5.1 to 7.1 should I do it???

[KeoneK]

Hi Guys,
I'm looking for some advice on weather or not to upgrade my new system to 7.1. I think I have the space but I unsure if its worth it considering how close the back speakers would be to a side wall.
the next question would be... Should I go with another set of axiom surrounds or a direct firing speaker. Im pretty new at this.. and I've been reading a bit here, it seems that questions about space for back speaker and weather or not they are direct or di/bi polar come up alot....

so any question, comments, or just plain wise crack remarks, are all welcome

Thanks
K

 

[racquetman]

I was running a 7.1 setup for a while, but then I went back to 5.1. For me there just wasn't enough material with a discrete sixth channel to make it worth it. Even Blu-ray and HD-DVD soundtracks don't bother mixing in a sixth channel from what I've seen. I didn't try Dolby PLIIx with much material so I can't really speak about how much info gets matrixed into the back speaker(s).

If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, then I guess you can give it a try. I had a couple extra speakers and speaker wire lying around and that's why I hooked up 7.1 originally. You may want to go with just 6.1 with your room configuration. That might alleviate the reflection problem you may have with the one wall. I was using monopole speakers for surround backs when I was running it. I liked having that direct sound coming at me letting me know that stuff was coming from behind me.

If I were you, I guess I would try to get my hands on a speaker or 2 that I could try out in the configuration. You'll get a feel for whether or not the added channel(s) is/are really adding that much to the home theater experience for you. Watch a couple of movies that are mixed aggressively in the 6th channel (Gladiator and LotR extended editions come to mind), and then try some movies that are just 5.1 but action intensive and see if PLIIx is sending much info to the back.

 

[KeoneK]

Thanks

Hey Alandamp,
I have an old set of Atlantic Technologies... I think I'll go ahead and try it. Don't know why I didn't think of that myself...


Thanks again
Keone

 

[Jack Hammer]

There is a lot of good info on this topic if you do a search for "5.1 7.1" In my experience, some movies it makes a very nice difference (for the better). With most movies, it's not dramatic and may not be noticeable. I like it for me due to poor room acoustics, I need all the help I can get with surround sound.

I wouldn't buy new speakers for the rear surrounds, though. I'd just use whatever you have lying around. They really don't get a lot of use, and most of what is sent there is extremely low volume stuff - most likely you won't be able to tell the difference between a great speaker and a decent one.

YMMV

Jack

 

[tomd51]

Keonek;
It looks from you diagram you've got plenty of room to work with for rear surrounds, so I would give your spare ATs a spin w/plenty of DTS-ES 6.1 and DD-EX material and see what you think. I've found that if you've got less than 5-6 feet of room behind the listening area, the rear surrounds really won't make much of an impact. In my own setup, w/the 9-10 feet I have behind my listening area, the rear surrounds seem to open up the surround soundstage, giving it a bit more depth than just the side surrounds.

I will say that the QS8s I'm using on the sides made a more noticeable difference than some direct radiating speakers I previously used, so the rear surrounds weren't as pronounced when I integrated them. Nevertheless, when I switch from 7.1 to 5.1, there is a loss to the depth of soundstage in the rear, but as others pointed out, unless your listening to discretely encoded soundtracks that take advantage of the rears or listen in PLIIx, you're not likely to notice too big of a difference.

Once you've given your ATs a test run as rear surrounds, let us know what you think... -TD

 

[Jeff HDDVD]

Have had all

I had a 5.1 system in a small theater. I changed it to 6.1, I love it. Its powered by a Yamaha RX-V1. I have a large system also using a Pana AE 900 u projector with a Carada 118" top line screen. In that room I use a new Pioneer Elite VSX 74 TXVi 7.1 receiver. With some movies it's fantastic! But not always a lot of extra sound material. Its nice to add more speakers, and definately more subs! I have 2 subs in the front and 1 in the back on both of my systems.