"too hard to follow along" is a very good point. Instead of saying "we found this for 20 bucks on marketplace" you should be saying "you want to look for these particular features for a budget of around 20-40 bucks because from 50 bucks you could instead get this other thing which makes the first thing not worth it at that price".
That video gave me a "typical DIY UA-camr" vibe. Most of them go, "Why buy IKEA when you can just make your own desk for less?" and then it's just a guy in his garage using $50,000 equipment to make one. For me, it was mostly an entertaining "nerds macgyver a sound system out of scrap" video than something I can do in a reasonable time frame for it to be worth it.
i like older equipment because getting good sound is just a matter of connecting off the shelf hardware via standard connectors and cables. ive done 2.1, 4.1, 5.1, 7.1 and its always just used as an excuse to use cheap speakers with no range at the expense of an over-complicated setup. two full range is all you need. if you want 3d sound, use two more in the back.
Coming from a guy who watched the video and liked the video, I don’t think that “nobody wants tech tips anymore”. I think it’s because nobody wants audio tech tips or at least a good chunk of your audience.
Surprised they don't realize this given they're such a PC centric channel. Audio has been sidelined for ages. It's why built-in soundcards won. Most people don't care once it's 'good enough' or use headphones exclusively.
I feel like they kind of target the wrong audience with this. Most people who use soundbar, use it because the size or the convenience of not needing to setup anything. And those who already use speakers setup, all these info are very rudimental/basic. I feel like a better comparison would be active speakers/pc speakers (edifier speakers) vs soundbars since they both are very convenient to set up, unlike passive speakers, and they are relatively on the same price range ($100-400)
People tend to underestimate how good something can sound with just a little effort. My kid bought 15 headsets and broke them all. About a month ago, I showed him the difference between mine and his, and bought him a quality pair. Now he treats them like gold. He was so impressed by the quality, but you need to experience it to understand it-you can't convey that in a UA-cam video.
Yeah good audio is a small percentage of the crowd. This is the reason AirPods and beats were so popular because people don’t care or don’t know about better audio. Also better audio does require more prep and attention and most people won’t bother doing the work.
@@JohnnyBitcoin as an audio enthusiast, I will always recommend AirPods and use them myself over my FIIO Bluetooth band and Shure IEMs. Die hard audio hobbyists will also agree. Apple killed it with the quality to feature ratio on those things making them easy to recommend for people like us. I do cry whenever I see the prices and people buying things like Beats or those popular Sony over the head headphones popularized by techtubers that are glorified unboxing people or extreme generalists, like mkbhd. An angel dies every time a raycon ad or sponsor runs
I think claiming they don't care is a bit too broad a generalisation, there are certainly some people who don't care and then others with different levels of hearing damage, or loss. I suspect the biggest percentage of people, if your generalised statement, simply don't know any better. I've found this normally boils down to them just not understanding, which isn't too surprising as "audiophiles" can come across poorly. I've found they assume everyone has a level of understanding well above what the average person does, if you know enough about the basics you _might_ be able to follow along but many of them get lots "in the weeds" and if you ask questions they get snooty, or defensive.
I actually enjoyed that home theater episode more than normal. I miss entertaining videos like that that i can be entertained while being taught (not saying they are non existent just its been harder to find them then it used to be)
I think it just isn't very appealing to a general youtube audience looking for entertainment. The part of my brain with a terrible attention span couldn't get through it in one sitting, but the nerd part of my brain still found it interesting. It's kind of niche because most people simply don't care about audio.
@@flashlightning6742Honestly I upgraded to something probably half as great as what Linus is pushing was pushing out, but honestly “Broke af since I bought my rig” so I couldn’t buy another no thank you but. From playing silent hills 1 all the way to 3 from 7.1 headphones to a nice soundbar with subwoofer combo on a 50 inch. It made the horror experience completely and utterly terrifyingly like I remembered back when I was a child on a crappy box tv set watching or playing sh2 xDDD
same. better than a lot of the "here is some uber-expensive GFX card that no-one will buy" reviews. sure its nice to see how they perform, but of no practical use to the vast majority of people. The home theater one actually had some good advice and showed how a basic setup will far outperform a soundbar
I loved that video! I was just betting my cousin that no soundbar would get close to a proper 5.1 system at half the price, and this came up at the perfect timing. He has a Marantz 7.1 from 2010, and thankfully, I convinced him to keep it.
Said it live and I'll say it again - almost nobody cares about audio, even less people care for home theatres. I assure you that in example majority of Europeans won't ever build a set like this, cause they are living in flats with neighbours all around and for the most part, headphones are the way. It's such a niche topic.
It's not much different in the US. Most people can't afford a good home theater, and the difference between one and just watching a TV really doesn't seem that big to most people
@notabot1798 Definitely not the reason lol People like me with an interest in getting tech stuff at a good value are doing so because my money is tied up in other things like bills and debts. Getting used items requires knowledge of what I'm buying and audio is, frankly, a niche. Why should I bother researching audio when things like home maintenance, car maintenance, quality food, or other things are have a far more valuable opportunity cost? Furthermore, if I do research towards audio, I can either research a single type of product (a soundbar) or five or more separate types of products (receiver, sub, rear, center, satellite...). One takes exponentially more time to gain proficiency to go on the used market.
@@notabot1798 a home theater is much more of a luxury than ordering food. Being able to order take out says nothing at all about being able to build a home theater
The video didn't give me the information on how to find a good speakers vs bad speakers. If i found a speaker system for the same price, I wouldn't know if they are high quality or low quality
The thing is you have to do research. Just because they are from a certain brand doesnt mean they are good. Or useful for that room. Iam not deep into audio stuff but i know my way around in this area.
the point is that any system is better than the sound bar, which is pretty much true. If you get a decent AV receiver from 15 years ago you will be good, same for the speakers. Providing exact recommendations is pointless as the exact models are not going to be available.
that’s a whole different talking point tho that would require another 20 mins of video to explain plus you’re talking about a list that’s probably got over 500 products on it. you’d need another video for sure this video was to show you how you can spend the same amount as the most popular sound bar on a surround system that will blow it out of the water
The first valid criticism I've found in the comment section so far. The people already in-the-know understand what to look for. People who know nothing (aka the average soundbar customer) don't even know where to begin. They gave tons of information about the details of working with you have, but not how to choose what to get.
The only problem i had with that video was that it ignored space constraints and the neecessity to run audio cables in your room for the surround speakers.
I think the biggest problem with the video was that they never gave any information about how to choose the right gear: if I needed to do something similar my biggest problem would be which things to buy, not if something is possible or not (and since it’s basically impossible to find the exact things they got just listing their picks wasn’t very helpful)
I actually just went through this whole process setting up a new home theater (which is absolutely awesome now). My advice is to just look for an AV receiver that supports hdmi 2.0 (Google) and any speakers will do. A 2.0 receiver will usually come with front, center, rear, and sub. So once you have all of that, buy an nvidia shield and you're set. The big tip is to start with the receiver. If it supports 2.0 hdmi, then you can find speakers and other needed items for basically free. When I was marketplacing for receivers, I had probably 10 tabs looking at what receivers support what hdmi.
That's fair enough. I enjoyed the video and didn't really have problems with it but going forward if they do similar videos they should incorporate that kind of analysis.
the message of the video wasnt to tell you which gear exactly to look for, but more so to just convey that making a home theater doesnt need to be bank breaking, and in fairness they explained how, which is to look for them in a second hand marketplace. Its not even practical for them to tell you which specific models of what you should get because whatever is available in the market place will always be different, it should be on you as the viewer to do research.
Ok, it's a fair point. When I bought my system, there was a lot of misinformation too. My advice would be to get a 5.1 receiver with at least 1000 watts. If you're not tech-savvy, make sure it has HDMI. Then check the manual for the speakers and start building from there. And if you want a no-brainer solution, get the receiver with the original speakers. Just make sure it's a receiver, not a home theater system.
A good chunk of your audience doesn't even have a TV so a cheap home theatre system does not appeal to them at all. But I still find those types of video really important, I watch them until the end and like them every time.
@@notabot1798I didn’t bother to buy a TV for the first 3 years of university. Still had a smartphone. Students who know they’re going to leave the apartment after a year won’t bother to buy those huge things that are a hassle to move back and forth. Unless I’m completely mistaken, plenty of young people watch this channel.
I think it’s that you hit a tough spot demographically. The entertainment people wanna see the best soundbar ever, and the tech money-strained tech tip crowd may have no interest in home theaters
This makes sense. Renaming to something like “How to build your first home theater on a budget” (obviously I’m not an expert UA-camr) might attract a niche demographic of people on a budget who never considered a home theater but now could? As it stands, yeah, I find hard to figure out who that video was for.
@@christianruiz4249 going further off of this maybe even removing the phrase "home theater" which most people think of as a huge luxury, and instead saying "sound system". For me at least when I hear "home theater" I think of a projector with a bunch of fancy leather chairs in a mansion instead just the TV, soundbar, and couch the majority of people use to watch movies.
As Linus mentions in the clip, they used the home theater room because it was a convenient place to film in, not because it was specifically about building a home theater setup. The tips mentioned were applicable to almost any TV situation or even just buying components for a music system. It was simply about getting better audio for cheaper. That's why they had multiple configurations, to show how you can adjust your buying decisions for different considerations.
I swear, Linus has this existential moment every so often where he's like "why doesn't UA-cam like what I like" and takes it deeply personally. Like, dude, you've been in the game too long for this. Make what you love to make, or make what makes money, or make the combo that suits you. But you won't change the game by complaining about it.
I think every creative person has to struggle with this regularly, but it must be so much worse for Linus because he's a control freak (self-described.) It's difficult for him to balance making what he views as a sub-par product and providing income for a company of over 100 people. There's a reason why pretty much no other UA-cam channel has that many employees, it's almost impossible to keep that balance. I feel like LMG has done a great job treading the line, but you can't keep growing forever and eventually the balance will be broken and LMG will die the same way channels like Rooster Teeth did before them
@@Nighthawk20000 Well LMG isn't just a UA-cam channel (or even just multiple channels) anymore. There's also the Floatplane platform they run, at minimum.
Except this is different He gave out a well researched easy to understand video The problem is that it relies on people to not have room temperature IQ and have been born before 1994
If you take a big youtuber and put them on a weekly multi hour podcast to talk about what's on his mind, what do you expect? Of course the performance of his videos is going to be on his mind a lot. That's literally his full time job to think about. And the reason he got where he is, because he is so aware of it. I don't see the point of clipping these segments though. No one else is going to care so much.
The video didn't really feel like a tip, but more of a an execution of a concept. You more saw 'is something possible' than 'how can you do this' you didn't really provide any insight into how to recreate this process and how to follow through on it. So it was far more entertainment than truly informative in any way.
This is exactly how I felt. It wasn't a guide for how you should do it yourself, it was just letting you know it's possible, which isn't really helpful st all. Now that people know it's possible, perhaps a follow-up video explaining how to do it yourself would be appreciated?
Welcome to the audio world where people usually buy based on brands. Doesn't matter the price range. It's a shit show. I believe some audiophiles were on the verge of collapse when they saw the video
I have two thoughts, The first is that it feels like I’ve seen a looot of the inside of your home theatre lately. There’s only so many times a different tv option or different speakers can be compared in 1 room before it all starts to feel a bit trivial, especially since a lot of the changes are temporary, knowing it’s all gonna get dragged out again after the video is over makes it feel a bit hollow. Secondly, while I personally found the speaker stuff super interesting, even though I want to have better audio for my TV - surround just isn’t achievable in my current home, it’ll be another few years till I move & can think about it, so while a video on a bargaining hunting for a computer is something I could go out and do tomorrow, there’s no point in me looking into home theatre stuff until I have a space I can use it in! I’d be much more interested in a video on what I can do to improve audio when my sofa is against a wall & tv off centre to the sofa!
