audio versus video

[pixelthis]

Interesting question. Like others, listening to music provides more enjoyment to me than watching movies. On the other hand, I find that the video experience is definitely improved when the sound component is more convincing. There if far more to a good soundtrack than the dialogue - I find the trick to be providing the illusion of being in whatever space the scene calls for. On a busy street. In the forest. In an auditorium. On a spacecraft. By far, the most convincing example I've heard is from a reviewer friend's spectacular system. It is significantly better than anything else I've heard, certainly including commercial theatres. It simply disappears and allows you focus on the story.

Because I am audio focused, I find that a poor system has a greater effect to detract from the experience. It is not unusual that I have to stuff some tissue in my ears at theatres because of the loud, harsh, mediocre quality sound. The same is true when I attend live plays. Recently, the wife and I attended a dinner theatre event at the local university. The sound reinforcement consisted of several Peavy PA horns. Whoever mounted the speakers did not understand the concept of dispersion. They had oriented the cabinets with the mouth of the HF horn aligned vertically - creating a narrowly focused, hard sounding beam aimed directly at our table! I was miserable until the break where I could pack my ears to prevent further misery. Didn't pay much attention to the play.

I'm saying 50/50.

rw

WRONG, but I do agree with you that audio is important, even with dialog getting the right timber in the voices really adds to the experience.
And now let me settle this with a little experiment.

Think audio is near as important as video to humans?
Well, plug up your ears and walk around the house for awhile, how does that impair you?
NOW do the same with a blindfold on, you will quickly learn what the most important sense is to the average human.
Some old farts refuse to wear their hearing aids, but they ALL wear their glasses

[PeruvianSkies]

WRONG, but I do agree with you that audio is important, even with dialog getting the right timber in the voices really adds to the experience.
And now let me settle this with a little experiment.

Think audio is near as important as video to humans?
Well, plug up your ears and walk around the house for awhile, how does that impair you?
NOW do the same with a blindfold on, you will quickly learn what the most important sense is to the average human.
Some old farts refuse to wear their hearing aids, but they ALL wear their glasses

Again, you can't see the forest through the trees. We are not talking about how important hearing and seeing is when walking around our house, we are talking about it's importance when watching (and hearing) a film. Also, how this relates to us in high-end video and high-end audio terms.

You tried to say that I am comparing apples and oranges...you aren't even comparing food, you're about as far off as apples and laundry detergent.

[E-Stat]

Again, you can't see the forest through the trees.

No, but he is ("getting the right timber in the voices" ) thinking about lumber.

rw

[GMichael]

I'd like to answer this questions two ways:

1) Average Joe probably cares more about the video quality. Maybe not as much as some of use do, but more so than the sound. As proof, I present the growing HD movement as well as the popularity of Bose cubes and HTIB systems.

2) From my perspective? Let's see, I paid about 4 times as much on my audio than my video. I'd say I care more about the sound. But I need to have both to be happy.

May I have both please? A 106 inch HD screen AND good sound with heart pounding base. Yeah, both is best. Mark me down for both.

[musicman1999]

Great responses,keep em coming.It is good to see most people know how much the music and foley effects mean to the movie watching experience.I saw a film a while back,don't remember what it was,but it had an option to watch the film with only the music track.It really shows what music can do.If you have any films with this option,give it a try.

bill

[PeruvianSkies]

No, but he is ("getting the right timber in the voices" ) thinking about lumber.

rw

In my best Larry the Cable Guy....

Now that's funny right there...I don't care who you are...that's funny!

[E-Stat]

In my best Larry the Cable Guy...

LTCG is hilarious. I catch him on XM comedy from time to time.

Why is this guy debating our preferences? There is no one answer here, right or wrong. D'ya think that those who post on audioreview.com might share a teeny weeny bias in the audio direction?

I think Pix would be happier if he chills out a bit.

rw

[pixelthis]

LTCG is hilarious. I catch him on XM comedy from time to time.

Why is this guy debating our preferences? There is no one answer here, right or wrong. D'ya think that those who post on audioreview.com might share a teeny weeny bias in the audio direction?

I think Pix would be happier if he chills out a bit.

rw

Its five in the morning, I'm about as "chilled" as you can get.
If there is no "right or wrong" answer then why post the question?
And why is it important what I (or anybody) on this site perfers?
They are all a bunch of sticklers that are way outta the norm.
NOBODY I KNOW PAYS as much for speakers as I do, except a friend, sometimes we trade them back and forth.
And 300 bucks is a good average price for a center channel on a lower to midline system,
which is what I have. I dont have "ten k" to spend on an audio system alone,
I work for a living, but I will part with video before audio, if that answers your question,
which you dont seem to WANT answered

[E-Stat]

Its five in the morning, I'm about as "chilled" as you can get.

It's all about attitude.

If there is no "right or wrong" answer then why post the question?

Frequently posters ask for opinions to better understand each other.

... but I will part with video before audio, if that answers your question,
which you dont seem to WANT answered:

Actually, you just made my point. Those who post here tend to favor the audio side.

rw

[pixelthis]

Again, you can't see the forest through the trees. We are not talking about how important hearing and seeing is when walking around our house, we are talking about it's importance when watching (and hearing) a film. Also, how this relates to us in high-end video and high-end audio terms.

You tried to say that I am comparing apples and oranges...you aren't even comparing food, you're about as far off as apples and laundry detergent.

More gobbledegook that signifies nothing.
You have tenk worth of audio gear so obviously good sound in important to you.
What I cant seem to get through that rather thick skull of yours is that
IS NOT NORMAL.
Why open a debate if you are not going to entertain what people tell you?
What I was pointing out in my little demo was that the visual sense is so overwhelmingly
important to the human animal that anything visual is going to outweigh
anything audio by a far margin.
I live in a college town with a population of 50 to 150 thousand , depening on when school is in.
And when I buy audio equipment I had better LOVE it because unless I want to give it away or put it in the attic I'm pretty much stuck with it.
My TV sets usually go fast and at a good price however.
In another thread you didnt beleive that I auditioned a pair of speakers for two hours, well, thats the minimum, because they are the key ingredient to your system,
and if I decide I cant live with em tough, I'm usually stuck with em.
Does this give you some impression of the importance of video vs audio to most?
EVERYBODY wants a HT hese days, but audiophile systems are rarer and rarer these days.
And that is a HT with crap speakers usually, most cant beleive that my center cost 300 bucks by itself. I dont bother to tell them that my front speaker cables were 200 bucks,
and I have over six hundred bucks worth of cables in my dvd/sacd player.
Most dont spend that much on their entire set of speakers these days

[musicman1999]

More gobbledegook that signifies nothing.
You have tenk worth of audio gear so obviously good sound in important to you.
What I cant seem to get through that rather thick skull of yours is that
IS NOT NORMAL.
Why open a debate if you are not going to entertain what people tell you?
What I was pointing out in my little demo was that the visual sense is so overwhelmingly
important to the human animal that anything visual is going to outweigh
anything audio by a far margin.
I live in a college town with a population of 50 to 150 thousand , depening on when school is in.
And when I buy audio equipment I had better LOVE it because unless I want to give it away or put it in the attic I'm pretty much stuck with it.
My TV sets usually go fast and at a good price however.
In another thread you didnt beleive that I auditioned a pair of speakers for two hours, well, thats the minimum, because they are the key ingredient to your system,
and if I decide I cant live with em tough, I'm usually stuck with em.
Does this give you some impression of the importance of video vs audio to most?
EVERYBODY wants a HT hese days, but audiophile systems are rarer and rarer these days.
And that is a HT with crap speakers usually, most cant beleive that my center cost 300 bucks by itself. I dont bother to tell them that my front speaker cables were 200 bucks,
and I have over six hundred bucks worth of cables in my dvd/sacd player.
Most dont spend that much on their entire set of speakers these days

But what i wanted to know is,what is more important to YOU,not to people in general.And please stop quoting the price of your speakers,you must understand that many,many people on this forum would consider a $300 center a "crap speaker",but you don't hear them coming out with numbers.


bill

[kexodusc]

I dont bother to tell them that my front speaker cables were 200 bucks,
and I have over six hundred bucks worth of cables in my dvd/sacd player.

Yeah, I'd probably keep that on the down-low too, if I were you.

[E-Stat]

Think audio is near as important as video to humans?

What does that have to do with the question advanced?

In a movie watching experience what percentage do people think is video and what percentage audio?and why.

rw