6.1 or 7.1?

[timj]

Could anyone explain the benefits of either set up
Until I started looking round I thought that 5.1 was the only option
As it's going to be with a projector, and I have wall space for 6.1 or 7.1
speakers, any advice would be appreciated

 

[Knyght_byte]

i prefer 7.1 over 6.1, it makes the rear channel less focused....altho i guess you could use a single di/bipole speaker for that.....the same signal is sent to both rear speakers but it means its less obvious and more spacious....works well if you position it all well....

if you want a good test disc to find the best spots, Blade 2 is very useful for it....lots of things whizzing around....


what is good to do if you can afford it/have room is this.....have the usual front Left and Right speakers and front centre and subwoofer.....then at the rear have this......2 side surrounds (bi/dipolars), position these so your head is inbetween them, but have them a few feet higher up than your head level.......then have 2 rear speakers, behind you, approx 1-1.5m apart from each other, mebbe a foot higher than head level.....again these work well if di/bipolar models.........then finally have 2 normal hifi style speakers in the diagonal corners for when you listen to multichannel music....so in essence you have 6 rear speakers, altho you only use 4 during movies and 2 during surround music playback.......(oh, make sure your amp allows you to do this, if it doesnt then ignore the two corner diagonal speakers and set your side surrounds a foot towards the rear of the room from where your head is...).

confused now?..i am...lol

best thing to do tho is experiment....

 

[tujax]

I'm going along knyght_byte suggestion: use a 7.1 speaker layout. Even if you are going 6.1 channel only, the two surround backs will have the rear channel in mono.

 

[timj]

thanks for the advice
I think I'll go the whole hog and have 7.1 and will probably be glad i did in the future
I'm considering wall mounted speakers such as Keff eggs, Genies or the B&W M1 range
will these be suitable for 7.1 and my room size (18"x13"), and will there be any sonic problems ceiling mounting the centre speaker above the screen?

 

[kbfern]

God with a room that big you better go with those little bose cubes

 

[timj]

You must be physic, I already have some AM-5s!

 

[Wasabi]

Hi guys,

Could I ask whether a room with these dimensions be to small for 7.1? Or should I stick with my 5.1 set up.

13'5 x 11'1 (4.09m x 3.61m).

Many Thanks,

Wasabi

 

[kbfern]

well if timj room size of 18 inch x 13 inch is not toooooooooo small i would have thought yours would be ok

Wasabi,I have 7.1 in a room 15ft x 11ft and it works just fine.

 

[Knyght_byte]

Hi guys,

Could I ask whether a room with these dimensions be to small for 7.1? Or should I stick with my 5.1 set up.

13'5 x 11'1 (4.09m x 3.61m).

Many Thanks,

Wasabi

i'd say yours is probably the smallest its really worthwhile getting 7.1 for...less than that and it the soundstage gets too mixed up and will either not be noticable or be worse......

 

[Wasabi]

Cheers guys,

I've found out now that my partner doesn't want to move the sofa forward (so I get the distance between potential rear speakers and sofa, unless I move the sofa forward everytime I watch a film. I'll have to have a think on this.

Thanks again for your responses.

Wasabi