7.1 vs 5.1 vs 6.1

chimera

Hi Guys.
I'm building a new HT in my basement. Is it worth the extra $$ to upgrade or should I wait until Dolby True HD/ DTS HD are more widespread

How many have 7.1? 6.1 vs 5.1 out there?

janmike

Welcome. I tried the 7.1 and did not find it of value for my listening purposes. I am using 5.1 at the moment and will stay with that.

Greetings to the East Coast. My wife is from New Glasgow and we lived in Wolfville, Halifax and Bridgewater while in NS.

dorokusai

I MIGHT go 6.1 but it's low on the priority list....actually has been for a couple years.

wingnut4772

I like 7.1. I find it more engaging but you have to have the room for it. I would definitely at leat install the cables for it now.

MikeC78

It all depends on your setup, do you have the proper room for a 7.1?

If I was building an HT room, I'd definetly make it into a 7.1 if I had the space.

Mike

engtaz

Right now there is not much using 7.1. Televised is 5.1. Eventually 6.1 and 7.1 will be used. I have 7.1 myself.

engtaz

reeltrouble1

7.1 is the best for my application. for smaller rooms 5.1 ought to do the trick. Although you will lose the discreet back channel on those discs that offer it.

RT1

MrNightly

I have 5.1 right now, but plan on going to 7.1 when I finish my basement and have a better HT room.

I've listened to Toby's (PolkThug) 7.1 here in town, and that thing just flat out rocks! Big difference in sound from my 5.1, those rears really ad another dimension.

millerman 3732

I only have a 5.1 now but I do plan to go 7.1 when it becomes more common.

disneyjoe7

5.1 I don't have the room to do 7.1 but I'm happy so 5.1 is here too stay.


I agree with WingNut about if new then run wiring for 7.1 it couldn't hurt and it's a lot easier now.

MADGSF

If I had the space I would do 7.1 but am happy with 5.1. Agree that if you have the space at least run the wires for 7.1.

TN_Polk_Lover

When I bought my Denon 3806 HT receiver for Christmas, I originally never planned to do 7.1. However, after I found out that Dobly PLIIx cinema mode will take 2 channel and 5 channel and "convert" it to 7 channel, I decided to give it a try. I had a pair of Polk RT15s in my bedroom that I hardly ever use, so I went ahead and put them in the rear.

The effect is pretty good in my room with the Dolby PLIIx cinema. Even when watching Seinfeld on DVD, enough of the audience laughter in the L and R channels is out-of-phase that some of it gets put into the side surrounds and the rear surrounds. And this is from a source that is just plain stereo, it is not advertised as Dolby Surround.

Having said that, I have heard many here say they would rather have a high quality 5 channel setup as opposed to a mediocre 7 channel setup. So, if your main concern is Music listening as opposed to Movies, I'd stick with the 5 channel. If your priority is Movies, then I'd say at least prewire for 7 channels.

Dolby has some good drawings on their website with suggested placements for rear channels. Their reccomendation is different from THX, which also has drawings on their website. THX recommends putting both of the rear channel speakers very close together in the rear. I've decided to go with the more "traditional" Dolby recommendation. Currently my wires are just running along the baseboards. I'm still experimenting with speaker placement before I commit to running anything in the walls.