Bookshelf speakers and a powered sub. I have a pair of Klipsch powered units I got with a bad built-in amplifier. I found evidence of moisture on the power supply, so I just gutted the electronics and hooked it up to an external amp. Job done. Though, I think they covered something like that really early in the original video
I think filming in a dedicated home theater is actually an important point worth talking about. It’s very difficult to relate to the idea of putting a 5.1 system into a regular family with a couch against the wall. A big part of the appeal of sound bars is that it’s hard to put a 5.1 system into a family room with a couch backed up against the wall. As someone who’s super into audio and has designed/built multiple speakers, it always irks me when speaker reviews are done solely in dedicated listening rooms because it’s so unrelatable. If that video had been done in a suboptimal room, and included tips on how to get the rear speakers to work in that situation I think it would have resonated with more people. That’s a huge tech tip that would be highly relevant to lots of viewers
Yup. I actually got into building / designing my own bookshelf speakers as well, specifically because I couldn’t find anything that worked for my weird and tiny living room. I scrolled past this video specifically because of the ENORMOUS HEAP of equipment in the thumbnail. I would love to build my own surround system, but I just don’t have the space.
@@rascaltwitch22 And probably that's one of the key factors why people would choose soundbar over full stereo/5.1 gear, even if it's overpriced. But also they are other factors as well, main of them is the convenience & accesibility.
Speaking from my 30+ social bubble: - Most people dont have the space for a hometheater - most people dont care about sound beyond a certain, pretty low level - most people dont have a big TV in the first place - Most people dont buy expensive electronics from ebay etc. because they have no way of confirming that they are not buying broken shit and want a warranty
All points are completely correct here, but I think people don't realize how safe eBay is for the buyer. eBay will literally screw over a seller if a buyer sends a complaint, even if the seller finds the complaint to be invalid. It's a much better buying environment than Facebook marketplace, where you buy in cash, often with no way to test the product, with no way to get your money back.
@@Rohinthas just about anyone who lives in a house, or an apartment bigger than a studio has a large tv. A quick search shows that 66% of Americans own a 4k tv. I think the idea that most people don’t care about good sound is why this video exists. Linus wants people to care because good sound makes a huge difference in the viewing or gaming experience. This video was entirely used hardware from marketplace not eBay. The only real problem with buying sound gear on eBay is shipping costs. The lack of a dedicated theater space is the main issue with this video
Bang on. Wife and I live in a 1bdr wood-framed apartment. We aren't in the position where we are comfortable installing a killer sound system, really for any amount of money, I simply do not want to bother my neighbors. I also admit I don't care much about sound quality, but I'd be willing to care more if I had a space where I could practice it, like a house. When we buy a home, I'll come back to that video for guidance. Until then I'll keep using my closed-backed Sennheisers, noise cancelling Bose, and, urpp, TV speakers 😂
Then that video is not at all for them even a little bit. There are thousand other videos to choose from. Plus the audiophile community self destructs from time to time. They are never happy
There is also the issue that the audiophile crowd is kind of the laughing stock within the tech Community for the simple reason that there is so much psychological placebo after a certain quality threshold is reached that the high end stuff or even anything beyond commercial grade stuff is so subjective that it isn't worth the effort and price for the average consumer, just remember the audiophile networking switches or even the gold plated Toslink cables, that is the level of ridiculousness that the placebo effect has on the audiophile crowd after the minimum threshold of sound quality is reached.
6:05 wicked point from Luke, the same thing happened with Mythbusters. Super early on in season 1/2 half the episode would be dedicated to them actually building the rigs they were using for testing, debating the design of said rigs, and overall messing around. I personally found this to be way more entertaining. I think this same thing has happened with LTT to a major extent. This makes the content feel way less human and far more sterile. Maybe the next evolution of LTT would be to re-incorporate the full creative process into the final video, rather than having Linus walk onto a set where a writer has already done all the heavy lifting. The laughs and humor which get added by the hosts are always less genuine and entertaining when real setbacks and conflicts are avoided through rigorous planning. Modern LTT has lost the magic which made me feel connected to the people I am watching. It's the reason people love Alex's janky water cooling videos. It isn't just because its janky, its because executing these things is actually a challenge and makes watching it a good time. Go back to the basics and make content which feels human.
I honestly found the video fantastic as an example of how to not blow money on comparatively lower quality new stuff when trying your luck\ doing your research and find something that works for you. It's how I ended up with an antique Telefunken radio cabinet, Bose satalite speakers and older high end Sony head unit for $150 in 2009 money that STILL out performs most of my friends sound systems today. That said I think the video didn't do as well because ( generalization incoming) a decent amount of people aren't interested in the journey so much as the destination when it comes to that stuff and it saddens me to see
I think there aren't many people who care about sound systems. Most people use headphones, or doing the foolish of just having the soundbar for their television. I use a TV i have hooked up to my computer if I need to play audio through the whole room but its very rare and I know its low quality but oh well.
@@AstralDragn not to mention ~40% of people live in apartments. I couldn't really have a banging surround system if I wanted to because then I would annoy my neighbors. but a cheap soundbar is better than the TV speakers without blowing up the neighborhood. my last apartment someone called the office over the "loud bass" from my amazon alexa
@@CryptGhast2012 That’s the thing-a properly installed 5.1 system isn’t about blowing your neighbors away; it’s about crystal-clear and properly directional audio at half the price and three times the performance. Usually, people don’t place the subwoofer correctly, and that’s what makes everyone mad. But no cheap soundbar would beat a 5.1 system at low volume.
@@AstralDragnI think their cultivated audience isn’t super interested. But that’s because we spend all our money on high FPS builds, and they want to use those, not the Tav in the other room.
you last statement reminds me of scrapyard wars. theres an exception to every rule, and i cant think of any examples so your last statement could still be true. but i was thinking how scrapyard wars, one of the most popular series on the channel, is specifically about the journey
That video gave me the courage to find my first home theater setup on the marketplace. I couldn’t be happier with what I found and now my office setup is finally complete where it’s been missing audio gear for 10 years. Thanks Linus.
I didn't watch the video based on the title actually. "Build your own cheap, home theater" => Well, I don't have the room for that, and I would have to deal with noise complaints. I think even beyond pricing, or the difficulty of bargain shopping, is the simple fact that the word "Home Theater" simply isn't all that attractive or even relevant to a subset of people. A home theater, isn't really something I would spend money on, much less spend time trying to make cheaply.
I honestly dont know anyone who has something that would come close to a "home theater". As far as i can tell, that is just not really a thing outside of north america.
This was the main thing for me, in my current living room I have zero space for satellites, so soundbar it is. When I read "Home Theater" I thought, well, not for me. Also I suspected it's yet another "we pulled used parts from somewhere" video and that always makes me even less interested, the applicability of the specifics they show is zero for me (not even the same continent) and the general thrust ("you could use used parts for cheaper") is not news to me. So I think the title of this clip about how people don't want actual tech tips is comically missing the mark, at the level of "do you guys not have phones". I hope that's not the conclusion they draw from this.
for me, the difficulty is purely in bargain shopping, and partially in the lack of care to. i know there's good deals out there, but i don't really like looking for deals all the time which i basically have to do where i live if i want something remotely bargain worthy. their amazon series is much more in my interest as awful as that sounds to reusability and whatnot. i also just prefer knowing that i have a brand or like-new product that wont suddenly do something weird because of what a previous owner might have done
@@holycaketree I do not know if this the case now, I suspect not now that soundbars are way more popular, but back in the DVD/Bluray era you used to be able to buy "home theaters in a box", which were a player/amp and the 5 speakers + sub. These sold well, even in Europe, and to multiwinia's point, did not cause noise complaint issues*. But of course they were nowhere near as good as the whole US massive home theater systems. * The benefit of these systems was that as you were in full control of all the audio streams instead of your TV downmixing, you could increase the centre speaker audio to boost dialogue while reducing the other channels & sub, so for action movies and the like, explosions were not too loud to annoy the neighbours.
marketplace=no immediately for me. the risk/reward for marketplace is just awful especially near cities. so I skipped the video based solely on that. however I think the larger problem is that surround is a very niche subset of people.
I never clicked initially because I just have no interest in sound systems. But the phrasing "How I " instead of "How to " made it feel to me that it wouldn't be applicable to me anyway. (e.g. I start to assume special pricing for LTT, or access to parts not available yet.) So it might be one of those cases where, if the video was uploaded by someone else, my expectations would be a little different.
this. im renting a studio and haven't got the place for a stereo system, let alone a surround one. I think many don't have the space at all to be interested in such a setup to watch the video
What happens to me with their "We built this for dirt cheap" videos is that they usually find the most obscure post like "A 3070 for $25USD" and proceed to pull brand new parts or barely used ones from their storage. Part of the dumpster diving experience is that you never know how mistreated was the thing you bought and in my case at least I dont have the extra income to gamble so I'd rather put the extra for something that comes with a warranty.
That's honestly my problem with a lot of this "How I built this____for x", like dude magically finds super expensive parts for cheap on marketplace or laying around, it just ain't relatable
Same thing was said recently when they built a pc using second hand parts (skipped shipping) and compared it to new ps5. And then didn't want to listen
Ironically the most interesting video I've seen from the main channel in a loooong time. I usually skip around most videos, but I was invested in this one the whole way through.
The issue is reading too much into the youtube statistics. You sometimes have to create videos that you want to and realize they might not be a huge hit. Audio setups are niche, doesn't mean that people don't like tech tips. I also wouldn't necessarily group audio as a tech tip.
It's sensible, but it's not a good business take. Professional UA-camrs need to follow the statistics, and there's absolutely a science to getting good numbers. LMG depends on their videos doing well to support their employees.
@@ZeroUm_ You're right, of course, but I would contend that it's still very possible to arrive at a bad conclusion even from good data. My main worry here is that this clip is titled "Y'all don't want actual tech tips" and that, in my opinion, is not the conclusion to draw because it's overly broad while the target audience of the original video in question probably wasn't. I'm very interested in "actual tech tips", but not in cheap home theater systems, for example. So, as always, it's complicated and I'm glad that it's ultimately none of my business.
@@ZeroUm_You can’t solely look at the immediate KPI’s. It’s like a comedian telling the same joke over and over again because people laughed a lot the first time. And conversely - a joke isn’t bad just because the first time you told it you didn’t get the laughs you wanted - it could just be the crowd wasn’t feeling it. If the LTT audience does indeed not want tech tips anymore, it is because they cultivated that audience through years of chasing engagement and entertainment. Probably a lot of the people who would appreciate this content stopped watching the channel years ago.
A few thoughts... First off, I think they did a decent job demonstrating that a cheap used hi-fi surround system is better than a cheap out of box solution, without getting too deep into technical details. That said, I kind of wish they went into some of the details, such as what specific frequencies were gained and lost, and maybe some better mic setups so we could hear specific speakers compared to one another. Linus has a great home theater space to show some of these details in practice. It would also be great to see a video going more in depth on how to do find good cheap components in the first place. It took me years to cobble together my own setup, and I learned a lot along the way, mostly from ancient forum posts. Even then, I still bought some components blindly and only found out later whether they were decent or trash. It would be nice to have more resources to help get people pointed in the right direction from the start.
I enjoyed the video, but I think they overestimate the amount of people who are willing to ever use something like Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, etc, so it naturally doesn't speak to them as much. Scrapyard wars works better because there is the aspect of competition, not trying to get people to necessarily go and buy the parts for themselves. Not everyone wants to drive all over the city to like 3+ different people's houses, meetup spots, or whatever, and time used is for sure a factor.
In my opinion that could be part of it, but personally I just don't have an interest in building anything like a home theater setup. Buying PC components, maybe a monitor from FB marketplace works, watched videos like that before and I have bought stuff myself there too, so I might be biased, but just idea of home theater does not appeal to me.
I think the main reason why such a video might not gain as much traction is t he following points: 1. People reading about a surround sound system in the title might immediately think that it is a "wealthy" thing again where Linux upgrades/changes his home cinema setup once again (I admit I drool a bit over it whenever I see it) 2. Surround sound is a niche topic in itself that people that buy a soundbar, have not really learned to appreciate (non-enthusiasts that buy a soundbar might not be as interested) 3. Work - Watching the video I basically felt the work and the necessary know-how: I don't know how to do the voltage thing in detail for example (But knowing this might be a problem is nice) Overall I think that this video landed in the "watch later" playlist as an "when I have the time and energy for it I will watch the whole thing so I can do it myself". Maybe it will generate a bit more views long term?
If they made a video titled "best budget sound setup for your house" and gave a few options and a guide on what kind of equipment to buy that would get a lot more views.
