Need advice before I spend too much ...

[ThunderClap]

I have and 11x11 area in a basement with 9 foot ceiling ...small , cozy , quasi home office in the back of the basement as well .... 55 inch TV on the Wall AVR to be determined.

1. is 7.1 WORTH it? I've got a 5.1 B&W 686 S2 Front and in ceiling Dayton 6 1/2 as the rears - would side speakers make a difference ?
An audio friend says all I would be doing is adding noise , not immersion - he feels the space to too small for the sound to truly travel and hit the ear properly.

Is he right?

2. Should I bother with the bi wiring? the B&W has a two slots is it really necessary ?

3. Thanx

 

[shadyJ]

I think with the correct speaker type, calibration, and placement, you may be able to get a bit more immersion. It depends. You might try a speaker you can return for free, and all it will cost you is the time to experiment.

Don't bother bi-wiring, it won't help at all.

 

[multimediatech]

If done properly it is totally worth it!

 

[class a]

Add a second sub and some room treatments. Five speakers properly placed in a room that size is all you need.

 

[herbu]

I have and 11x11 area... is 7.1 WORTH it... Should I bother with the bi wiring?

I would start w/ 5.1... then go to 5.2 if you want... then consider adding Rear Surrounds if you want.

That means spending ALL your budget on good/great 5.1 speakers now. Use and enjoy it. Learn about bass and possible bass nulls in your room while you save up some more money. By the time you save ~$1k, you'll know if you want/need a second sub. If you do, get it. If you don't, consider adding rear surrounds.

Forget about bi wiring. No benefit.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

7.1 is supposed to have the rear speakers behind the seating, which probably can’t be done in your room because your main seating position will be pretty close to the back wall. That said, since you already have in-ceiling speakers it can’t hurt to try adding some on the sides. You could easily do a mock-up with temporary wiring. Just make sure you have a generous return policy on the speakers you get, in case you aren’t especially impressed with the results.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt