How much better is 6.1, or 7.1?

Lee James

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I'm about to buy speakers & an amp and really scratching my head about whether it's worth getting the traditional 5.1 setup, or going for 6.1 or 7.1.

Has anyone here heard the difference? How much better is 6.1 than 5.1? And how much better 7.1 is than 6.1?

It'll be my first surround system, so I'll probably love it even if it's just 5.1, but I'd like to get 7.1 for the sake of making my purchase future-proof. (Plus, how cool is it to have 8 speakers in your living room!!!)
 
I don't care what anybody else says i much prefer it, i went to 6.1 system in November and wouldn't go back.

Obivously everybodies circumstances are different but my surround speakers are slightly foword of my seat position pointing at me so i had a bit of a void around me.

I added the 6th channel at the back has made a massive difference, but if you 5.1 has the surrounds at the back you mighten notice it as much as i did.

The way i put it to friends was the diffence between 5.1 to 6.1 was the same as when i went from stereo to 5.1.
 
oconnpad said:
The way i put it to friends was the diffence between 5.1 to 6.1 was the same as when i went from stereo to 5.1.

Imo it doesn't have the same impact as going from stereo to 5.1. There is a difference but it is more subtle, creating a sense of more depth behind you.

However, it is worth considering that:

1) It is only really worth doing if you have enough space behind your seating position.
2) There are not many true 6.1 discs out there and no true 7.1 discs.

Why don't you run with 5.1 first and once setup you can experiment with 6.1 later?
 
Agree the depth is the overall feeling i get now.

I know people will say that going stereo to 5.1 is adding 3 speakers where as 5.1 to 6.1 is only adding 1 but it's an important 1 cause it's the cloest of all speakers to you (usually anyway)

On the subject of 6.1 material, i was totally surprised to put in termintor 2 there about a month ago , and discovery the light indicating a signal from the centre back channel on my amp lights up. Really didn't expect a disc from 2001 to have that, for some reason.
 
No true 7.1 discs?!? Could you please explain? Why would they make 7.1 systems when there's nothing to watch on them!?

As for trying 5.1 first, if it was just down to the speakers then that's just what I'd do, since adding extra speakers is easy. But I'm about to buy my amp, and it's probably either going to be a 6.1 or a 7.1, and the difference in price is probably over £100!
 
Tejstar said:
There are not many true 6.1 discs out there and no true 7.1 discs.
Tejstar is quite correct. The only reason for 7.1 is the ability to use 2 rear effects speakers to wrap the sound around you more effectively than 1 would.
The discrete signal, however, is the same.
 
I used to have 5.1, and upgraded first to 7.1, and very much liked it, but then decided i wanted a better amp, but it was only 6.1. I don't regret it at all, and to be honest the difference between 6.1 and 7.1 is very minimal. S

Some say the brain reacts better to sounds from behind if it comes from two speakers, and that from a single centre it can get confused.

After rewatching the opening of SAW i beg to differ. I could feel that guy breathing down my neck! And Saw isn't even a 6.1 movie as far as i know (i had it matrixed to 6.1 - something my Sony STR-DE697 7.1 amp struggled with - it couldn't keep up)

As for no true 7.1 movies, any 7.1 amp merely creates/takes the Surround Back channel from a 6.1 source (which would come out of one speaker in 6.1) and outputs it, the same, in both of the Surround Back channels. Effectively the two surround backs are mono.

Standard DVD's will not allow, as far as i know, full 7.1 ever, maybe on blu-ray/ hd-dvd, but then the method of connection will probably change - and that means a new amp etc etc.
 
and in the time it took me to write that very grammatically correct reply, two other posts were added!
 
Blu-Ray and HD-DVD will proably carry full bandwidth 7.1 there are 7.1 demo discs but not watchable stuff, and DTS-Neo6 is the one use much better than PL2x unless you have full Logic 7 (top end HK AVR 8500 and Lexicon processors) Which is incredible with the right system
 
Thanks, guys! I think I'm going to go with 7.1.

I was thinking about getting the Yamaha RXV640RDS (6.1), but will probably get the Yamaha DSPAX750SE (7.1), which is only £70 more. Any opinions on these amps?
 
only £70 more? 640 is £150 at superfi, i believe 750 is around £330?

edit sorry got my numbers mixed up tis 450!
 
looks like that deal never existed, in which case the 750 is the only one for me
 
I had RXV640RDS recommended to me. But I want 7.1 audio (which the DSPAX750SE does). But is it as good as the RXV640RDS (or better) in all other respects?
 
i have heard the 750 and it is very very good (i still prefer my cambridge audio stereo wise - but the 750 had the uperhand slightly in movies - and as you say has 7.1)
 
I have the Yamaha 750SE and am very happy with it. What may make a difference to you is that the 750SE has no tuner (i.e. it is only an amp NOT a receiver). But regarding performance I don’t think you can get better for under £500. It recently won the Best Amp under £1000 in the Home Cinema Choice awards.

However, I should point out that the 750SE is being replaced by the 757. It has started to be sold by some dealers now so I imagine the 750SE will get even cheaper.
 

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