Not showing the "bargain hunting" process can make the idea a little daunting and off-putting. A lot of the time I personally find that "How to" content feels a bit like magic because of how much is often done off screen. Kinda like watching some do wood working with $1000+ equipment.
linus does barely does budget stuff tbh if you want cheap, you can try to search for DIY channels, it's SOMETIMES harder to make something of your own than to fix some of the second-hand tech that you get(if you're really on a budget, and even something trivial such as a loose connection/loose wire drops the price a lot)
It's clear that Linus is obsessed with feedback and spends a huge amount of mental bandwidth on it, but he doesn't seem to be especially methodical about it. It usually seems like he takes an all or nothing attitude and typically gives knee jerk responses without trying to seek more information. Like the last question at 16:02, he clearly didn't understand what the person was saying (they meant the minority of negative feedback, not the minority of people who own sound bars).
My guess is that a lot of your audience are Zoomers and Alphas that have no interest in or ability to buy a soundbar/theatre system anyway, so they would have no interest in that video. Can you see per-video viewership by age group in your analytics?
Honestly generalizing by pure age groups is pointless because, despite your biases, people in the same age groups are interested in different things. LTT’s superfans fans (those that would be in a WAN show comments section) are way different than their average viewer, who happens to be people that comment on youtube videos.
@@the48thronin97 I mean, I didn't watch the video specifically because I have zero interest in any surround sound system. I will never use one. I have headphones.
I don't think it's a generational thing, but more about ignorance-no disrespect, just lack of a better word. Most people think a 5.1 system is all about lots of bass, and that headphones with high volume are good enough.
I’m gen Z, 22 y/o. But I loved that video. Got into hifi headphones back in 2020, and last year I got into speakers. This year added a sub, got a measurement mic, and learned how to use REW.
If i could add my 2 cents here...im an audiohpile. A lot of people i know arent. The thing i found about that is most non audiophile people find it really challenging to understand super technical things like this. Its kind of like a non coder watching a hacker crack into a top level security system. It looks cool sure, but its confusing to a point where they just kinda look the other way. Some people dont care about being super technical and only care about simplicity and things that are easier to understand for convenience. I could go on all day about speaker systems, headphones, sound systems, car audio, and digital media info but some others just wont care and will only hear gibberish the whole time
The issue too with a "cheap home theater" video is that anyone who cares probably has better gear already. Even if they don't, they definitely have better sources of information on gear than an LTT video. It's too watered down for someone who's actually into speakers, and it has nothing to offer someone who doesn't care about speakers. Of course nobody's watching that video, it has no audience.
The amount of people who actually have the appropriate square footage to warrant a surround sound setup is simply quite slim. Viewers outside the US and Canada can be working with half as much square footage in their home or less. Naturally you need a stronger entertainment lean to retain viewers across the board.
You can have an amazing sound experience without disturbing the neighbors with a 5.1 system. I understand it's not a plug-and-play solution, but if you're willing to try, your mind will be blown at how good a 5.1 system can be at low volume or in small spaces.
I have an LG home cinema with tiny speakers that sounds absolutelly otherworldly, my father found it in an outlet store so it was also dirty cheap. Again, for my computer I use a Creative Inspire T6300 5.1 system that blows away any soundbar, it's just less powerfull and tuned to have a more party-like sound, with deep bass and clear voice (not overdone, just a sound signature that I like) and you can get those for around 100€, or even better get the older T5300 that also sound amazing and some people nearly gives away.
There are surround systems that work great in a small space and are also wireless. The Polk Magnifi Mini AX with rears is an easy and relatively cheap way to get surround sound in a small space without the hassle of wires. On the higher end there is the Sony Quad which is quite frankly amazing for its small footprint and ease of use/setup. I would actually recommend caring about speakers more if you have to keep the noise down as a better setup can still deliver clear audio at lower volumes.
This didn´t feel like a tech tip video, as i didn´t feel like the information given would help me decide because it was more like a bunch of random tips on different things, rather then a focussed video on one subject.
I'm a musician, and I don't like to settle for just TV speakers anymore. That said, I've gone down too many rabbitholes (guitar equipment, PCs, Game Consoles) to start buying a bunch of sound equipment outside of easily movable studio monitors. Stereo is all I've ever personally cared to need. Most people are listening to stereo audio on stereo sources. I'm sure it would be different if i was a full-on audiophile, but even with movies, which I AM picky on, I've never had a space where adding extra speakers or using a sophisticated setup wouldn't be a total pain in the ass. Also my living room TV somehow has no audio outputs. (I think this type of video has potential to perform well over time in the specific community that likes that stuff. Very much seems like something those people would send to other would-be enthusiasts)
You don't need audio outputs. But that's literally the point, he didn't explain anything. So even enthusiasts don't know what to do. And yes coming from music 2.0 or a 2.1 system is enough, but if u consider surround sound for movies 5.1 or 7.1 would be a big upgrade oder stereo
The problem with the tech tips in the video was that they expected the viewer to already have a certain amount of knowledge of speakers and AV equipment. If I don't know anything about picking an amplifier the video didn't tell me anything about how to find a good used one on facebook market place. If I don't know anything about speaker specs how do I know that the speakers I found will sound decent without listening to them? The benefits of buying a new soundbar versus 15 year old speakers is that I can actually find reviews of the soundbar and find out if the one I'm looking for is actually good in comparison to other sound bars, and make an informed decision from there. Searching for speakers on facebook marketplace is a crapshoot unless you know what you're looking for, and they didn't explain what to actually look for. Like when they do scrapyard wars, or put together PCs from facebook marketplace parts they tell you what to watch out for and how to not get scammed. They didn't do that for this video.
Kind of stupid. I've had "home theater" setups all the way through renting apartments. It doesn't need to take a ton of space. It doesn't need to be expensive. Small cheap speakers connected to an AVR are better than tv speakers or soundbars always
It is CRAZY to me that this video has received so much criticism because it actively made me go out and scrounge together a second hand surround sound system off Facebook marketplace. I went in with about as little knowledge as someone can, and I came out with a pretty insane sound system for the price of 160 freedom dollars. I found there were a couple things I would have liked to see, like how I didn’t know that the cable that you need to connect the speakers to the receiver is a speaker cable, but with a short discussion and a couple questions from the guy I bought my speakers from I felt fairly comfortable. And it was legitimately easy to set up! Even if the video didn’t land great with everyone, it truly improved my day to day life and I’d be sad if content like that were to leave the channel. It was super informative and a blast to watch, maybe one of my favorite videos y’all have ever put out.
I watched the video in a vacuum before I saw any of this discourse on the day it came out with the original title and... I absolutely loved it! I seriously want more videos like that. That might have been one of my favorite LTT videos of the past year for how tangible and genuinely applicable it was to real life. It actually had me browsing around at local audio stuff, even though I have no need or capacity for a home theater setup! Anyways, I appreciated it a lot! With that said, I am somebody who will watch a 1-4 hour video on a single topic if I find it even remotely entertaining (I have seen every single Technology Connections video in the last 5 years), so maybe my attention span or interest in more immersive and informational content is skewing me to be much more positive of the video
I feel like just not many people are in the market for a surround sound system. I have a serverrack in my bedroom and watch 3-5 movies a week, but only recently started considering getting one. They are just big, impractical and just an improvement on something that already works okay.
I actually really enjoy that video. But I am kinda an audio guy who is still buying budget vintage speakers, so I am probably an exception. However I feel like the idea of buying old speakers instead of soundbar is already well-known among a lot of people, even non-audio people. Most buy soundbars because it is easy to setup and take less space. Also I notice that in the videos, except for the clips of you swapping out the speakers, most of the time it is just the impressions of you guys comparing the two (basically soundbar - impressions -switch to cheap speakers - impressions - add more speakers/subwoofer - impressions --....). I notice myself during those part thinking that it is kinda obvious and repetitive. I feel like in between those clips of swapping out the speakers then straight to impressions, maybe you can go a little bit in-depth on how to buy/choose vintage speakers that is not damaged or some popular speakers model being sold out there (Polk audio, Paradigm, Sony SCS, B&W,) in between, it would provide more information as well as make it a little bit more interesting imo. Especially since I also learned it the hard way after buying 1-2 sets of vintage speakers that have their foam inside need to be replaced. You can also talk about how most places (atleast in the US, EU, UK, Canada) have local speakers repair shops that specialized selling repaired vintage speakers for a little mark up can solve all the hassle. Again, that is just my opinion as someone who had been through that rabbit hole before. I am not sure if this may or may not affect the performance of the videos since it is more technical than entertainment, which often means less engagement. But I think that would help more than just comparing the speakers vs soundbars alone.
Yep… I agree, I loved the video too. I'm a niche audience when it comes to sound, and although I'm an amateur, I completely relate to going down that rabbit hole myself.
I didn’t watch it because I have audio gear and imo everything is the same anyways. Why would I watch a video about it. Linus said it himself. A receiver from 15 years ago is practically just as good as new ones for what most people need
The product value of that series would be absolutely insane. Might be cool but given the response to this video people might not want to watch it. Especially when it doesn't deal with their building/wiring standards.
ATH-M50s are very decent studio headphones. They are not for musical enjoyment, comfort, style, boom, insane detail, great pace / rhythm / tempo, etc., they are utilitarian studio devices that hold up to abuse and do their job well while having good isolation and being easy to drive.
My "issue" with the "Facebook marketplace" videos is the same as what was said at 8:00. I live in the rural midwest, and so the time and money (gas ain't free) to drive all over to piece together a system isn't worth the cost savings. But that just means it's not a relevant video to me, not something worth getting upset about.
@@kennethwhitmer4232 Ebay is it's own problem. The beauty of Facebook marketplace and Craigslist is that oftentimes you're able to find great deals as people are looking to offload items either for space or for a quick cash injection. In my experience (ymmv), prices on ebay tend to be higher (plus occasional shipping costs) as buyers are more willing to keep an item longer. Plus, it's hard to find a deal because it's so easy for sellers to see what other people are selling it for, and will price accordingly. There's also zero room to negotiate with ebay sellers, unless you strictly choose auction items, but that's not really negotiating, that's just you stating your offer and praying.
I love the varied nature of LTT videos, having and sticking to one or two subject lines would be boring and tedious. Love seeing you branch out into other avenues of the tech industry with varied content.
I liked the video, but more in a entertaining way than a huge tech tip way, I actually felt the tech tips were missing, and giving me more questions as how to do this. In short, the takeaway I got was, you CAN get a better audio stage IF you know what you have to look for AND you get lucky with stuff on your marketplace. I just got a soundbar (handed down from a unkle) and we're not 100% happy with it as it has AI bullshit auto tuning which appearatly can't be shut off. This video than was released and it i felt like this would be the solution... But... The biggest problem... I whould still have no idea as to what do i need to look for, to make sure i get good stuff, what stuff do i even need, and what is there bought new (for an setup with warranty) that whould be worth it? The video was very lacking in details into teaching me what to do, what to look out for, what to absolutely not do, and that kind of stuff. I learned a concept, not the actual tech.
I agree with the conclusion a lot, the way the parts were mixed throughout was a little hard to follow money-wise, But I fully agree with the original video and enjoyed it, and often enjoy more informational videos than the more fast paced videos that have taken off more recently. I also do know a lot of family that would do have soundbars and the money to get smth wayyyyy bettrr, and also that I have family who have odd living room layouts where a soundbars is the only option bc of the strange layout and space constraints Side note: I absolutely love the clips y'all put out! I often don't have time to watch things live or in full vod form bc of work, so this format is amazing! Keep doing what y'all are doing, you do it amazing
I don't know why people didn't like that video. I loved it. It was obvious to me that this was a demo of what you could get, not exactly what to get. I am not ready to set up a home theater thing right now but when I am ready for that I'm going to 100% watch that video again for ideas and look for good deals on used stuff. It was a solid 9.8/10 video for me in my opinion, and I hope those types of videos don't go away.
I really hope you get a home theater at some point-you are in for a treat! Your post reminded me how much I wanted my 5.1 receiver, and man, how it transformed my living room.
I think a huge part of it is simply because it's a video about home theater. There aren't that many people out there interested in it. Reasons vary, from not having enough room (apartments are pretty cramped nowadays), to simply not seeing the point in a home theater system.
