Should I upgrade my 5.1 setup to a 5.1.2 or 7.1 setup?

5.1.2 vs 7.1


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JimmyCC

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Hello I am new to AV Forums and was looking for some advice.

I recently purchased a 5.1 surround sound package with two dali zensor 5 floorstanding speakers, two dali zensor 1's for the surround, the dali zensor vokal and the e9 subwoofer (I think that's what it was called) I absolutely love the kit and it is all hooked up to my denon avr-x2200w.

My denon now has two spare speaker inputs that I could use to make my setup a 7.1 so have the back surround sound or I could use it to create a 5.1.2 with two up firing dolby atmos speakers. The room is large enough for a 7.1 speaker and my ceiling is flat so could work with the dolby atmos up firing speakers.

If money wasn't an issue, as someone may say decent up firing speakers are more expensive, what setup would you say is better overall? I know it might not be a straightforward answer as it also depends what you're watching and if it supports dolby atmos etc. But any help or opinions would be much appreciated thank you :)
 
I think I recall someone from THX on the AVforums podcast talking about this, and they advised to get the 7.1 right first before moving to over heads. May be worth having a search for it as this very question was discussed....
 
OK that's brilliant I'll go see if I can find that video now, thank you for the tip :)
 
Do you have space behind your sofa for the rear surrounds to diffuse their sound properly? i.e. it is not against the rear wall.
 
Hi yes there's about a meter and a half space if that's enough? I looked up Fulllupos recommendation to watch the video and they say get a good 7.1 setup before looking any further so think I'll be going with that
 
Whilst I would probably advise getting a 7.1 setup too the only thing I will say is that I believe that the Denon AVR-X2200W is only a 7 channel amplifier. It can therefore support either a 7.2 setup or a 5.2.2 setup.

If you buy rear speakers now you may not have use for them down the road should you decide you do want to try Atmos and invest in ceiling speakers.

If you are able to go to a showroom and demo both a 7.1 and an Atmos setup it might save you from having to buy a set of speakers you may not end up using in the future. It may be that the difference from a 5.1 to a 7.1 seems minimal but that having the overhead sounds and being able to play the immersive audio formats has a bigger impact on your experience.

If you do change the receiver down the road to a 9 channel or higher receiver then you will eliminate this issue. Or if you use the spare speakers for another setup...etc.

Anyway, just wanted to mention it in case it factors into your decision at all.
 
It looks like Atmos is going to be pushed away from Blu-Ray and over to UHD. If you are planning buying a UHD player, or you use your set up for gaming, then Atmos would be the way to go. If youre sticking with BR, go 7.1.
 

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