6.1 vs 5.1

[cebbigh]

UPS is dropping off my new Onkyo tx-sr501 today. I bought it mainly because of
the very positive things I've read about it for it's performance in HT and bass control attributes (plus the 180.00 deal including shipping at e-cost). I've not had a 6.1 receiver before and I'm wondering how much the extra speaker adds to the mix. Is it worth the effort of running the speaker wire and purchase of another speaker? And if I do add another speaker, how demanding is the signal
on the rear center? Does it need to match the surrounds, the front center, or the l/r fronts?

[Sorny]

IMHO, go 7.1 or stay 5.1 to avoid front-back reversal. When Lexicon (Logic-7), Meridian, DTS, Dolby, and THX all agree on something, you should pay heed. I've heard 6.1 setups that don't suffer front-back reversal, but I've also heard setups that do suffer. FWIW, I've never experienced front-back reversal on ANY 7.1 setup.

Wire is cheap, so I'd suggest at least giving it a try.

Sorny

[octalon7]

How many movies actually support 7.1 these days any ways?

[Dudley]

Give the 6.1 a try. I think you will like it. Just use the same speaker type as your surrounds for best results. Any decent speaker will do though.

I have never seen a 7.1 movie, and there are not that many 6.1 movies. I think when people use 7.1 it is just a matrix, not true 7.1.

[Influence]

I think the professional consensus is that unless you have a large sized room, at least 15 x 15 x 8 or larger, the advantages of the 6.1/7.1 setups diminish.

I personally run a 7.1 setup, and found it to be a bit smoother of a surround sound field than the traditional 5.1 setups. Granted, my room is large enougth to support the extra back channels, so that helps. Someone stated it right, there are no true 7.1 surround sound formats (at least not yet). DTS-ES discrete is only 6.1 channels, same with THX surround EX and Dolby Digital EX (though I'm not sure if anything other than the DTS-ES is truly a discrete 6.1 source). Your pre-amp/receiver will use its own little DSP magic to make the source into 7.1.

To combat some of the issues that the other guys are talking about here, you could try this:
If your Onkyo can run a 4 ohm load on the surround back channel, you could run two surround back speakers (8 ohm impedence) in parallel (thus showing the amp channel a 4 ohm load), and get a mock 7.1 setup. I set this up on my father in law's system (he uses a Denon 2802) and it works great. You don't get the extra signal processing, but it helps diffuse the sound a little more nicely.

[tdekany]

I like the 6.1 setup. Give it a try. I'd go with the same speaker though.

[bobs]

I use a Denon 1804 in a rather large 36 x 30 x 8 room. Manual with the Dennon recommended 2 back speakers for the 6th channel. I am only running one for the 6th channel, but have a rather unusual room layout with much greater distance from surrounds than the 6th channel speaker to my listening position. Surrounds are on side walls 18 ft from listening position and 6th channel is in ceiling facing down. After I got past DB balance and delay setup, sound was quite good. As it worked out I had extra speakers left over after upgrading a different room in a whole house stereo setup so I fugured it was worth a try.

Bob


I think the professional consensus is that unless you have a large sized room, at least 15 x 15 x 8 or larger, the advantages of the 6.1/7.1 setups diminish.

I personally run a 7.1 setup, and found it to be a bit smoother of a surround sound field than the traditional 5.1 setups. Granted, my room is large enougth to support the extra back channels, so that helps. Someone stated it right, there are no true 7.1 surround sound formats (at least not yet). DTS-ES discrete is only 6.1 channels, same with THX surround EX and Dolby Digital EX (though I'm not sure if anything other than the DTS-ES is truly a discrete 6.1 source). Your pre-amp/receiver will use its own little DSP magic to make the source into 7.1.

To combat some of the issues that the other guys are talking about here, you could try this:
If your Onkyo can run a 4 ohm load on the surround back channel, you could run two surround back speakers (8 ohm impedence) in parallel (thus showing the amp channel a 4 ohm load), and get a mock 7.1 setup. I set this up on my father in law's system (he uses a Denon 2802) and it works great. You don't get the extra signal processing, but it helps diffuse the sound a little more nicely.