One aspect that wasn’t discussed here but was directly pointed out at the end of the 3d projector video is that it’s inherently hard for the viewer to feel the differences. Similar to how we can’t see the 3d, by the time the audio is captured, edited, compressed in export, and played back through my iPhone speakers it’s hard to receive the increased value. I enjoyed the journey of both projects as someone who’s pretty handy myself, but just finding creative ways to make the differences more perceivable can open up the audience to a wider base I feel like
Next time start the same video with a declaration of what you're aiming to achieve and then show shopping journey so you can talk about priorities/choices for the viewer can more easily repeat the process with their local options. Then end the video with blindfold judgements from other staff members to get non-enthusiest takes on the result and the value. PS. I was an AV technician for years and I still trade hifi / theatre gear as a side hustle. I've done this exact type of upgrade for countless people and they're all stoked about it. I liked the video.
I'd say making a bigger point out of how easy it is to mix and match speakers would have gone a long way. It's not just about the money saved, it's also about the simplicity of the setup or diy aspect of it.
I don't think the audience wants to watch audio tips or surround systems. Plus I don't think everyone want massive speakers in their living room or bedroom where the audience will be watching movies primarily. The video is great. But it was out of touch in current homes today. Everyone wants a soundbar because it's less intrusive in a everyday home. Not a cinema room.
My biggest problem with that video was that it was supposed to be about getting cheap used stuff, but then you used the subwoofer from the expensive setup and didn't even know how much it would cost used so it kind of defeated the purpose of the video a bit.
At a certain audience threshold, you are no longer marketing to the people who are interested in learning. There becomes a point where in order to keep growing, you must cater to the glue-eaters.
I think this is one of your most informative videos about buying a surround sound setup, please don't let the "under-performing" video prevent you from making videos like this. Trying to chase the majority of people is a bad director to go in.
The reason I didn't watch the suround dound video. Was I have no interest suround sound system. For me personally, most secondhand videos are about things I don't use or wouldn't get second-hand. The things I do get second-hand the fun of that is doing the research myself. Watching a video of someone doing that feels like a cheat to me.
I really enjoyed the video. I am into home theater and am always telling my friends how much they are missing out on with just running a basic sound bar. It was nice to see such a big youtube channel talking about home theater and how you can get such a good experience for not a lot of money if you are willing to do a little bit of work.
looking at reviews for something I already bought can reveal usage tips for some complicated gadget that a reviewer understands better than the instruction manual can explain
I really appreciated the video because I did this process by myself years before ! I bought a second hand Pioneer 6.1 AV amp + 6x 100W Kef speakers for 800€, the system was 5 years old and costed around 2500€ new. 20 years later I still use the same speakers, they still work perfectly but I changed 2 times the AV amp that died after 10 years each. I can understand that people who were never interested in audio-video amps can loose the point. Several years ago, my brother bought a crappy 5.1 kit that was very restricted in audio inputs. I found a second hand Sony AV amp 5x75W for 50€ with a lot of audio and video inputs, including HDMI, compatible with Dolby Digital and DTS. I told him to plug his speakers to this amp, then he can plug everything he wants at the same time: computer, Xbox, smartphone. 2 years after giving him the amp, I found it in the box at my parents basement, he never plugged it...
It's pretty much video equivalent of putting pearls in front of a swine. The vast majority of tech enthusiasts do not care about audio and live their life happily with Airpods/or Sony whatevers
a common theme on youtube has been the “but better” do it yourself style type videos. so i think the 5vs50vs500vs5k etc would do better, and then if it ends up being the budget diy option you go more in depth on how to go about the diy.
That video was like LG phones: dual screen smarphones, curved display, modular phones, rotatable screen phones but the masses are still complaining that the phone does not look like an Iphone and now we have the zfold.
I watched it soon as it came out, cause I was thinking of buying a soundbar and it opened my eyes to how shit they are. Im only one view but I loved it. Fucking great video.
I am both a Techphile and an Audiophile and I think your video about hunting for audio components deals on marketplace was spot on. I was doing the exact same things mentioned in your video for years. From my experience, people don’t consider audio as important or a luxury until they hear what a good sound system can offer. I am saying this because I am the only person in my circle who was into high end audio. When I showed them my $900 and $7000 audio system, their minds were genuinely blown. Just my 2 cents.
6:40 Luke is 100% correct. Your channel introduced me to Louis Rossman and I've only ever watched him for his epic rants. Because of viewers like me, he stopped doing board repair videos how-to videos. It sucks to see and he can always do a spin off channel, but he knows the channel won't grow from that as much as it does dealing with a really dumb department in NYC government and going on rants on how city workers are even fining him for.
Reminded me of older content, I really enjoyed it. My hot take; LTT has drawn a fan base that is about the entertainment aspect and not the tech. This is your own doing 😢
Well that thought went through my mind as well. From time to time, they went in their movies with the attitude 'why didn't you buy sth else/better?' despite the gear that someone's use it ok for that someone. And then watchers don't think about why Linus & co. act & thhink like that, they just brainlessly go 'if they say that, then it must be true". Then yeah, if that's true, then it's safe to say they just reaped what they sow.
I'm 52 and have set up tons of home theaters for people in the past, but I will say that I don't think I've met anyone under 30 that is even interested in home theaters anymore. None of my nieces or nephews are even slightly interested a good sound system, they would rather put in their air pods. I honestly think this is an age thing, "kids" these days seem to have zero interest in full surround systems. If they can't stick them in their ears, they think the whole idea is boomer and old.
@@DemonaeTV It’s a symptom of a bigger problem, housing is too expensive and most young people can’t afford to move out, if they do it’s a tiny apartment without the room for big speakers, and neighbours who will complain you’re making too much noise. I have to watch movies with headphones on in my room cause my flatmates will complain otherwise. I’d love to have my own space for a home theatre but the space to put one is too expensive.
I am 35 and have never owned a TV, I have zero interest in watching something on a TV. I am interested in sound, but I find zero time or interest in watching a movie in a dedicated space. I do most of my life on a computer and when I am not working, I would rather be outside or sleeping. Also, people are social media, video, and tech tired. I honestly think home theatre is a thing of the past. People would watch more if there was good content or good movies but they are all garbage with political messaging and they are no longer an escape.
I watched this whole WAN show. The tech tips about saving money and being scrappy are the best. The entertainment makes it digestible but the learning content brings me back.
5:25 I do not know if my comment will have visibility, but here's an idea to try for future videos: A sploosh/star/highlight like old timey tv episodes or something. When a Tech Tip is on screen, do an audio _ping_ and call attention to it in editing maybe? Depending on how it's done in editing, it could help tremendously. You probably want to trial on a better predictably-performing video so you can see a difference (whether good OR bad).
I actually did something similar about 1-1,5 year ago. I had a very old Kenwood surround system that was never used and surround speakers were basically flower vase stands. I bought a HDMI to HDMI/RCA splitter (to get video to TV from PS4 and audio to the sound system), because that old system is not compatible with any modern AV outputs. Cables are still a mess but now watching movies is 100x better compared to TV speakers.
Maybe people are not that interested in sound for home theater systems, and more interested in computer hardware, reviews, benchmarks, server setups, and all the other cool stuff you guys make 😊 I for one thought: Yeah, maybe I can skip this one - cause it's not relevant for me
To be fair, when you produce as much content as they do, it can be a job on its own to watch everything. I know that I can be the same way, especially when working on or being featured in content that is both long and frequent. Vlogs podcast, etc. Double especially if I am busy with a bunch of projects at the time.
That video was mad, super basic and remedial but no doubt very helpful to a lot of people. Don't discount the fact the topic is audio - probable contributor to poor engagement. Like I said, probably very helpful to a lot of people so I would call it a win!! Keep up these kind of videos, I enjoy them!
I thought the video was great and it came at a right time for me as I am looking to build a sound system on a budget at home. What would be amazing is some sort of a follow up video with details on how to spot good deals and what features are important to look out. I consider myself quite tech savvy but researching what sound system is very confusing so far
All I gotta say is that I loved the video you put down. It made a ton of sense to me and is really self-explanatory. Maybe it just needed to be clarified more that you may not be able to get the same equipment
I am a researcher in metamaterials in acoustics and have been an acoustic consultant for 4 years now, and I can tell you, from a very professional perspective, second hand equipment in audio is pure gold. Audio equipments don’t degrade over time that much, you can get a really amazing sounding setup for really cheap by buying old flagship gear for cheap. And in all our installations, we only ever did soundbar if and only if the customer explicitly demanded it or there was just no other way to get sound. They are not the ideal way to listen to audio, they are a bit of a compromise. Loves the video, was very informative
I think the biggest problem is that audio is just not as important to a lot of people. Audio for me has always been the after thought of a setup, where as long as quality is above built in tv speakers at a minimum ease of set up and easy shopping experience are higher priority .
Maybe also make a video laying out the best soundbars, to cater to those who either can't have a discrete system, or don't want to deal with a discrete system. And include used/refurbished/open box options that can be easily found too!
That home theatre episode is my favourite Linus tech-whatever video of 2024, but 1) people in Europe are way less focused on home entertainment systems 2) I imagine that way less of your viewers have a television or their own living room than you think. Off the top of my head I can think of five tech savvy friends, two of which are single moms, who will never ever be able afford to move out from their parents. That’s despite all having good jobs and education. 3) generally speaking, open space arrangements which in western Europe at least is how most apartments and houses are laid out, has made it nigh impossible to put up any kind of surround system without making the entire apartment or 70% of any house built agree the 80s look perpetually messy. The amount of bespoke gear and carpentry required mean that an Atmos sound bar is the cheaper option by a landslide. Indeed, my personal conclusion from your video was that it might not be possible in our quite big living room (by European standards) unless the 2nd hand system consists of something like active B&O speakers or something equally slick looking
This is why because a significant amount of your core technical audience already left which where mainly there from the beginning, due to a number of factors such as LTT videos becoming just like a media production company rather than some rando in front of camera, some recent controversies, etc etc and being replaced with people who are only there for entertainment or use your videos as a background video, these people do not care about the tech they just want to see the shiny thing. I think LTT is at a point where it's stuck between 2 demographic groups one being the core audience and other being the new audience focused on just "oh shiney "
"too hard to follow along" is a very good point. Instead of saying "we found this for 20 bucks on marketplace" you should be saying "you want to look for these particular features for a budget of around 20-40 bucks because from 50 bucks you could instead get this other thing which makes the first thing not worth it at that price".
This is actually a fantastic take. Tell me what features I should care about at a price point and which ones I can ignore.
Brought the tech but forgot the tips
yeah i didnt get any actual tips on what to look for. why did they choose those specific parts? didnt find the video particularly interesting
It felt like a good tutorial for someone who already knows most of it.
It's hard to balance specific tips with general guidelines.
I agree, the video didn't really tell the viewer how to identify decent speakers as a novice.
That video gave me a "typical DIY UA-camr" vibe. Most of them go, "Why buy IKEA when you can just make your own desk for less?" and then it's just a guy in his garage using $50,000 equipment to make one. For me, it was mostly an entertaining "nerds macgyver a sound system out of scrap" video than something I can do in a reasonable time frame for it to be worth it.
Maybe they didn't do a very good job showing it then because it is actually 10 minutes of work to set it up
i like older equipment because getting good sound is just a matter of connecting off the shelf hardware via standard connectors and cables. ive done 2.1, 4.1, 5.1, 7.1 and its always just used as an excuse to use cheap speakers with no range at the expense of an over-complicated setup. two full range is all you need. if you want 3d sound, use two more in the back.
Coming from a guy who watched the video and liked the video, I don’t think that “nobody wants tech tips anymore”. I think it’s because nobody wants audio tech tips or at least a good chunk of your audience.
Surprised they don't realize this given they're such a PC centric channel. Audio has been sidelined for ages. It's why built-in soundcards won. Most people don't care once it's 'good enough' or use headphones exclusively.
I feel like they kind of target the wrong audience with this. Most people who use soundbar, use it because the size or the convenience of not needing to setup anything. And those who already use speakers setup, all these info are very rudimental/basic. I feel like a better comparison would be active speakers/pc speakers (edifier speakers) vs soundbars since they both are very convenient to set up, unlike passive speakers, and they are relatively on the same price range ($100-400)
@@phatanhduyle7259it’s like how he didn’t talk about how to install Linux in a pc set up guide. “Those of you who will already know how”
I think audio tech is quite niche as well, even if the people into it are VERY into it. It's not as big of an audience.
People tend to underestimate how good something can sound with just a little effort. My kid bought 15 headsets and broke them all. About a month ago, I showed him the difference between mine and his, and bought him a quality pair. Now he treats them like gold. He was so impressed by the quality, but you need to experience it to understand it-you can't convey that in a UA-cam video.
