Convergence is a word that seems to polarize people in the audio/video community. It used to horrify me personally. There was once a time when adding anything as opposed to replacing something in my two-channel stereo, was considered a step backwards, and blasphemy. After all I thought, simple is best, and adding a component or more speakers would certainly take me away from my goal of the purest reproduction of music. Then the transformation began. In 1996 I got my first real taste for home theater, and being a big movie fan I loved it. In 1997 when DVD really began making its mark I naturally wanted to use my system for movies too. I had invested a considerable amount of money in the rig and thought it ridiculous to listen to my TV’s sound when my stereo could do a much better job, especially with the promised sound quality of DVD. That did satisfy me for a while, as I got a fair amount of the dynamics and fidelity of movie soundtracks over two speakers. Most importantly, the movie watching experience in my home was the most enjoyable it had ever been.

I was still stuck in the two-channel mindset though, partially because I was (and am) an avid music lover and could not justify the additional expense of adding components that were not meant for music reproduction. Also, I was not going to sacrifice the quality of my rig by adding poorly matched components into a system that I had assembled carefully. As my enthusiasm grew for home theater though, a strange transformation took place. I realized that my goal of pure sound reproduction, as it related to home theater specifically, could not be furthered without surround speakers. This was a more "pure" (the mantra of an audiophile) approach with respect to soundtrack reproduction because that is how it is recorded. I was not accomplishing the goal of having a purer system by avoiding some controlled growth. Instead, I had a less complete rig because of my mindset. This epiphany was the primary motivator that got me over the hump.

In my home now, I have one system that serves both movies and music. I listen to CDs over just two speakers for the most part, but will use an occasional processing mode (or more correctly termed in this case, decoding method) such as Dolby Pro Logic, for live recordings. There are other overlapping areas as well. I use my subwoofer for music and as the LFE channel in my theater. The point is that my system is a multipurpose vehicle for my enjoyment. I would not think of having a separate system for each endeavor, thereby fragmenting my resources and using even more real estate in my house. I think it far wiser to choose components and speakers that serve both equally well. The line is blurring even more these days though, and I see this as a trend that will continue. For example, I have been enjoying a fair number of concert DVDs lately. Is this home theater or is this music? The answer is really unimportant for most of us, but is discussed around these parts because we have to decide where reviews are published and in what context.