stereo thru 5.1

[sparks98]

I am building my own HT system. Is there any feature in a reciever that will allow me to redirect the 2 channel stereo specifically thru each of the speakers in a 5.1 or 6.1 system?

 

[Duffinator]

Yes, it's called 5 channel stereo on most receivers. It fades the L&R speakers into the center and duplicates the L&R in the rear channels. It's good for parties but I don't use it for critical listening.

 

[jcPanny]

Two channel source to 7.1

Yes, there are several ways to get a two channel stereo source to play on all speakers.
The first way is a 7-channel stereo mode with outputs the same information to all channels.
The second is DSP modes like Dolby PrologicII/x and DTS NEO:6. These take the 2 channel sound and output different information over different speakers for a surround sound like experience.
Most receivers will also output LFE to the subwoofer for 2.1 listening unless they are in a "Pure Direct" mode which bypasses all digital processing.

So look for a receiver will the above features. They are pretty standard on most new models.