5.1 vs 7.1

[ParadigmDawg]

That's a no-brainer. Go with the 100's and the ADPs...5.1...

(I know that this is practically asking same question again.. but I have the budget for 7.1 so I am wondering where is the better place to put the money...)

Over the weekend my wife and I spent 5 hours auditioning speakers for our home theater and still like the Paradigms the best. (Klipsch, Snell, BA VR3, Canton, and Paradigm). We both would like to go with the 7.1 since the HD DVDs will mostly be 7.1 in the (near?) future.

My current spec (listed in Signature) is what we were looking at... (the dealer recommended that I go with Dipolar for the rears instead of the 20s... thoughts??? I still can't decide.. should I go with 4 CC-590 or 2 CC-590 and 2 Studio 20s???) if I go with the 7.1

(Main Question).. If I decided to not go with the 7.1 and went with the 5.1, I could upgrade the 60s to the 100s and keep the same budget.... What does everyone think? What would be better, 60s for fronts with 7.1 or 100s for fronts with 5.1??? Also, if I go with the 5.1, what should I go with for the rears?? 20s or the 590s??

 

[BabelFish]

Okay.. One vote for 100s with 5.1....

(Where would I place my Rears/surrounds with the 5.1?).. here is a picture of my layout.
This is the current layout now with where I was going to place everything.

The real room looks like this...
This is where the tv will go (screen for the projector).
This is where everyone will sit (the right 7.1 surround was going to be mounted near the lamp on the right).. (The couch has been recently moved up 1 to 2 feet to prepare it for the 7.1)..
This is where the surrounds were going to go on the left wall (between the windows). The projector will be mounted on the ceiling above the coffee table (or around that area)..

Any changes or opinions on speaker placement?

 

[KC23]

I'd say 5.1. The room just doesn't suit a 7.1 that well and there isn't that much 7.1 content out there anyway.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Number one is you need to move the dog bed from in-front of your right main; there is a hard rule that the dog bed should be no closer than 3.2 feet from your speaker.

LOL...I dont know how to setup your room. You are going to just have to play around with it and see. You know where everything is supposed to go and then in real life; you have to compensate for room layout, WAF...etc... 5.1 will be much easier to figure out then 7.1 and should be plenty for your room.

Okay.. One vote for 100s with 5.1....

(Where would I place my Rears/surrounds with the 5.1?).. here is a picture of my layout.
This is the current layout now with where I was going to place everything.

The real room looks like this...
This is where the tv will go (screen for the projector).
This is where everyone will sit (the right 7.1 surround was going to be mounted near the lamp on the right).. (The couch has been recently moved up 1 to 2 feet to prepare it for the 7.1)..
This is where the surrounds were going to go on the left wall (between the windows). The projector will be mounted on the ceiling above the coffee table (or around that area)..

Any changes or opinions on speaker placement?

 

[BabelFish]

Number one is you need to move the dog bed from in-front of your right main; there is a hard rule that the dog bed should be no closer than 3.2 feet from your speaker.

LOL... Its a dog bed for the cat.. That is where the sun comes in from the window I didn't get the memo on the Dog Bed Placement Code but thanks for letting me know.. When the new speakers come in... trust me.. the animals will not be allow anywhere NEAR them ...

As for placement.. I was more asking as to whether the rears/surrounds go behind you or besides you when you are doing 5.1...

the WAF so far has been Excellent.. I can't believe how awesome it has been.. She Rocks! Even she is looking forward to getting the Ultra13! We went and heard the Servo15 and I told her how the Ultra was going to be as good if not a little better than that one... She thought it sounded great!.. wow nice! She has liked everything that I have picked out... She only asks that I don't break the bank

Its funny.. I just told her about going 5.1 instead and she said she really wants to go 7.1... I will talk to her tonight.. If i can get a better/stronger system by going 5.1 with better mains as compared to 7.1 with weaker mains, I would rather go with the 100s and get the rears later when I replenish the funds again... (or never get 7.1 if the 5.1 sounds good enough)...

