Thanks for everyone’s input.
I had a “duh” moment (i.e., an epiphany) yesterday regarding my question: “Is there worthwhile rear channel content in 5.1 classical recordings, and separately, Hollywood movies? Is there a difference in rear L vs. R for classical recordings?” I realized that I can connect my stereo amp and speakers to the L&R rear outputs on my Oppo player and listen to what “rear” content (if any) is included in various classical recordings. I imagine that RichPA is right, it’s probably sound from the rear of the symphony hall – perhaps some (hopefully natural) reverb sound? I’m concerned it may be largely audience noise. (I hate audience noise, and I hate it when the engineers boost the level of applause in live recordings.) I’ve read about a few classical recordings where musical instruments are behind the listener. (IIRC, I read about a recording of a pipe organ that has racks of pipes installed all around a church, recorded with full range audio coming from the rear speakers. But I think this type of recording is very rare.) Bottom line, sometime in the next week or two I’ll connect my stereo to the L&R rear connections on my Oppo player, and listen to the content in a variety of recordings in order to discover if I think the content is worthwhile, vs. a 2.1 downmix that I’m accustomed to. My understanding is that my hi-res (24bit/192kHz) FLAC classical recordings (HDTracks) are 2 channel, but many of my SACDs are described as multi-channel. And, many Blu-ray classical and opera videos are described as multi-channel. (I’m not interested in using a DSP-based surround-sound pre-processor to generate artificial surround-sound from 2 channel recordings.)
Similarly, I’ll connect a mono amp to the center channel and listen for content on various multi-channel recordings. (Apparently even some 1950s RCA Living Stereo recordings were recorded in 3 channel, and the SACDs deliver 3 channels if played in 5.1 mode.)
I’ve read the “Why Not Wye” article several times over the years. Candidly, I’m somewhat skeptical about this article – but I’m not a technician - which is why I’m asking for others’ experience and expertise. I understand that if you connect a Y cable to the Tape Monitor output of an amp (e.g., to connect a subwoofer), then the main speakers might become mono (i.e. lose stereo separation). I don’t do that. (My Oppo universal player derives the subwoofer channel via its bass management software, and provides a line-level subwoofer connection.) In terms of electrical safety – or “frying” equipment – since I’m talking about line-level outputs – it seems to me we’re talking about low-power signals (unlike speaker outputs, which I would never combine). And I’m
not talking about tying together outputs from 2 different pieces of equipment, which would tie together grounds. Bottom line, I’ve used Y cables for years to sum the stereo outputs of CD players for a mono tube amp. I currently use that arrangement in my bedroom system (Fisher 500 mono tube receiver) for both a CD player and a Chromecast Audio, and it works satisfactorily – sounds good - and no smoke comes out.
First, I must decide if 5.1 surround sound is worthwhile for classical music. Or, perhaps 3.1 – i.e., front L&R, center channel & subwoofer - and simply not connect the rear channels. (I have the impression that some people use 3.1 because they have no room for the rear speakers, or it’s inconvenient to run wires. How much worthwhile content are they missing?) Or just connect one rear channel. Or connect both rear channels via a Y cable (or via a “summing” circuit). (The software in my Oppo players (UDP-205, BDP-105, BDP-95) support stereo, 2.1, 5.1, and 7.1, but unfortunately they do not support 3.1.)
One of the things that is driving my questions is that I’m considering getting new stereo speakers in my basement system, and rather than selling the old speakers, I might redeploy one speaker as a center channel, and the other as a rear channel. I currently have mismatched stereo speakers – one Klipsch RF7 and one RF-7 II (plus a Klipsch R-115SW subwoofer). I’m considering buying another pair of RF-7 II, and redeploying my existing RF-7 II as a center channel (driven by a mono tube amp), and redeploying the RF-7 as a rear speaker (separate mono tube amp). Or, just buy one RF-7 II, and use my existing RF-7 as a center channel, and no rear speakers. In this basement system, my stereo speakers are 12 feet apart, so a center channel may deliver benefit (assuming a recording that has center channel content). For me, part of the madness of this hobby is always wondering if I could realize significantly better sound … would a center channel deliver benefit for surround-sound classical recordings … would rear channels deliver benefit … a second 15” subwoofer …
Please continue to contribute your comments.
Thanks again.
Robert
P.S. Separate question: Am I correct that there is low probability of a problem is I use a Y-cable to split the RCA line-level subwoofer output of my Oppo universal player to 2 subwoofers? (My existing Klipsch R-115SW subwoofer in my basement system does not have a daisy-chain connection.) I like using the Oppo’s bass management software, because it provides a crossover before the main tube amp and speakers, off-loading the power-hungry deep bass from the main amp and speakers (vs. a “double bass” configuration), thereby improving dynamics during
fff passages.