I dont think the issue is tech tips, I think its audio tech tips. A lot, and I mean a lot of people simply do not care about audio.
I am this.
I have no reason to consider anything more than a basic set of stereo speakers, and even then I probably won't watch any videos on it.
Yeah good audio is a small percentage of the crowd. This is the reason AirPods and beats were so popular because people don’t care or don’t know about better audio. Also better audio does require more prep and attention and most people won’t bother doing the work.
@@JohnnyBitcoin as an audio enthusiast, I will always recommend AirPods and use them myself over my FIIO Bluetooth band and Shure IEMs. Die hard audio hobbyists will also agree. Apple killed it with the quality to feature ratio on those things making them easy to recommend for people like us.
I do cry whenever I see the prices and people buying things like Beats or those popular Sony over the head headphones popularized by techtubers that are glorified unboxing people or extreme generalists, like mkbhd. An angel dies every time a raycon ad or sponsor runs
I think claiming they don't care is a bit too broad a generalisation, there are certainly some people who don't care and then others with different levels of hearing damage, or loss. I suspect the biggest percentage of people, if your generalised statement, simply don't know any better. I've found this normally boils down to them just not understanding, which isn't too surprising as "audiophiles" can come across poorly. I've found they assume everyone has a level of understanding well above what the average person does, if you know enough about the basics you _might_ be able to follow along but many of them get lots "in the weeds" and if you ask questions they get snooty, or defensive.
and the ones who do REALLY care about audio.
I actually enjoyed that home theater episode more than normal. I miss entertaining videos like that that i can be entertained while being taught (not saying they are non existent just its been harder to find them then it used to be)
I think it just isn't very appealing to a general youtube audience looking for entertainment. The part of my brain with a terrible attention span couldn't get through it in one sitting, but the nerd part of my brain still found it interesting. It's kind of niche because most people simply don't care about audio.
@@flashlightning6742Honestly I upgraded to something probably half as great as what Linus is pushing was pushing out, but honestly “Broke af since I bought my rig” so I couldn’t buy another no thank you but.
From playing silent hills 1 all the way to 3 from 7.1 headphones to a nice soundbar with subwoofer combo on a 50 inch.
It made the horror experience completely and utterly terrifyingly like I remembered back when I was a child on a crappy box tv set watching or playing sh2 xDDD
I second this. It’s a shame I guess the algorithm doesn’t let these videos do better
same. better than a lot of the "here is some uber-expensive GFX card that no-one will buy" reviews. sure its nice to see how they perform, but of no practical use to the vast majority of people.
The home theater one actually had some good advice and showed how a basic setup will far outperform a soundbar
I loved that video! I was just betting my cousin that no soundbar would get close to a proper 5.1 system at half the price, and this came up at the perfect timing. He has a Marantz 7.1 from 2010, and thankfully, I convinced him to keep it.
Said it live and I'll say it again - almost nobody cares about audio, even less people care for home theatres. I assure you that in example majority of Europeans won't ever build a set like this, cause they are living in flats with neighbours all around and for the most part, headphones are the way. It's such a niche topic.
It's not much different in the US. Most people can't afford a good home theater, and the difference between one and just watching a TV really doesn't seem that big to most people
@@winterthemutesonoh they can. They just care more about door dashing.
@notabot1798 Definitely not the reason lol
People like me with an interest in getting tech stuff at a good value are doing so because my money is tied up in other things like bills and debts.
Getting used items requires knowledge of what I'm buying and audio is, frankly, a niche. Why should I bother researching audio when things like home maintenance, car maintenance, quality food, or other things are have a far more valuable opportunity cost?
Furthermore, if I do research towards audio, I can either research a single type of product (a soundbar) or five or more separate types of products (receiver, sub, rear, center, satellite...). One takes exponentially more time to gain proficiency to go on the used market.
@@notabot1798 a home theater is much more of a luxury than ordering food. Being able to order take out says nothing at all about being able to build a home theater
@ ahh but it is not.
Having someone pick up the food someone else prepared all on your behalf is indeed the luxury.
The video didn't give me the information on how to find a good speakers vs bad speakers. If i found a speaker system for the same price, I wouldn't know if they are high quality or low quality
The thing is you have to do research. Just because they are from a certain brand doesnt mean they are good. Or useful for that room.
Iam not deep into audio stuff but i know my way around in this area.
@@mrn234watching the video is supposed be research, tech tips
the point is that any system is better than the sound bar, which is pretty much true. If you get a decent AV receiver from 15 years ago you will be good, same for the speakers. Providing exact recommendations is pointless as the exact models are not going to be available.
that’s a whole different talking point tho that would require another 20 mins of video to explain plus you’re talking about a list that’s probably got over 500 products on it. you’d need another video for sure this video was to show you how you can spend the same amount as the most popular sound bar on a surround system that will blow it out of the water
The first valid criticism I've found in the comment section so far. The people already in-the-know understand what to look for. People who know nothing (aka the average soundbar customer) don't even know where to begin. They gave tons of information about the details of working with you have, but not how to choose what to get.
The only problem i had with that video was that it ignored space constraints and the neecessity to run audio cables in your room for the surround speakers.
I think the biggest problem with the video was that they never gave any information about how to choose the right gear: if I needed to do something similar my biggest problem would be which things to buy, not if something is possible or not (and since it’s basically impossible to find the exact things they got just listing their picks wasn’t very helpful)
I agree. Just a list of brands, and maybe some particular product lines that are consistently decent would've been very helpful
I actually just went through this whole process setting up a new home theater (which is absolutely awesome now). My advice is to just look for an AV receiver that supports hdmi 2.0 (Google) and any speakers will do. A 2.0 receiver will usually come with front, center, rear, and sub. So once you have all of that, buy an nvidia shield and you're set.
The big tip is to start with the receiver. If it supports 2.0 hdmi, then you can find speakers and other needed items for basically free. When I was marketplacing for receivers, I had probably 10 tabs looking at what receivers support what hdmi.
That's fair enough. I enjoyed the video and didn't really have problems with it but going forward if they do similar videos they should incorporate that kind of analysis.
the message of the video wasnt to tell you which gear exactly to look for, but more so to just convey that making a home theater doesnt need to be bank breaking, and in fairness they explained how, which is to look for them in a second hand marketplace. Its not even practical for them to tell you which specific models of what you should get because whatever is available in the market place will always be different, it should be on you as the viewer to do research.
Ok, it's a fair point. When I bought my system, there was a lot of misinformation too. My advice would be to get a 5.1 receiver with at least 1000 watts. If you're not tech-savvy, make sure it has HDMI. Then check the manual for the speakers and start building from there. And if you want a no-brainer solution, get the receiver with the original speakers. Just make sure it's a receiver, not a home theater system.
A good chunk of your audience doesn't even have a TV so a cheap home theatre system does not appeal to them at all.
But I still find those types of video really important, I watch them until the end and like them every time.
Lies. Take a poll. They’re $70. Who doesn’t have that but a $1000 device in their pockets???
@@notabot1798I didn’t bother to buy a TV for the first 3 years of university. Still had a smartphone. Students who know they’re going to leave the apartment after a year won’t bother to buy those huge things that are a hassle to move back and forth. Unless I’m completely mistaken, plenty of young people watch this channel.
I think it’s that you hit a tough spot demographically. The entertainment people wanna see the best soundbar ever, and the tech money-strained tech tip crowd may have no interest in home theaters
This makes sense. Renaming to something like “How to build your first home theater on a budget” (obviously I’m not an expert UA-camr) might attract a niche demographic of people on a budget who never considered a home theater but now could? As it stands, yeah, I find hard to figure out who that video was for.
@@christianruiz4249 going further off of this maybe even removing the phrase "home theater" which most people think of as a huge luxury, and instead saying "sound system". For me at least when I hear "home theater" I think of a projector with a bunch of fancy leather chairs in a mansion instead just the TV, soundbar, and couch the majority of people use to watch movies.
As Linus mentions in the clip, they used the home theater room because it was a convenient place to film in, not because it was specifically about building a home theater setup. The tips mentioned were applicable to almost any TV situation or even just buying components for a music system. It was simply about getting better audio for cheaper. That's why they had multiple configurations, to show how you can adjust your buying decisions for different considerations.
@@Okusar I don’t know why anyone would want to make a surround sound setup at any consumer budget unless they are trying to make a home theater.
This might also not be the best of times to focus on tech, audio, most people don't care all that much about
I swear, Linus has this existential moment every so often where he's like "why doesn't UA-cam like what I like" and takes it deeply personally.
Like, dude, you've been in the game too long for this. Make what you love to make, or make what makes money, or make the combo that suits you. But you won't change the game by complaining about it.
I think every creative person has to struggle with this regularly, but it must be so much worse for Linus because he's a control freak (self-described.) It's difficult for him to balance making what he views as a sub-par product and providing income for a company of over 100 people. There's a reason why pretty much no other UA-cam channel has that many employees, it's almost impossible to keep that balance.
I feel like LMG has done a great job treading the line, but you can't keep growing forever and eventually the balance will be broken and LMG will die the same way channels like Rooster Teeth did before them
Well if you have the livelihood or over a hundred people on your hands, yeah I'd get pretty nervous if I screw up a video
@@Nighthawk20000 Well LMG isn't just a UA-cam channel (or even just multiple channels) anymore. There's also the Floatplane platform they run, at minimum.
Except this is different
He gave out a well researched easy to understand video
The problem is that it relies on people to not have room temperature IQ and have been born before 1994
If you take a big youtuber and put them on a weekly multi hour podcast to talk about what's on his mind, what do you expect? Of course the performance of his videos is going to be on his mind a lot. That's literally his full time job to think about. And the reason he got where he is, because he is so aware of it.
I don't see the point of clipping these segments though. No one else is going to care so much.
The video didn't really feel like a tip, but more of a an execution of a concept. You more saw 'is something possible' than 'how can you do this' you didn't really provide any insight into how to recreate this process and how to follow through on it. So it was far more entertainment than truly informative in any way.
This is exactly how I felt. It wasn't a guide for how you should do it yourself, it was just letting you know it's possible, which isn't really helpful st all. Now that people know it's possible, perhaps a follow-up video explaining how to do it yourself would be appreciated?
Welcome to the audio world where people usually buy based on brands. Doesn't matter the price range. It's a shit show. I believe some audiophiles were on the verge of collapse when they saw the video
Yessss. THIS!!
I have two thoughts,
The first is that it feels like I’ve seen a looot of the inside of your home theatre lately. There’s only so many times a different tv option or different speakers can be compared in 1 room before it all starts to feel a bit trivial, especially since a lot of the changes are temporary, knowing it’s all gonna get dragged out again after the video is over makes it feel a bit hollow.
Secondly, while I personally found the speaker stuff super interesting, even though I want to have better audio for my TV - surround just isn’t achievable in my current home, it’ll be another few years till I move & can think about it, so while a video on a bargaining hunting for a computer is something I could go out and do tomorrow, there’s no point in me looking into home theatre stuff until I have a space I can use it in!
I’d be much more interested in a video on what I can do to improve audio when my sofa is against a wall & tv off centre to the sofa!
Bookshelf speakers and a powered sub.
I have a pair of Klipsch powered units I got with a bad built-in amplifier. I found evidence of moisture on the power supply, so I just gutted the electronics and hooked it up to an external amp. Job done.
Though, I think they covered something like that really early in the original video
I think filming in a dedicated home theater is actually an important point worth talking about. It’s very difficult to relate to the idea of putting a 5.1 system into a regular family with a couch against the wall. A big part of the appeal of sound bars is that it’s hard to put a 5.1 system into a family room with a couch backed up against the wall.
As someone who’s super into audio and has designed/built multiple speakers, it always irks me when speaker reviews are done solely in dedicated listening rooms because it’s so unrelatable.
If that video had been done in a suboptimal room, and included tips on how to get the rear speakers to work in that situation I think it would have resonated with more people. That’s a huge tech tip that would be highly relevant to lots of viewers
Cause even if they try to relate to non-rich people. They're still out of touch and that's just concerning.
Yup. I actually got into building / designing my own bookshelf speakers as well, specifically because I couldn’t find anything that worked for my weird and tiny living room. I scrolled past this video specifically because of the ENORMOUS HEAP of equipment in the thumbnail. I would love to build my own surround system, but I just don’t have the space.