 

[AVRat]

Your current room layout seems somewhat difficult for a symmetric 7.1 surround setup. So a 5.1 system would be more appropriate. As to which type of surround to use, I would also lean toward the ADPs mounted on the rear wall. Although it’s not perfect, you should get a good diffuse effect. If you’ll only power the L/R with a receiver like the upcoming 3808 and you’ll be running a good sub setup, I’d stick with the 40/60s. My preference is to only run the 100s with a decent amp.

 

[BabelFish]

If you’ll only power the L/R with a receiver like the upcoming 3808 and you’ll be running a good sub setup, I’d stick with the 40/60s. My preference is to only run the 100s with a decent amp.

what do you mean by good sub setup?? Are you thinking that the 100s will not sound as good with the 3808? (I am planning on getting a rotel at some point in the future but to start with I was going to just have the 3808...

 

[ParadigmDawg]

If it is a cat bed then it should be no closer to your speakers than the nextdoor neighbors...

If you are using 5.1 then the surround speakers should be beside the main listening area and just slightly behind (mine are 2.5 feet behind and at the same width as my mains. Further out to the sides should be ok)

The SVS will be awesome. I would have chosen one of those but my wife decided we were getting a sub locally so the Servo-15 it is. I really like it and when I compared the SVS plus/2 or whatever it was called they were very close. Considering the price; I would go SVS all the way if I could have bought one local.

Like Rat said...the 100's may need more power but that's an easy fix later on.

LOL... Its a dog bed for the cat.. That is where the sun comes in from the window I didn't get the memo on the Dog Bed Placement Code but thanks for letting me know.. When the new speakers come in... trust me.. the animals will not be allow anywhere NEAR them ...

As for placement.. I was more asking as to whether the rears/surrounds go behind you or besides you when you are doing 5.1...

the WAF so far has been Excellent.. I can't believe how awesome it has been.. She Rocks! Even she is looking forward to getting the Ultra13! We went and heard the Servo15 and I told her how the Ultra was going to be as good if not a little better than that one... She thought it sounded great!.. wow nice! She has liked everything that I have picked out... She only asks that I don't break the bank

Its funny.. I just told her about going 5.1 instead and she said she really wants to go 7.1... I will talk to her tonight.. If i can get a better/stronger system by going 5.1 with better mains as compared to 7.1 with weaker mains, I would rather go with the 100s and get the rears later when I replenish the funds again... (or never get 7.1 if the 5.1 sounds good enough)...

 

[Pwner_2130]

If i was you i would go with the 7.1... i noticed a big difference when i upgraded especially when something on screen whooshes past coming toward you


But i like your current stereo...haha

 

[BabelFish]

But i like your current stereo...haha

Thanks.. I dont think anyone has ever looked at it.. Or at least never commented on it .. I REALLY need a new stereo

So the current Vote total is:
5.1 w/ 100s: 2 votes
7.1 w/ 60s: 1 vote

 

[davidtwotrees]

5.1 hands down, neighbor!!!!

You are basing the 7.1 on such a small amount of material. The better fronts that you will be listening to MOST of your music and ht on far outweigh the few movies that you will get a better wooosh from. My 5.1 wooshes just fine right now, thank you very much...........in fact many people duck, or look around confusedly at the background noises........

 

[AVRat]

My comment regarding my preference to run the 100s with an amp only is because the 100s 3/7” bass drivers tend to suck the life out of most receivers’ power supply. In your current, relatively average sized room, the 3808 should ably drive the 100s beyond your listening tolerance. It is also just my opinion that running the 100s with an excellent sub like the SVS Ultra is a bit overkill, even in a room double the size of yours. I’d save the money with the 40/60s, but it is YOUR money.

 

[BabelFish]

...overkill...

music to my ears! hahahahaha

I can always turn the sub down though right? I can still make it sound really good and also be able to make my ears bleed correct?? its like the best of both worlds...

 

[ParadigmDawg]

What he is saying Babel is that if you are going to use a sub anyway and crossover your speakers you probably wont gain a lot getting the 100's over the 40's. Most of the gain between the 2 are in the lows and the sub will take care of that. In my opinion; you should get the biggest, baddest speakers you can afford and the wife will ok...

music to my ears! hahahahaha

I can always turn the sub down though right? I can still make it sound really good and also be able to make my ears bleed correct?? its like the best of both worlds...