5.1 or 7.1

[Panjsheri]

Hey Guys,

I just recently setup my 5.1 HT system and I absolutely love it but sometimes I wonder If I should spend the extra dough and upgrade it to 7.1??? I know that a lot of the movies are only 5.1 and 6.1 at best but yesterday I watched Golden Compass and was astonished to see it was 7.1 format. Now this makes me wonder if a lot of the new Blu Ray movies coming out will be all 7.1 as there is the space needed to record the data onto the new discs. Also I do have the Onkyo 905, a 15 inch Velodyne 5000R and my room is 3000 cubic sq feet (15W x 20L x 10H). So considering I have the space and the proper equipment I want to but wanted someones input who recently upgraded to or already has a 7.1 system and if they see a noticeable difference and if its worth it???

Thanks!!!

 

[GlocksRock]

I say if you have the money and the room, by all means go for it. You can always turn your 5.1 into 7.1 by using the PLIIx decoder.

 

[Panjsheri]

I say if you have the money and the room, by all means go for it. You can always turn your 5.1 into 7.1 by using the PLIIx decoder.

HHAHA well I do have the money and the room but am a little indecisive. I heard by using the PLIIx decoder it wont be true 7.1 and instead will just "split" the rear connections in 2.

 

[GlocksRock]

Using the PLIIx decoder won't give you true discrete 7.1, but it redirects some of the sounds from the side surrounds to the rear surrounds in relation to what you are seeing on the screen, and it does a very good job at it. Plus, you will have the speakers in place for the material you view that does have true 6.1 or 7.1 content. I've found that the PLIIx decoder does a very good job, and doesn't create any distortion or artifacts in what you hear. Some people here hate it and won't touch it, but I think they are just being anal about it, and if they actually gave it a chance, I think they would find that it works great and they would enjoy it.

I have a 5.1 system in my bedroom and a 7.1 setup downstairs, and I find that the 7.1 gives a much more spacious and seamless surround experience, esepecially when using all bi-polar speakers.

 

[patnshan]

I use PLIIx for everything to get 7.1 in my system and would not be without it. I am with Glocks, if you have the room you should do it. I feel that having the rear channels gets you a more enveloping sound regardless if they are discreet or not. You are still getting info on the right that is meant for the right, etc. It just comes out of both speakers. Also, discreet 7.1 will become more prevalent I believe, especially on Blu Ray.
Good luck,
Pat

 

[enoch]

So what decoder does discrete 7.1?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Hey Guys,

I just recently setup my 5.1 HT system and I absolutely love it but sometimes I wonder If I should spend the extra dough and upgrade it to 7.1??? I know that a lot of the movies are only 5.1 and 6.1 at best but yesterday I watched Golden Compass and was astonished to see it was 7.1 format. Now this makes me wonder if a lot of the new Blu Ray movies coming out will be all 7.1 as there is the space needed to record the data onto the new discs. Also I do have the Onkyo 905, a 15 inch Velodyne 5000R and my room is 3000 cubic sq feet (15W x 20L x 10H). So considering I have the space and the proper equipment I want to but wanted someones input who recently upgraded to or already has a 7.1 system and if they see a noticeable difference and if its worth it???

Thanks!!!

Some people think 7.1 is great, and some people don't think it's a very significant change.

Before making the upgrade, you should go to a show room or a friend's house who has 7.1 and listen for yourself.

I had 7.1 before, and I watched WAR on 7.1 PCM blu-ray. I just cannot see much difference between 5.1 or 7.1.

It's not right or wrong. It's just preference.

So do yourself a favor and audition before spending money. If you find that 7.1 is awesome, then it's worth every penny.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

So what decoder does discrete 7.1?

7.1 LPCM and 7.1 DTS-MA

 

[Panjsheri]

Thanks guys for your input it has made me decide I will go to a show room or get my guy to lend me 2 spare speakers to connect and see if it makes a noticeable difference to me because it does seem more like a preference then an actual performance thing.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Thanks guys for your input it has made me decide I will go to a show room or get my guy to lend me 2 spare speakers to connect and see if it makes a noticeable difference to me because it does seem more like a preference then an actual performance thing.

The ONLY difference that I have been able to see is that 7.1 produces LOUDER surround ambient sounds because of those two extra speakers.

But when I turn up the volume of the surround speakers in a 5.1HT, I get the same effects: LOUDER surround sounds.

But you are correct that 7.1 vs 5.1 is PURELY PREFERENCE.

After all, this is hobby, and we do it because it makes us feel GOOD.

