Comments on: Do you use all seven channels on your home theater receiver?

Seven channels are probably at least two too many for you. The nebulous "feature" is just another example of feature glut.

[jutell]

9.1

[manilow2k6]

how about 10.2-----with 2 extra amps and an extra subwoofer-----that is my system and it works great----1 amp has 2 extra front speakers, 1 amp is running an extra SB, and I used a THX splitter for the sub pre-out to run the extra sub from the receiver ( an older THX select 2 Pioneer 7.1 with 120rms/channel)!

[mustangjoey]

After taking the time and huge effort to bury/rewire/re-wall my 5.1 sound living room with new CAT6, 12 gauge wire, I took the time to add two rear speakers. I have played 7.1 and I like it although my room isn't the largest to get the rear speakers nice and deep it has been enjoyable. That said, having to do it all over again I would perhaps saved the money for the rear speakers and bought another good subwoofer (which I will add someday). There are not many 7.1 movies available.

[borispmchan]

I use 2.0 stereo only : )

[ssean227]

I have 7.1 hooked up to my computer and home theater. I think it is better for pc gaming, but when you actually watch something in 7.1 it is totally worth the extra money

[bombzombie]

Running my Onkyo receiver in 7.1 with Martin Logans and an M&K pulling duty on the low end, I am absolutely impressed by 7.1. The problem is that you got to have the space to do it. So, when I bought my new house I intentionally went shopping for a place that would allow me to enjoy a nice higher-end system in its full glory. I have had a number of friends over to the house and even sound techs and engineers....all walk away with the same impression. Dolby True HD in 7.1 as compared to 5.1 is as Blu-ray is to up-converted DVD. They are both nice, but there is no mistaking which is the Ferrari. Of course, the 60" Pioneer also helps immerse folks in the experience. :-)

[John181818]

The 5.1 setup is what I use and it does fine in my HT setup. I also run a Zone 2 set of speakers in another room. This configuration meets all my needs.

I prefer every sound expansion possible and with a Denon 5803A and nine Mirage OM series speakers, including 2 dedicated subs, my system sings sweet and low. There's no going back to 5.1 with the rear overhead speakers punching bullet holes in the wall behind me.

[manilow2k6]

You got it right----definitely the way to go for true surround experience immersion!!

[hturner1949]

I guess you will have to put me in the feature glut/snake oil category. I run 7.1 and there is a world of difference on a Blu-ray disc with a 7.1 soundtrack vs it's DVD counterpart in 5.1. Granted not that many releases have a 7.1 soundtrack and a lot of movies don't warrant it or even 5.1 for that matter. However, for the kind of movies I typically watch, I like the enveloping sound that the rear surround speakers provide even though most of the time it is passing the same information. Dark Knight on Blu-ray is a perfect example. It's Dolby True HD soundtrack is 5.1, but the rear surround speakers "kick it up a notch". BAM!

I have an Onkyo 7.1 amp but my movie room won't allow for a proper 7.1 setup as one side wall is much further away than the other. As such, I run 6.1 (three in front, three in back plus the sub) and when watching a DTS-ES or DD-EX film I can easily tell the difference if I switch between the two formats. Sadly, not many movies come encoded in those formats but it was only one extra wire to run the middle rear so what the heck. I'm having a new house built right now and I had the builders wire for 7.2 because, why not?

[albizzia]

Set up with 5.1, but even that is a bit of overkill. Adding extra speakers quickly reaches the point of diminishing returns. Adding more than 6 speakers isn't going to add much to the sound quality, but it does make setting things up more difficult and takes up more room in your room.

[regzafan]

I run 7.1 , and I use it all the time . For BluRay , I use the lossless formats , really need to hear a couple more 7.1 movies . I have Rambo 3 and The Bank Job , and they don't really use the the surround to rear effects to their best . Maybe I should turn Rambo 3 down a little ... lol . I really like 7.1 with Logic 7 on everyday TV . I remember the day I hooked up the rear 2 , all of the surround TV shows really perked up , especially any outdoor scenes and street scenes , the background came to life .