@@rascaltwitch22 And probably that's one of the key factors why people would choose soundbar over full stereo/5.1 gear, even if it's overpriced. But also they are other factors as well, main of them is the convenience & accesibility.
1000% agree!
^^^
5:24 "it's not about the result, it's about the tech tips we got along the way"
Speaking from my 30+ social bubble:
- Most people dont have the space for a hometheater
- most people dont care about sound beyond a certain, pretty low level
- most people dont have a big TV in the first place
- Most people dont buy expensive electronics from ebay etc. because they have no way of confirming that they are not buying broken shit and want a warranty
All points are completely correct here, but I think people don't realize how safe eBay is for the buyer. eBay will literally screw over a seller if a buyer sends a complaint, even if the seller finds the complaint to be invalid.
It's a much better buying environment than Facebook marketplace, where you buy in cash, often with no way to test the product, with no way to get your money back.
@@Rohinthas just about anyone who lives in a house, or an apartment bigger than a studio has a large tv. A quick search shows that 66% of Americans own a 4k tv.
I think the idea that most people don’t care about good sound is why this video exists. Linus wants people to care because good sound makes a huge difference in the viewing or gaming experience.
This video was entirely used hardware from marketplace not eBay. The only real problem with buying sound gear on eBay is shipping costs.
The lack of a dedicated theater space is the main issue with this video
Bang on. Wife and I live in a 1bdr wood-framed apartment. We aren't in the position where we are comfortable installing a killer sound system, really for any amount of money, I simply do not want to bother my neighbors. I also admit I don't care much about sound quality, but I'd be willing to care more if I had a space where I could practice it, like a house. When we buy a home, I'll come back to that video for guidance. Until then I'll keep using my closed-backed Sennheisers, noise cancelling Bose, and, urpp, TV speakers 😂
Then that video is not at all for them even a little bit. There are thousand other videos to choose from. Plus the audiophile community self destructs from time to time. They are never happy
There is also the issue that the audiophile crowd is kind of the laughing stock within the tech Community for the simple reason that there is so much psychological placebo after a certain quality threshold is reached that the high end stuff or even anything beyond commercial grade stuff is so subjective that it isn't worth the effort and price for the average consumer, just remember the audiophile networking switches or even the gold plated Toslink cables, that is the level of ridiculousness that the placebo effect has on the audiophile crowd after the minimum threshold of sound quality is reached.
6:05 wicked point from Luke, the same thing happened with Mythbusters. Super early on in season 1/2 half the episode would be dedicated to them actually building the rigs they were using for testing, debating the design of said rigs, and overall messing around. I personally found this to be way more entertaining. I think this same thing has happened with LTT to a major extent. This makes the content feel way less human and far more sterile. Maybe the next evolution of LTT would be to re-incorporate the full creative process into the final video, rather than having Linus walk onto a set where a writer has already done all the heavy lifting. The laughs and humor which get added by the hosts are always less genuine and entertaining when real setbacks and conflicts are avoided through rigorous planning. Modern LTT has lost the magic which made me feel connected to the people I am watching. It's the reason people love Alex's janky water cooling videos. It isn't just because its janky, its because executing these things is actually a challenge and makes watching it a good time. Go back to the basics and make content which feels human.
TLDR do more janky shit! mess it up and make it less of a "production".
You're a youtube channel NOT a tv program. Stop trying to be that!
I honestly found the video fantastic as an example of how to not blow money on comparatively lower quality new stuff when trying your luck\ doing your research and find something that works for you.
It's how I ended up with an antique Telefunken radio cabinet, Bose satalite speakers and older high end Sony head unit for $150 in 2009 money that STILL out performs most of my friends sound systems today.
That said I think the video didn't do as well because ( generalization incoming) a decent amount of people aren't interested in the journey so much as the destination when it comes to that stuff and it saddens me to see
I think there aren't many people who care about sound systems. Most people use headphones, or doing the foolish of just having the soundbar for their television. I use a TV i have hooked up to my computer if I need to play audio through the whole room but its very rare and I know its low quality but oh well.
@@AstralDragn not to mention ~40% of people live in apartments. I couldn't really have a banging surround system if I wanted to because then I would annoy my neighbors. but a cheap soundbar is better than the TV speakers without blowing up the neighborhood. my last apartment someone called the office over the "loud bass" from my amazon alexa
@@CryptGhast2012 That’s the thing-a properly installed 5.1 system isn’t about blowing your neighbors away; it’s about crystal-clear and properly directional audio at half the price and three times the performance. Usually, people don’t place the subwoofer correctly, and that’s what makes everyone mad. But no cheap soundbar would beat a 5.1 system at low volume.
@@AstralDragnI think their cultivated audience isn’t super interested. But that’s because we spend all our money on high FPS builds, and they want to use those, not the Tav in the other room.
you last statement reminds me of scrapyard wars. theres an exception to every rule, and i cant think of any examples so your last statement could still be true. but i was thinking how scrapyard wars, one of the most popular series on the channel, is specifically about the journey
That video gave me the courage to find my first home theater setup on the marketplace. I couldn’t be happier with what I found and now my office setup is finally complete where it’s been missing audio gear for 10 years. Thanks Linus.
Yeah o found the video more inspiring than others. It learned the mindset you need to have to do these thing with some tips along the way
I didn't watch the video based on the title actually.
"Build your own cheap, home theater" => Well, I don't have the room for that, and I would have to deal with noise complaints.
I think even beyond pricing, or the difficulty of bargain shopping, is the simple fact that the word "Home Theater" simply isn't all that attractive or even relevant to a subset of people.
A home theater, isn't really something I would spend money on, much less spend time trying to make cheaply.
I honestly dont know anyone who has something that would come close to a "home theater". As far as i can tell, that is just not really a thing outside of north america.
So true. I wish i had the room for it, but it will never happen.
This was the main thing for me, in my current living room I have zero space for satellites, so soundbar it is. When I read "Home Theater" I thought, well, not for me. Also I suspected it's yet another "we pulled used parts from somewhere" video and that always makes me even less interested, the applicability of the specifics they show is zero for me (not even the same continent) and the general thrust ("you could use used parts for cheaper") is not news to me. So I think the title of this clip about how people don't want actual tech tips is comically missing the mark, at the level of "do you guys not have phones". I hope that's not the conclusion they draw from this.
for me, the difficulty is purely in bargain shopping, and partially in the lack of care to. i know there's good deals out there, but i don't really like looking for deals all the time which i basically have to do where i live if i want something remotely bargain worthy.
their amazon series is much more in my interest as awful as that sounds to reusability and whatnot. i also just prefer knowing that i have a brand or like-new product that wont suddenly do something weird because of what a previous owner might have done
@@holycaketree I do not know if this the case now, I suspect not now that soundbars are way more popular, but back in the DVD/Bluray era you used to be able to buy "home theaters in a box", which were a player/amp and the 5 speakers + sub. These sold well, even in Europe, and to multiwinia's point, did not cause noise complaint issues*. But of course they were nowhere near as good as the whole US massive home theater systems.
* The benefit of these systems was that as you were in full control of all the audio streams instead of your TV downmixing, you could increase the centre speaker audio to boost dialogue while reducing the other channels & sub, so for action movies and the like, explosions were not too loud to annoy the neighbours.
marketplace=no immediately for me. the risk/reward for marketplace is just awful especially near cities. so I skipped the video based solely on that. however I think the larger problem is that surround is a very niche subset of people.
I never clicked initially because I just have no interest in sound systems.
But the phrasing "How I " instead of "How to " made it feel to me that it wouldn't be applicable to me anyway. (e.g. I start to assume special pricing for LTT, or access to parts not available yet.)
So it might be one of those cases where, if the video was uploaded by someone else, my expectations would be a little different.
Commenting for visibility. Great constructive feedback
this. im renting a studio and haven't got the place for a stereo system, let alone a surround one. I think many don't have the space at all to be interested in such a setup to watch the video
What happens to me with their "We built this for dirt cheap" videos is that they usually find the most obscure post like "A 3070 for $25USD" and proceed to pull brand new parts or barely used ones from their storage. Part of the dumpster diving experience is that you never know how mistreated was the thing you bought and in my case at least I dont have the extra income to gamble so I'd rather put the extra for something that comes with a warranty.
That's honestly my problem with a lot of this "How I built this____for x", like dude magically finds super expensive parts for cheap on marketplace or laying around, it just ain't relatable
Same thing was said recently when they built a pc using second hand parts (skipped shipping) and compared it to new ps5.
And then didn't want to listen
Ironically the most interesting video I've seen from the main channel in a loooong time. I usually skip around most videos, but I was invested in this one the whole way through.
The issue is reading too much into the youtube statistics. You sometimes have to create videos that you want to and realize they might not be a huge hit. Audio setups are niche, doesn't mean that people don't like tech tips. I also wouldn't necessarily group audio as a tech tip.
This seems like the most sensible take to me.
It's sensible, but it's not a good business take. Professional UA-camrs need to follow the statistics, and there's absolutely a science to getting good numbers. LMG depends on their videos doing well to support their employees.
Good way to lose hundreds of people their jobs (aka bankrupt LTT).
@@ZeroUm_ You're right, of course, but I would contend that it's still very possible to arrive at a bad conclusion even from good data. My main worry here is that this clip is titled "Y'all don't want actual tech tips" and that, in my opinion, is not the conclusion to draw because it's overly broad while the target audience of the original video in question probably wasn't. I'm very interested in "actual tech tips", but not in cheap home theater systems, for example. So, as always, it's complicated and I'm glad that it's ultimately none of my business.
@@ZeroUm_You can’t solely look at the immediate KPI’s.
It’s like a comedian telling the same joke over and over again because people laughed a lot the first time. And conversely - a joke isn’t bad just because the first time you told it you didn’t get the laughs you wanted - it could just be the crowd wasn’t feeling it.
If the LTT audience does indeed not want tech tips anymore, it is because they cultivated that audience through years of chasing engagement and entertainment.
Probably a lot of the people who would appreciate this content stopped watching the channel years ago.
A few thoughts... First off, I think they did a decent job demonstrating that a cheap used hi-fi surround system is better than a cheap out of box solution, without getting too deep into technical details. That said, I kind of wish they went into some of the details, such as what specific frequencies were gained and lost, and maybe some better mic setups so we could hear specific speakers compared to one another. Linus has a great home theater space to show some of these details in practice.
It would also be great to see a video going more in depth on how to do find good cheap components in the first place. It took me years to cobble together my own setup, and I learned a lot along the way, mostly from ancient forum posts. Even then, I still bought some components blindly and only found out later whether they were decent or trash. It would be nice to have more resources to help get people pointed in the right direction from the start.
I enjoyed the video, but I think they overestimate the amount of people who are willing to ever use something like Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, etc, so it naturally doesn't speak to them as much. Scrapyard wars works better because there is the aspect of competition, not trying to get people to necessarily go and buy the parts for themselves. Not everyone wants to drive all over the city to like 3+ different people's houses, meetup spots, or whatever, and time used is for sure a factor.
In my opinion that could be part of it, but personally I just don't have an interest in building anything like a home theater setup. Buying PC components, maybe a monitor from FB marketplace works, watched videos like that before and I have bought stuff myself there too, so I might be biased, but just idea of home theater does not appeal to me.
Also if you don't live in a big city, FB marketplace gets A LOT worse. I'm more likely to have to drive an hour or so to meet up with people.
Home theater? I just turn up the tv man
I think the main reason why such a video might not gain as much traction is t he following points:
1. People reading about a surround sound system in the title might immediately think that it is a "wealthy" thing again where Linux upgrades/changes his home cinema setup once again (I admit I drool a bit over it whenever I see it)
2. Surround sound is a niche topic in itself that people that buy a soundbar, have not really learned to appreciate (non-enthusiasts that buy a soundbar might not be as interested)
3. Work - Watching the video I basically felt the work and the necessary know-how: I don't know how to do the voltage thing in detail for example (But knowing this might be a problem is nice)
Overall I think that this video landed in the "watch later" playlist as an "when I have the time and energy for it I will watch the whole thing so I can do it myself".
Maybe it will generate a bit more views long term?
Linux 😅
His name is Linus and the video doesn't go enough in-depth for it to be usable as a guide.
If they made a video titled "best budget sound setup for your house" and gave a few options and a guide on what kind of equipment to buy that would get a lot more views.
@@ghosthunter0950 There isnt THE setup for every house. Its overall a bit more complicated than getting the right TV.
