6.1 or 7.1

[jordan456789]

I am looking at getting a new home theater reciever and was going to get a 7.1 thinking more is better. I looked at the setup of hte speakers and now am wondering. I have a large living room but because of my layout of my house the tv is at one end and my sofa is at the other. I wouldn't be able to have the side speakers and rear speakers because i don't have any space behind my sofa. Also the 7.1 doesn't have a center rear speaker while 6.1 does. I could try to rearrange my living room but is there really that much difference in the two? What would you suggest?

 

[bandphan]

in wall in ceiling for the rears? what are you asking about the rear center, i dont understand your statement

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I am looking at getting a new home theater reciever and was going to get a 7.1 thinking more is better. I looked at the setup of hte speakers and now am wondering. I have a large living room but because of my layout of my house the tv is at one end and my sofa is at the other. I wouldn't be able to have the side speakers and rear speakers because i don't have any space behind my sofa. Also the 7.1 doesn't have a center rear speaker while 6.1 does. I could try to rearrange my living room but is there really that much difference in the two? What would you suggest?

Well, I think people with 7.1 will recommend 7.1, people with 5.1 will recommend 5.1, and people with 6.1 will recommend 6.1.

There are no wrong answers here.

Surround speakers serve one primary purpose - ambience effects. If you are getting adequate ambience effects with 2 surround speakers, then you have achieved that purpose.

I have tried 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 (actually up to 9.1). I could not hear much of a difference between them. Remember, 50-60% of the movie soundtrack is in the Center Channel. The other 20-30% is probably the Front Left & Right. So there is usually very little significant sound coming from the surround channels.

Surrounds = ambience + panning.

Now I'm back to 5.1.

 

[jordan456789]

in wall in ceiling for the rears? what are you asking about the rear center, i dont understand your statement

What i am saying is with 7.1 you have a center speaker, front right and left, side right and left, and a rear right and left. That means you would have to have some distance between the side speakers and the rear speakers. 6.1 is the same as 5.1 but with a rear center speaker. In my case the side speaker and rear speakers woudl be so close together 7.1 probably wouldn't make sense for me, while i would be able to have the rear center speaker. I am new at this so please excuse me if i am not making sense.

 

[Halon451]

Very true - with a properly mixed 5.1 soundtrack there should be very adequate blending of primary to ambient/background effects to achieve the "surround" sensation. Not all 5.1 mixes are perfect either, so it won't matter if you have an 11.1 system if the incoming audio is poor to begin with. I'd say that for most regular living room applications 5.1 is sufficient - any more and it's just showing off.

Well, on the other hand - I'd probably do the same thing if I had the space to put more speakers...

 

[bandphan]

ok, i getcha now. Back to my first question do you hav the option of inceiling surrounds?

 

[PhillyDan1969]

What i am saying is with 7.1 you have a center speaker, front right and left, side right and left, and a rear right and left. That means you would have to have some distance between the side speakers and the rear speakers. 6.1 is the same as 5.1 but with a rear center speaker. In my case the side speaker and rear speakers woudl be so close together 7.1 probably wouldn't make sense for me, while i would be able to have the rear center speaker. I am new at this so please excuse me if i am not making sense.

Sounds to me like you already know your answer!!! Without room to set-up 7.1 properly you should go with the 6.1 set-up!!!

 

[jordan456789]

Thanks for all the input. As soon as i saw the layouts i thought 6.1 would be best but wanted to make sure i knew what i was doing before i purchased a new reciever. The reciever i was looking at was a 7.1 so does anyone know what a good 6.1 would be on a budget?

 

[DMD123]

Remember most 7.1 receivers work just fine as 6.1. In fact unless you are using some of the new lossless audio thru HDMI the 7th rear channel is in fact just a clone of the 6th with no individual channel separation.

 

[Halon451]

Remember you can always purchase a good 7.1 receiver and not have to use seven speakers - that way you have the ability to upgrade later on if you move your system to a larger room and won't have to shell out the cash for another receiver.

Good brands to look at are Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer. Look at the Yamaha RX-V663. Looks to be a very decent 7.1 receiver.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Remember most 7.1 receivers work just fine as 6.1. In fact unless you are using some of the new lossless audio thru HDMI the 7th rear channel is in fact just a clone of the 6th with no individual channel separation.

I've actually watched one movie in 7.1 Uncompressed Audio LPCM (War), and I can't hear much difference. I think the surrounds were a little louder, but that's it.

But, hey, the more the merrier, right?

If 5.1 is excellent, 6.1 or 7.1 is also excellent no mater how you place them.

 

[chadnliz]

I agree to get 7.1 and use it 6.1 and have ability to upgrade later, one poster mentioned 9.1 and there is no such thing, it is a gimick from one company and you have to choose front or rear surround affect...but it does not drive 9 seperate audio tracks at once, there isnt even true 7.1 audio as of yet but there 6.1 tracks.