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 June 1, 2005 The Resurgence of Stereo At the annual High End show in Munich last month I witnessed two extremes. On the one hand, in a very large room, was B&W Loudspeakers flaunting an enormous multichannel audio system based on the newly released Nautilus 801D speakers and featuring live and recorded music. I listened, and while I could admire the ambition of the display, I honestly didn’t think it sounded very good, and I suspect others felt the same way. As I looked around the room I saw people quietly, patiently listening, but I saw no one who looked truly aroused or had a look as if to say, "Yeah, I’ve got to have this at home." If this megabuck display was meant to sell multichannel music for the home environment, it didn’t work.On the other hand, there were many smaller rooms featuring the products of other well-known manufacturers -- Germany’s T+A, France’s Audio Aero, and Japan’s Denon and Esoteric. These were less lavish displays featuring newly introduced, upscale products that were proudly billed as two-channel only. Two-channel only! Stereo? In 2005? What’s the audio world coming to, and where have these manufacturers been? The fact of the matter is that these manufacturers and others are leading the way for a resurgence of stereo sound for music listening at home (not for movies, mind you, where surround sound now has an iron grip similar to what stereo has had on music for decades). As a result, B&W’s multichannel display, while the thing to do a year or two ago, feels almost passé, mostly due to poor market acceptance of multichannel music software, and the questionable future for SACD and DVD-A. People haven’t, and probably won’t, buy a multichannel music-only setup in any great numbers. Stereo may have its limitations, but no one can say it doesn’t have legs. For decades other playback formats have tried to supplant it, but none has come close. The world has been, and still is, solidly stereo. Even with the advancements in surround sound that Dolby Digital and DTS have made for surround-sound listening -- and some of it is darn impressive -- stereo still rules. If you doubt me, make a trip to your local music vendor and tell me what you see. We both know -- racks and racks of stereo CDs. People buy them and play them on -- you guessed it -- a stereo system. It’s not surprising, then, that most manufacturers are turning back to producing topnotch two-channel products to satisfy the majority of listeners who are, and always will be, two-channel listeners. There’s a market there -- an enormous market; the market, in fact -- who want these products and, unfortunately, have been neglected over the last few years as many manufacturers jumped on the multichannel bandwagon. With that bandwagon now emptying, two-channel enthusiasts once again have their day. For example, the T+A product I mentioned is a stereo SACD/CD player called the D 10. The D 10 has a tube-based output stage and a retail price in Germany of 5500 euros. Denon has a new stereo SACD/CD player, too, called the DCD-SA1, and it retails for 7500 euros. Denon also has a matching two-channel integrated amplifier called the PMA-SA1 that sells for 8000 euros. Both products look beautiful, and they appear to be built extremely well. Get the picture? These are exquisitely engineered and highly desirable components that are proudly stereo, and with no upgrade path to multichannel sound. But is the rush back to stereo with new products strictly for the high-priced portion of the high end? From what I can see, at least for now, yes. However, in the audio industry history has taught us that the leaders tend to introduce their products at the upper end, and then things trickle down. Remember Sony’s first SACD player, the SCD-1? It was $5000, and now you can get a player that supports SACD, and all other formats, for about $100. I suspect, then, that in Munich this year we saw the tip of the iceberg and that next year there will be far more less-expensive products that are proudly two-channel only. As they say, what’s old is new again -- stereo sound, the technology that no one thought stood a chance against the latest assault by surround sound, is back, and stronger than ever. What’s more, it appears that the best is yet to come. In fact, I’ll be interested to see what sort of display B&W has next year in Munich. You know what my money is riding on. …Doug Schneider
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