Wait, wait, wait!!! I love my ATH M50s, and I would like to know what makes them bad or why they don't stand up to the other headphones.
After reporting all the bots, I'm left with two comments. Congratulations UA-cam...
Not showing the "bargain hunting" process can make the idea a little daunting and off-putting. A lot of the time I personally find that "How to" content feels a bit like magic because of how much is often done off screen. Kinda like watching some do wood working with $1000+ equipment.
I like videos like that cuz I am on a budget. There's no place else on the internet other than Linus who does this budget stuff. Honestly I liked it
Literally entire tech channels that are dedicated to cheap tech.
linus does barely does budget stuff tbh
if you want cheap, you can try to search for DIY channels, it's SOMETIMES harder to make something of your own than to fix some of the second-hand tech that you get(if you're really on a budget, and even something trivial such as a loose connection/loose wire drops the price a lot)
It's clear that Linus is obsessed with feedback and spends a huge amount of mental bandwidth on it, but he doesn't seem to be especially methodical about it. It usually seems like he takes an all or nothing attitude and typically gives knee jerk responses without trying to seek more information. Like the last question at 16:02, he clearly didn't understand what the person was saying (they meant the minority of negative feedback, not the minority of people who own sound bars).
My guess is that a lot of your audience are Zoomers and Alphas that have no interest in or ability to buy a soundbar/theatre system anyway, so they would have no interest in that video.
Can you see per-video viewership by age group in your analytics?
Honestly generalizing by pure age groups is pointless because, despite your biases, people in the same age groups are interested in different things. LTT’s superfans fans (those that would be in a WAN show comments section) are way different than their average viewer, who happens to be people that comment on youtube videos.
You right. I don’t have the money for even a space, let alone to kit it with tv plus sound plus furniture
@@the48thronin97 I mean, I didn't watch the video specifically because I have zero interest in any surround sound system. I will never use one. I have headphones.
I don't think it's a generational thing, but more about ignorance-no disrespect, just lack of a better word. Most people think a 5.1 system is all about lots of bass, and that headphones with high volume are good enough.
I’m gen Z, 22 y/o. But I loved that video. Got into hifi headphones back in 2020, and last year I got into speakers. This year added a sub, got a measurement mic, and learned how to use REW.
If i could add my 2 cents here...im an audiohpile. A lot of people i know arent. The thing i found about that is most non audiophile people find it really challenging to understand super technical things like this. Its kind of like a non coder watching a hacker crack into a top level security system. It looks cool sure, but its confusing to a point where they just kinda look the other way. Some people dont care about being super technical and only care about simplicity and things that are easier to understand for convenience. I could go on all day about speaker systems, headphones, sound systems, car audio, and digital media info but some others just wont care and will only hear gibberish the whole time
The issue too with a "cheap home theater" video is that anyone who cares probably has better gear already. Even if they don't, they definitely have better sources of information on gear than an LTT video.
It's too watered down for someone who's actually into speakers, and it has nothing to offer someone who doesn't care about speakers. Of course nobody's watching that video, it has no audience.
The amount of people who actually have the appropriate square footage to warrant a surround sound setup is simply quite slim. Viewers outside the US and Canada can be working with half as much square footage in their home or less. Naturally you need a stronger entertainment lean to retain viewers across the board.
This, and those living in the apartments with thin walls have to deal with not having too much noise
@XGD5layer That's a great point too yes
You can have an amazing sound experience without disturbing the neighbors with a 5.1 system. I understand it's not a plug-and-play solution, but if you're willing to try, your mind will be blown at how good a 5.1 system can be at low volume or in small spaces.
I have an LG home cinema with tiny speakers that sounds absolutelly otherworldly, my father found it in an outlet store so it was also dirty cheap.
Again, for my computer I use a Creative Inspire T6300 5.1 system that blows away any soundbar, it's just less powerfull and tuned to have a more party-like sound, with deep bass and clear voice (not overdone, just a sound signature that I like) and you can get those for around 100€, or even better get the older T5300 that also sound amazing and some people nearly gives away.
There are surround systems that work great in a small space and are also wireless. The Polk Magnifi Mini AX with rears is an easy and relatively cheap way to get surround sound in a small space without the hassle of wires. On the higher end there is the Sony Quad which is quite frankly amazing for its small footprint and ease of use/setup. I would actually recommend caring about speakers more if you have to keep the noise down as a better setup can still deliver clear audio at lower volumes.
Reason probably is:
Those that put together old stuff doesn’t need a video.
Those that would need a video, buys new stuff instead.
This didn´t feel like a tech tip video, as i didn´t feel like the information given would help me decide because it was more like a bunch of random tips on different things, rather then a focussed video on one subject.
That video was great. Honest a lot of fun to watch and possibly might try to do this myself in the future
I'm a musician, and I don't like to settle for just TV speakers anymore.
That said, I've gone down too many rabbitholes (guitar equipment, PCs, Game Consoles) to start buying a bunch of sound equipment outside of easily movable studio monitors.
Stereo is all I've ever personally cared to need. Most people are listening to stereo audio on stereo sources. I'm sure it would be different if i was a full-on audiophile, but even with movies, which I AM picky on, I've never had a space where adding extra speakers or using a sophisticated setup wouldn't be a total pain in the ass.
Also my living room TV somehow has no audio outputs.
(I think this type of video has potential to perform well over time in the specific community that likes that stuff. Very much seems like something those people would send to other would-be enthusiasts)
You don't need audio outputs. But that's literally the point, he didn't explain anything. So even enthusiasts don't know what to do. And yes coming from music 2.0 or a 2.1 system is enough, but if u consider surround sound for movies 5.1 or 7.1 would be a big upgrade oder stereo
The problem with the tech tips in the video was that they expected the viewer to already have a certain amount of knowledge of speakers and AV equipment. If I don't know anything about picking an amplifier the video didn't tell me anything about how to find a good used one on facebook market place. If I don't know anything about speaker specs how do I know that the speakers I found will sound decent without listening to them?
The benefits of buying a new soundbar versus 15 year old speakers is that I can actually find reviews of the soundbar and find out if the one I'm looking for is actually good in comparison to other sound bars, and make an informed decision from there. Searching for speakers on facebook marketplace is a crapshoot unless you know what you're looking for, and they didn't explain what to actually look for.
Like when they do scrapyard wars, or put together PCs from facebook marketplace parts they tell you what to watch out for and how to not get scammed. They didn't do that for this video.
As a non-homeowner, I just don't care about home theater setups. So I didn't click.
Kind of stupid. I've had "home theater" setups all the way through renting apartments. It doesn't need to take a ton of space. It doesn't need to be expensive. Small cheap speakers connected to an AVR are better than tv speakers or soundbars always
It is CRAZY to me that this video has received so much criticism because it actively made me go out and scrounge together a second hand surround sound system off Facebook marketplace. I went in with about as little knowledge as someone can, and I came out with a pretty insane sound system for the price of 160 freedom dollars. I found there were a couple things I would have liked to see, like how I didn’t know that the cable that you need to connect the speakers to the receiver is a speaker cable, but with a short discussion and a couple questions from the guy I bought my speakers from I felt fairly comfortable. And it was legitimately easy to set up!
Even if the video didn’t land great with everyone, it truly improved my day to day life and I’d be sad if content like that were to leave the channel. It was super informative and a blast to watch, maybe one of my favorite videos y’all have ever put out.
I think its mainly the fact that its audio tech tips
I watched the video in a vacuum before I saw any of this discourse on the day it came out with the original title and... I absolutely loved it! I seriously want more videos like that. That might have been one of my favorite LTT videos of the past year for how tangible and genuinely applicable it was to real life. It actually had me browsing around at local audio stuff, even though I have no need or capacity for a home theater setup! Anyways, I appreciated it a lot!
With that said, I am somebody who will watch a 1-4 hour video on a single topic if I find it even remotely entertaining (I have seen every single Technology Connections video in the last 5 years), so maybe my attention span or interest in more immersive and informational content is skewing me to be much more positive of the video
I feel like just not many people are in the market for a surround sound system. I have a serverrack in my bedroom and watch 3-5 movies a week, but only recently started considering getting one. They are just big, impractical and just an improvement on something that already works okay.
Arguing for soundbars on the basis of convenience is like eating ramen with scissors because you don’t want to wash a fork.
I actually really enjoy that video. But I am kinda an audio guy who is still buying budget vintage speakers, so I am probably an exception.
However I feel like the idea of buying old speakers instead of soundbar is already well-known among a lot of people, even non-audio people. Most buy soundbars because it is easy to setup and take less space. Also I notice that in the videos, except for the clips of you swapping out the speakers, most of the time it is just the impressions of you guys comparing the two (basically soundbar - impressions -switch to cheap speakers - impressions - add more speakers/subwoofer - impressions --....). I notice myself during those part thinking that it is kinda obvious and repetitive.
I feel like in between those clips of swapping out the speakers then straight to impressions, maybe you can go a little bit in-depth on how to buy/choose vintage speakers that is not damaged or some popular speakers model being sold out there (Polk audio, Paradigm, Sony SCS, B&W,) in between, it would provide more information as well as make it a little bit more interesting imo. Especially since I also learned it the hard way after buying 1-2 sets of vintage speakers that have their foam inside need to be replaced. You can also talk about how most places (atleast in the US, EU, UK, Canada) have local speakers repair shops that specialized selling repaired vintage speakers for a little mark up can solve all the hassle.
Again, that is just my opinion as someone who had been through that rabbit hole before. I am not sure if this may or may not affect the performance of the videos since it is more technical than entertainment, which often means less engagement. But I think that would help more than just comparing the speakers vs soundbars alone.
Yep… I agree, I loved the video too. I'm a niche audience when it comes to sound, and although I'm an amateur, I completely relate to going down that rabbit hole myself.
I didn’t watch it because I have audio gear and imo everything is the same anyways. Why would I watch a video about it.
Linus said it himself. A receiver from 15 years ago is practically just as good as new ones for what most people need
You should do a global tech tips video. Going around the world and building stuff like this in various countries and looking into their markets.
The product value of that series would be absolutely insane. Might be cool but given the response to this video people might not want to watch it. Especially when it doesn't deal with their building/wiring standards.
ATH-M50s are very decent studio headphones. They are not for musical enjoyment, comfort, style, boom, insane detail, great pace / rhythm / tempo, etc., they are utilitarian studio devices that hold up to abuse and do their job well while having good isolation and being easy to drive.
My "issue" with the "Facebook marketplace" videos is the same as what was said at 8:00. I live in the rural midwest, and so the time and money (gas ain't free) to drive all over to piece together a system isn't worth the cost savings. But that just means it's not a relevant video to me, not something worth getting upset about.
Ya but the logic can still be applied to sites like eBay
@@kennethwhitmer4232 Ebay is it's own problem. The beauty of Facebook marketplace and Craigslist is that oftentimes you're able to find great deals as people are looking to offload items either for space or for a quick cash injection. In my experience (ymmv), prices on ebay tend to be higher (plus occasional shipping costs) as buyers are more willing to keep an item longer. Plus, it's hard to find a deal because it's so easy for sellers to see what other people are selling it for, and will price accordingly. There's also zero room to negotiate with ebay sellers, unless you strictly choose auction items, but that's not really negotiating, that's just you stating your offer and praying.
@@kennethwhitmer4232not with speakers. Shipping cost
When I’m looking for new tech I never look at used stuff. Maybe if you only focused on stuff you could buy new then it would go over better
I love the varied nature of LTT videos, having and sticking to one or two subject lines would be boring and tedious. Love seeing you branch out into other avenues of the tech industry with varied content.
I liked the video, but more in a entertaining way than a huge tech tip way, I actually felt the tech tips were missing, and giving me more questions as how to do this.
In short, the takeaway I got was, you CAN get a better audio stage IF you know what you have to look for AND you get lucky with stuff on your marketplace.
I just got a soundbar (handed down from a unkle) and we're not 100% happy with it as it has AI bullshit auto tuning which appearatly can't be shut off. This video than was released and it i felt like this would be the solution... But... The biggest problem... I whould still have no idea as to what do i need to look for, to make sure i get good stuff, what stuff do i even need, and what is there bought new (for an setup with warranty) that whould be worth it? The video was very lacking in details into teaching me what to do, what to look out for, what to absolutely not do, and that kind of stuff. I learned a concept, not the actual tech.
