What is "presence channel"?

[gcmarshall]

What exactly is a "presence" channel anyway? If I plan to use 5.1 setup (or at the most 7.1), does a presence channel impact my life?

 

[jaxvon]

A presence channel is an extra 2 channels for the front to add some "presence" to the sound. I'm not sure if the Yamahas you're considering with this option can do both 7.1 AND presence, but I'm pretty sure they don't.

 

[Doug917]

I run a RX-V2500 and have chose to use the presence full time and not use the surround back at all. I feel the presence adds much more than do the surround back channels, especially with a large screen when using dialogue lift. The only Yamaha unit that will let you run 9.1 simultaneously is the flagship RX-Z9.

 

[mnnc]

A presence channel is an extra 2 channels for the front to add some "presence" to the sound. I'm not sure if the Yamahas you're considering with this option can do both 7.1 AND presence, but I'm pretty sure they don't.

You can choose either presence OR rear surround on most 7.1 recvr's hence 7.1 rather than 5.1. Some people prefer to have extra front sound which is derived from the front channels(L,C,R) and others prefer rear surround which is derived from the surround channel/surround tracks on software/dvd. With presence you would have 5 speakers across front(L main, Cntr, R main, L pres, and R pres) with the presence spekrs being spaced above and slightly wider than mains. With rear surrounds option, they would be placed at back/rear center of room slightly apart from each other with the surrounds more forward and pointing inwards toward listeners thus giving you 4 spkrs across the rear of room. With my Yamaha 2500 I could hook-up 9 speakers plus sub and manually choose between presence or rear surround depending on the film or personal liking but not both rear surround And presence. That would be 9.1 which another member mentioned is only capable by a select few electronics including Yamaha's flagship Z-9. I use a 5.1 set-up in my room and that is fine for me. If you have extra money for the spkrs then try it out. In-walls would be an option that you could set-up and try both ways before doing the install( cutting holes in your wall!). And also I believe you would want direct radiating spkrs for presence and either the same or bipole for rear surr.

 

[Audioholics]

There has to be at least 4 threads that answer this question already. If you do a search you should get some additional information.