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I'm upgrading my system to surround sound. I'm getting a center, and I could just get a pair of rears for 5.1, a pair of rears and a read center for 6.1, or four rears for 7.1.
I'll could get a 6.1 receiver (for either 5.1 or 6.1) or a 7.1 receiver (for 5.1, 6.1, 7.1) but it's over twice as much.
Is 6.1 or 7.1 really worth it? Do a lot of movies use it or do you think 5.1 is adequate for most movies?
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Ended up purchasing a Rotel RSX-1057 and setting up 5.1. as 6.1 or 7.1 would have been a pain in my room with speaker placement as the sofa is against the back wall and also people sit around the room on other furniture.
A 6.1 speaker setup (not to be confused with a 6.1 soundtrack) leads to front-back reversal problems. Sounds that come from the single rear channel may sometimes appear to come from the front.
To avoid this problem, a 7.1 speaker setup uses two back speakers to provide enough separation for the brain to process that channel's sound(s) as actually coming from the rear of the room. A 5.1 speaker setup obviously doesn't have this problem because it doesn't have the speaker to begin with.
You know that the human brain can only sort out sound from three directions at the same time? But since 2 more speakers mean 6 more db, 7 speakers must be awsome.
Doubling the number of speakers adds 3 dB.
2 speakers adds 3 dB to 1 speaker.
4 speakers adds 3 dB to 2 speakers.
8 speakers adds 3 dB to 4 speakers.
That assumes, of course, that there's an identical signal at identical levels going to each speaker.
With surround sound soundtracks, the dominant signal is usually the centre channel followed by the front L & R channels with the side surrounds and rear surrounds (if you have them) normally receiving a weaker signal. Adding 2 channels to an existing 5.1 system doesn't add much to the overall level, if it adds anything at all. For discs with a 6.1/7/1 channel soundtrack it probably won't add anything because the signal for the rear channels will be folded into the signal for the side surrounds if you only have a 5.1 setup. Sending it to separate rear surrounds instead of adding it to the side surrounds is not going to make a significant difference to the volume levels. If you want a significant increase in volume, you'll have to play with the volume knob.
David Aiken
My bad. (I do know 3db is a doubling of the sound level. Just wasn't thinking.)
To me that means there's one less reason to go 5+1+1.1.
For a start we need to distinguish between 2 cases: discs with 6.1/7.1 channel sound where the extra speakers are playing genuine separate channels, and discs with 5.1 channel sound or fewer channels where the extra speakers are playing a synthesised channel. I've got a 6.1 setup and it certainly sounds slightly better with discs that have 6.1 /7.1 channel soundtracks (only a small proportion of DVDs but that may change with the hi-def formats) but synthesising the extra channel from a 5.1 disc does seem to add something with some discs. The difference is small. I tend to swap between listening to 5.1 soundtracks in 5.1 and in 6.1 every now and then, but I always listen to 6.1/7.1 soundtracks in 6.1.
Secondly, if you get a 7.1 channel receiver, you usually get some other advantages as well so it may well be worth springing the extra cash for a 7.1 receiver even if you only go 5.1 with the speaker setup. Some 7.1 receivers allow you to use the extra channels for bi-amping the front L & R speakers or for speakers in a different room (second zone) and that can be a further benefit.
Third, room size is important. The extra speakers need to be behind you and you need to be a certain distance in front of them. That distance will depend on the speaker to a large degree. If your viewing/listening position is close to the wall behind you you will need to move the viewing position forward closer to the screen in order to fit the added speakers in, or give up on the idea.
5.1 is perfectly adequate but with the right soundtracks the extra channel/s can make a small but nice improvement. A 7.1 receiver will probably offer you several advantages over a 5.1 receiver and I'd probably consider the receiver anyway and start with a 5.1 setup. You can then always add an extra rear surround or two at a later stage if you decide to give it a go.
David Aiken
The attention to detail in the original recording and surround mixing matters more than how many speakers are used. Even though I'm in a small room, I plan on updating (I don't want to say upgrading, because that isn't exactly accurate) to a 7.1 setup soon, just to be able to access what the filmmaker wants me to hear. Beyond 7.1, they can forget it.
I actually have the speakers...just need to find the right 7.1 HDMI 1.3 preamp...maybe something will be announced at CES.
-------------"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." -Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982)
My pre/pro overlays a 6.1 track when it encouunters Dolby or DTS 5.1 material. I have A/B'd them and trere is a difference but the effect is slight. You get a more complete sens of the sound bubble.
room?
Room is 16x19.5'
TV is actually a off center on one wall because of a wall.
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On some movies you can notice it there, but on most my (17 x 24) room would probably have been more than fine with 5.1.
I guess my opinion is if you have a predetermined amount of money to spend, and it's lowish, perhaps stick with a better 5.1 than a 7.1 with sacrifices on the remainder.
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