I agree with the conclusion a lot, the way the parts were mixed throughout was a little hard to follow money-wise,
But I fully agree with the original video and enjoyed it, and often enjoy more informational videos than the more fast paced videos that have taken off more recently.
I also do know a lot of family that would do have soundbars and the money to get smth wayyyyy bettrr, and also that I have family who have odd living room layouts where a soundbars is the only option bc of the strange layout and space constraints
Side note: I absolutely love the clips y'all put out! I often don't have time to watch things live or in full vod form bc of work, so this format is amazing! Keep doing what y'all are doing, you do it amazing
I really like the ATH m50s but I do record a lot of bass and they are very pleasing for that. Not sure id use them as daily drivers otherwise.
I don't know why people didn't like that video. I loved it. It was obvious to me that this was a demo of what you could get, not exactly what to get.
I am not ready to set up a home theater thing right now but when I am ready for that I'm going to 100% watch that video again for ideas and look for good deals on used stuff.
It was a solid 9.8/10 video for me in my opinion, and I hope those types of videos don't go away.
I really hope you get a home theater at some point-you are in for a treat! Your post reminded me how much I wanted my 5.1 receiver, and man, how it transformed my living room.
I think a huge part of it is simply because it's a video about home theater. There aren't that many people out there interested in it. Reasons vary, from not having enough room (apartments are pretty cramped nowadays), to simply not seeing the point in a home theater system.
One aspect that wasn’t discussed here but was directly pointed out at the end of the 3d projector video is that it’s inherently hard for the viewer to feel the differences. Similar to how we can’t see the 3d, by the time the audio is captured, edited, compressed in export, and played back through my iPhone speakers it’s hard to receive the increased value.
I enjoyed the journey of both projects as someone who’s pretty handy myself, but just finding creative ways to make the differences more perceivable can open up the audience to a wider base I feel like
Next time start the same video with a declaration of what you're aiming to achieve and then show shopping journey so you can talk about priorities/choices for the viewer can more easily repeat the process with their local options. Then end the video with blindfold judgements from other staff members to get non-enthusiest takes on the result and the value.
PS. I was an AV technician for years and I still trade hifi / theatre gear as a side hustle. I've done this exact type of upgrade for countless people and they're all stoked about it. I liked the video.
I'd say making a bigger point out of how easy it is to mix and match speakers would have gone a long way. It's not just about the money saved, it's also about the simplicity of the setup or diy aspect of it.
I don't think the audience wants to watch audio tips or surround systems. Plus I don't think everyone want massive speakers in their living room or bedroom where the audience will be watching movies primarily. The video is great. But it was out of touch in current homes today. Everyone wants a soundbar because it's less intrusive in a everyday home. Not a cinema room.
My biggest problem with that video was that it was supposed to be about getting cheap used stuff, but then you used the subwoofer from the expensive setup and didn't even know how much it would cost used so it kind of defeated the purpose of the video a bit.
At a certain audience threshold, you are no longer marketing to the people who are interested in learning. There becomes a point where in order to keep growing, you must cater to the glue-eaters.
I think this is one of your most informative videos about buying a surround sound setup, please don't let the "under-performing" video prevent you from making videos like this. Trying to chase the majority of people is a bad director to go in.
The reason I didn't watch the suround dound video. Was I have no interest suround sound system. For me personally, most secondhand videos are about things I don't use or wouldn't get second-hand. The things I do get second-hand the fun of that is doing the research myself. Watching a video of someone doing that feels like a cheat to me.
I really enjoyed the video. I am into home theater and am always telling my friends how much they are missing out on with just running a basic sound bar. It was nice to see such a big youtube channel talking about home theater and how you can get such a good experience for not a lot of money if you are willing to do a little bit of work.
looking at reviews for something I already bought can reveal usage tips for some complicated gadget that a reviewer understands better than the instruction manual can explain
I really appreciated the video because I did this process by myself years before ! I bought a second hand Pioneer 6.1 AV amp + 6x 100W Kef speakers for 800€, the system was 5 years old and costed around 2500€ new. 20 years later I still use the same speakers, they still work perfectly but I changed 2 times the AV amp that died after 10 years each.
I can understand that people who were never interested in audio-video amps can loose the point.
Several years ago, my brother bought a crappy 5.1 kit that was very restricted in audio inputs. I found a second hand Sony AV amp 5x75W for 50€ with a lot of audio and video inputs, including HDMI, compatible with Dolby Digital and DTS. I told him to plug his speakers to this amp, then he can plug everything he wants at the same time: computer, Xbox, smartphone.
2 years after giving him the amp, I found it in the box at my parents basement, he never plugged it...
It's pretty much video equivalent of putting pearls in front of a swine. The vast majority of tech enthusiasts do not care about audio and live their life happily with Airpods/or Sony whatevers
I love the audio related videos. I also love the long form style with all the different additions so much.
I really liked that video. It was a good video about how to get value for money, a quality experience and help avoid more tech piling up in landfills.
Coming from someone who blew out a speaker on a Facebook marketplace system, I really appreciated the discussion on adjustment for impedance
a common theme on youtube has been the “but better” do it yourself style type videos. so i think the 5vs50vs500vs5k etc would do better, and then if it ends up being the budget diy option you go more in depth on how to go about the diy.
That video was like LG phones: dual screen smarphones, curved display, modular phones, rotatable screen phones but the masses are still complaining that the phone does not look like an Iphone and now we have the zfold.
I watched it soon as it came out, cause I was thinking of buying a soundbar and it opened my eyes to how shit they are. Im only one view but I loved it. Fucking great video.
I am both a Techphile and an Audiophile and I think your video about hunting for audio components deals on marketplace was spot on. I was doing the exact same things mentioned in your video for years.
From my experience, people don’t consider audio as important or a luxury until they hear what a good sound system can offer. I am saying this because I am the only person in my circle who was into high end audio. When I showed them my $900 and $7000 audio system, their minds were genuinely blown.
Just my 2 cents.
6:40 Luke is 100% correct. Your channel introduced me to Louis Rossman and I've only ever watched him for his epic rants. Because of viewers like me, he stopped doing board repair videos how-to videos. It sucks to see and he can always do a spin off channel, but he knows the channel won't grow from that as much as it does dealing with a really dumb department in NYC government and going on rants on how city workers are even fining him for.
I really appreciated the video personally. It’s nice to have some grounded videos with a lower product budget.
Reminded me of older content, I really enjoyed it.
My hot take; LTT has drawn a fan base that is about the entertainment aspect and not the tech. This is your own doing 😢
Well that thought went through my mind as well. From time to time, they went in their movies with the attitude 'why didn't you buy sth else/better?' despite the gear that someone's use it ok for that someone. And then watchers don't think about why Linus & co. act & thhink like that, they just brainlessly go 'if they say that, then it must be true". Then yeah, if that's true, then it's safe to say they just reaped what they sow.
Upgrading your home with "diy" alternatives would be a great series
I'm 52 and have set up tons of home theaters for people in the past, but I will say that I don't think I've met anyone under 30 that is even interested in home theaters anymore.
None of my nieces or nephews are even slightly interested a good sound system, they would rather put in their air pods.
I honestly think this is an age thing, "kids" these days seem to have zero interest in full surround systems.
If they can't stick them in their ears, they think the whole idea is boomer and old.
@@DemonaeTV It’s a symptom of a bigger problem, housing is too expensive and most young people can’t afford to move out, if they do it’s a tiny apartment without the room for big speakers, and neighbours who will complain you’re making too much noise. I have to watch movies with headphones on in my room cause my flatmates will complain otherwise. I’d love to have my own space for a home theatre but the space to put one is too expensive.
I am 35 and have never owned a TV, I have zero interest in watching something on a TV. I am interested in sound, but I find zero time or interest in watching a movie in a dedicated space. I do most of my life on a computer and when I am not working, I would rather be outside or sleeping. Also, people are social media, video, and tech tired. I honestly think home theatre is a thing of the past. People would watch more if there was good content or good movies but they are all garbage with political messaging and they are no longer an escape.
I watched this whole WAN show. The tech tips about saving money and being scrappy are the best. The entertainment makes it digestible but the learning content brings me back.
5:25 I do not know if my comment will have visibility, but here's an idea to try for future videos: A sploosh/star/highlight like old timey tv episodes or something. When a Tech Tip is on screen, do an audio _ping_ and call attention to it in editing maybe?
Depending on how it's done in editing, it could help tremendously. You probably want to trial on a better predictably-performing video so you can see a difference (whether good OR bad).
I actually did something similar about 1-1,5 year ago. I had a very old Kenwood surround system that was never used and surround speakers were basically flower vase stands. I bought a HDMI to HDMI/RCA splitter (to get video to TV from PS4 and audio to the sound system), because that old system is not compatible with any modern AV outputs. Cables are still a mess but now watching movies is 100x better compared to TV speakers.
Your viewers don't own homes and rent thin apartments. Really cool, but it's still far out
Maybe people are not that interested in sound for home theater systems, and more interested in computer hardware, reviews, benchmarks, server setups, and all the other cool stuff you guys make 😊
I for one thought: Yeah, maybe I can skip this one - cause it's not relevant for me
When your own people don't watch your content... (but they should, it was really informative)
To be fair, when you produce as much content as they do, it can be a job on its own to watch everything. I know that I can be the same way, especially when working on or being featured in content that is both long and frequent. Vlogs podcast, etc. Double especially if I am busy with a bunch of projects at the time.
Audio is niche, most people don't take the time to rely realize the difference between poor audio and good audio
It's one of my favorite recent videos y'all did, but I also am really into DIY sound systems, with multiple trift store systems set up in my home.
That video was mad, super basic and remedial but no doubt very helpful to a lot of people. Don't discount the fact the topic is audio - probable contributor to poor engagement. Like I said, probably very helpful to a lot of people so I would call it a win!! Keep up these kind of videos, I enjoy them!
I thought the video was great and it came at a right time for me as I am looking to build a sound system on a budget at home. What would be amazing is some sort of a follow up video with details on how to spot good deals and what features are important to look out. I consider myself quite tech savvy but researching what sound system is very confusing so far
All I gotta say is that I loved the video you put down. It made a ton of sense to me and is really self-explanatory. Maybe it just needed to be clarified more that you may not be able to get the same equipment
I am a researcher in metamaterials in acoustics and have been an acoustic consultant for 4 years now, and I can tell you, from a very professional perspective, second hand equipment in audio is pure gold. Audio equipments don’t degrade over time that much, you can get a really amazing sounding setup for really cheap by buying old flagship gear for cheap. And in all our installations, we only ever did soundbar if and only if the customer explicitly demanded it or there was just no other way to get sound. They are not the ideal way to listen to audio, they are a bit of a compromise. Loves the video, was very informative
I think the biggest problem is that audio is just not as important to a lot of people. Audio for me has always been the after thought of a setup, where as long as quality is above built in tv speakers at a minimum ease of set up and easy shopping experience are higher priority .
Maybe also make a video laying out the best soundbars, to cater to those who either can't have a discrete system, or don't want to deal with a discrete system. And include used/refurbished/open box options that can be easily found too!
That home theatre episode is my favourite Linus tech-whatever video of 2024, but
1) people in Europe are way less focused on home entertainment systems
2) I imagine that way less of your viewers have a television or their own living room than you think.
Off the top of my head I can think of five tech savvy friends, two of which are single moms, who will never ever be able afford to move out from their parents. That’s despite all having good jobs and education.
3) generally speaking, open space arrangements which in western Europe at least is how most apartments and houses are laid out, has made it nigh impossible to put up any kind of surround system without making the entire apartment or 70% of any house built agree the 80s look perpetually messy. The amount of bespoke gear and carpentry required mean that an Atmos sound bar is the cheaper option by a landslide.
Indeed, my personal conclusion from your video was that it might not be possible in our quite big living room (by European standards) unless the 2nd hand system consists of something like active B&O speakers or something equally slick looking
This is why because a significant amount of your core technical audience already left which where mainly there from the beginning, due to a number of factors such as LTT videos becoming just like a media production company rather than some rando in front of camera, some recent controversies, etc etc and being replaced with people who are only there for entertainment or use your videos as a background video, these people do not care about the tech they just want to see the shiny thing.
I think LTT is at a point where it's stuck between 2 demographic groups one being the core audience and other being the new audience focused on just "oh shiney "
Loved that surround sound video!! Thank you guys