Even if there is not one ounce of difference between 5.1 & 7.1 besides the volume, you may choose to upgrade to 7.1 just BECAUSE you FEEL like it.

It's all good.

 

[GlocksRock]

If your speakers are level matched properly, 7.1 is no louder than 5.1 unless there happens to be sound coming from all the surrounds at once, which doesn't always happen, especially with the discrete 7.1 formats. I also believe TrueHD is capable of 7.1, but I don't know if there are any 7.1 TrueHD movies out.

I love having 7.1 as it makes sounds that pan from side to side, or front to back or back to front much smoother, take for instance a helicopter that may be flying around in a circle, when it goes behind you, you hear it behind you, there ins't a jump from left to right, it is a much smoother panning sound. I find that especially when using the PLIIx decoder, I get a lot of sounds coming from the rear surround speakers, as many times sound are meant to come from directly beind you, but since most material is encoded in 5.1 the sounds instead come from the side.

 

[Jack Hammer]

On the scenes where 7.1 makes a difference it is very noticeable. As mentioned, pans are smoother, planes flying overhead from front to rear or rear to front sound much better. Overall ambience is improved.

But not all scenes are much if any different from 5.1. With some, I really cant tell any difference at all or if the extra speakers are doing anything. It just depends on how the particular surround soundtrack was recorded for a movie.

Overall, I like having 7.1 and prefer it to 5.1. But not everyone I know feels the same. I think borrowing some speakers or using something old laying around to try it out is a good idea. You can run the wires across the floor and place the speaker on stools or chairs for a few days to see how you like it. That way you don't have any holes to cover in the wall if you decide its not for you. Let us know what you decide and how it works out.

Jack

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If your speakers are level matched properly, 7.1 is no louder than 5.1 unless there happens to be sound coming from all the surrounds at once.

Yeah, you right.

You know it seems to me after reading some reviews that Gene loves to use PLIIx. I think he even uses PLIIx when listening to 2Ch CD music.

So I guess PLIIx will turn 2.0 Music into 7.1 Music as well?

 

[GlocksRock]

Yeah, you right.

You know it seems to me after reading some reviews that Gene loves to use PLIIx. I think he even uses PLIIx when listening to 2Ch CD music.

So I guess PLIIx will turn 2.0 Music into 7.1 Music as well?

Yes, there is also a PLIIx music mode as well as a PLIIx movie mode, and on my receiver you can tweak the settings so you can move the soundfield in and out from the center channel on the music mode, but I don't use it, just the movie mode. I use 2 ch. stereo for music, or the music enhancer sometimes if I'm listening to .mp3s. If I really want to rock out, I'll put it on 7 ch. mode.

Sometimes when watching movies, I can't tell if the surround sound is coming from the sides or the rear, or both, that's how smooth and enveloping the sound is for me with the bipolar 7.1 setup, it's really awesome.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yes, there is also a PLIIx music mode as well as a PLIIx movie mode, and on my receiver you can tweak the settings so you can move the soundfield in and out from the center channel on the music mode, but I don't use it, just the movie mode. I use 2 ch. stereo for music, or the music enhancer sometimes if I'm listening to .mp3s. If I really want to rock out, I'll put it on 7 ch. mode.

Sometimes when watching movies, I can't tell if the surround sound is coming from the sides or the rear, or both, that's how smooth and enveloping the sound is for me with the bipolar 7.1 setup, it's really awesome.

Hey, on a really side-note, the BP7001SC has a minimum impedance of only 3.3 ohms! So I guess using a Emo amp that can handle 2 ohms is a good idea, huh?

 

[GlocksRock]

Yeah, but even if the emo was only stable down to 4 ohms, that would be ok for a min. impedance of 3.3 ohms given the amount of time it will be down that low, I don't think it would hurt anything. I wonder how often the impedance drops that low.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yeah, but even if the emo was only stable down to 4 ohms, that would be ok for a min. impedance of 3.3 ohms given the amount of time it will be down that low, I don't think it would hurt anything. I wonder how often the impedance drops that low.

Oh, I think it drops to 3.3 ohms around the 150-300 Hz freqency.

The CLR3000 drops to 2.1 ohms @ 310 Hz. The BP7000SC drops to 2.9 ohms @ 154 Hz.

 

[GlocksRock]

Good thing I have a nice amp... not sure how well the RX-V1800 would handle driving all those speakers simultaneously at loud volumes.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Good thing I have a nice amp... not sure how well the RX-V1800 would handle driving all those speakers simultaneously at loud volumes.

Yeah, I guess we should continue recommending to everyone to get an external amp, huh?