[ka1cgl]

I use 7.1 with couch on the rear wall. It fills a gap left by 5.1 I set the mode to Dolby Digital EX. For HD TV and for Blue Ray with Dolby True HD Audio. Nice effect..

[gparris]

My main HT room has an overhang in the back that I had built so the Boston Bravo surrounds would reflect back into the room behind the couch, about 18 inches down from the ceiling, nine foot ceiling height, 2 in the back, 2 on the sides facing the sides of the seating area. The result is an awesome 7.1 audio. My Denon AVR is set for Dolby PLIIx so even the 5.1 audio comes from behind, sort of a wrap-around with every surround effect. I get complements from those who come to my home on the setup on how realistic and great the audio is. Addtionally, I did a 7.1 setup in my master bedroom with in-ceiling speakers - 2 over the back of the bed overhead and 2 on the sides of the bed; it works wonderfully, I wouldn't change a thing and miss it if I didn't have it (HDTV is 10 feet in from of me in the bedroom)...it's like having an alternate HT room you can lounge in and retire in after a long day.

[pryanh]

If you are going to add more than 5.1 channels to your home theater, back surrounds are definitely a waste. Back surrounds grew out of AVR manufacturers wanting to differentiate and thought that adding back surrounds could give one a more movie theater like experience since movie theaters use multiple surround speakers (even though the same content is going to all of them). This is fine for extremely large spaces like movie theaters, but for the home, a couple of dipoles is usually adequate. Back surround channels in a receiver are probably most commonly not used at all or repurposed for biamping, Zone 2, or Surround B (such as if you want to switch between dipoles and directs). It also doesn't help that there is very little content out there that supports discrete additional surrounds. There are titles that support 6.1 for a center back (thank you George Lucas), but none that support 7.1 where the additional two channels are the surround backs.

Psychoacoustics tells us that people have much more spatial resolution for sound in front of them than behind them. So, if one can get away with even more speakers in their room (and a lot can't), then it would be best to add them in front of you. The first place to add more channels is at a wider angle than the front left and right (i.e. wide channels). This helps the mixer create a better sense of how wide a space is, e.g. a small jazz club or giant arena. The second place to add more (i.e. 9.1) would be up high (i.e. high channels). This helps to deliver sound from ceiling reflections. Then, if you still have more channels to add, you can stick another one behind you (center back) or perhaps more importantly add another subwoofer or two.

Dolby's PL2z does not do a lot to create realistic height channels from my listening experience, but I am looking forward to Audyssey DSX, which does both wide and height channels and is based on how a mixer might create tracks for those channels if it had been mixed for that many channels. Of course, one could argue that if the mixer did not create these channels in the first place, then Audyssey does not know what the mixer would do and shouldn't be messing with them. But I trust that Audyssey knows good sound, and hopefully by having this out there will spur sound designers and mixers to create movie and music mixes with these additional channels now that there is equipment out there to support them. In fact there are some Blu-ray releases, such as Hairspray that do have 7.1 channels where the additional two channels are for wide speakers. I have not seen that movie, but I still say go New-Line Cinema!

[ShadowIce012]

Have a 7.1 amp. But I only use 4.1
Bold statement coming up.... but I don't use a center channel. It depreciate spactial effect. The only reason for a center channel is the "anchor" the dialog onto the screen when sitting off axis. Why sit way off axis in you own home? The center channel is not the most important speaker. Time to stop listening to the THX gurus of getting people to buy more speakers.
If I wanted to listen to 80-90% of all sound coming from 1 speaker... why the heck waste money on all the other ones for a puny amount of sound. We can get far better sound in our homes than the local theatre.. just have to stop listening to the propoganda of THX and all the box stores bent on selling you more and more speakers