room 

I bought the 5's as i didn't like listening to music on the soundbar even atmos music sounded odd to me, reminded me of the quadrophonic era🤪

I use the 5's connected to a sub for my streaming and have an Astell and kern DAP wired to one of the 5's which sounds great 

Expensive choice I know but it's all about personal preference and an old man like me who prefers his music in stereo only 😊

Good luck with your own choice 👍

Thanks for the aspirational motivation, I wasn’t aware of A&K before today😁

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