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| Registered: June 27, 2007 |  Posts: 2,049 |
| | Posted: | | | | Hi there, I was ondering if anyone had any experience in updating their System to 7.1?
As it is I have a very expensive 5.1 Speaker set. And since I almost exclusively watch BD's and more and more of those are 7.1 I wonder if there is any sense in updating..
What's your experince? | | | | Check out my Youtube channel under https://www.youtube.com/user/alittleolder |
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| Registered: March 19, 2007 | Reputation:  |  Posts: 6,018 |
| | Posted: | | | | Can't tell you, Stephan. Even though I do have seven speakers and a sub, the seven consist of a Mirage Omnisat surround set and two old (but great) KEF Reference Series speakers. For movies, the latter serve as extra front speakers, so it's not the same as a proper 7.1 setup. |
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| Registered: March 13, 2007 |  Posts: 1,380 |
| | Posted: | | | | TBH to me it seems just a way for electronics companies to sell more hardware. I'm having trouble placing the 5.1 speakers. And only 1 out of 6 seats is in the ideal place, so kinda doubt it makes a diffrence in a regular homes. Of course that was just my opinion, and didnt vote on the poll. |
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| Registered: March 14, 2007 | | Reputation: |  Posts: 4,693 |
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| Registered: July 31, 2008 | Reputation:  |  Posts: 2,506 |
| | Posted: | | | | My opinion is that it isn't worth it...yet. While it's true that more Blu-ray titles are getting a 7.1 soundtrack, to me there's not enough yet to warrant adding 2 extra speakers that for most titles will be largely redundant. Some systems can be configured to up-convert a 5.1 track to use the extra 2 speakers but I just don't see the need to buy any more when to me, right now 5 is enough. |
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| Registered: May 19, 2007 | | Reputation: |  Posts: 5,918 |
| | Posted: | | | | If your room can support 7.1, do it because you can! |
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| Registered: March 18, 2007 | | Reputation: | | Posts: 6,463 |
| | Posted: | | | | I found that my disappointment with 7.1 made me did deeper into why, and I discovered that I had not enabled it properly. Once I switched to all digital (via HDMI, coax, and optical), I get very satisfying 7.1 sound.
Most of the time, 7.1 is actually synthesized from a 5.1 or lesser signal, so if you don't give your receiver a good quality 5.1 input, the 7.1 may be lacking. I'm hedging because all of this depends a lot on the features of your particular A/V receiver. In my case, I have an old Sony 7.1 unit that makes nice when its got a digital input, but does not sysnthesize 7.1 from 5.1 analog speaker inputs. My PC has 7.1 speaker output, but my receiver only has 5.1 input. That's why I had to go all digital. Your situation will undoubtedly be different.
But now that I have 7.1, I love it. My sound is glorious. Not the most expensive or fancy speakers, but highly acclaimed, very musical and clear (Polk).
Also, I am an advocate of 7.2. Balanced subwoofers give a depth and richness due to the additive effectis of the bass waves in the middle of the room (make sure your subwoffer has a phase switch - those waves can also cancel. You have to experiment.) | | | Thanks for your support.
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Hey, new product!!! BDPFrog. | | | | Last edited: by mediadogg |
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| Registered: March 14, 2007 | | Reputation: |  Posts: 820 |
| | Posted: | | | | I recently upgraded to a 7.1 setup. I did it more to get the lossless HD sound, Video upscaling to 1080p and HDMI inputs and outputs. I would rate those features ahead of the 7.1 speaker setup. Your mileage may vary. |
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| Registered: May 10, 2007 | | Posts: 418 |
| | Posted: | | | | Unless you are in the market for a new receiver save your money. |
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| Registered: March 13, 2007 | | Posts: 90 |
| | Posted: | | | | I have a 7.1 set up. One thing you should know is hollywood doesn't have a set speaker place for the extra 2 speakers. Meaning....In a true 7.1 surround speaker setup, the two new speakers should be placed at the side of your listening position like this....
L center R sub
LS you RS
L rear R rear
But the mixers and hollywood haven't set a sound design standard yet. Meaning some/half of 7.1 mixes are mixed incorrectly with the surrounds placed at the rear, leaving you with 2 sets of rear surrounds. Also with the recievers a standard 5.1 mix is mixed to the side surrounds, which means you better place them towards the back if you don't want to be struggling to hear the front sound stage. For Blu reviews which talk about the how the sound stage is set up regarding 7.1 mixes, I read Widescreen Review Magazine. Their excellent staff writes excellent reviews of Blu discs, also telling you where the surround sound stage is when listening to a 7.1 mix.
If I had a choice to do it all over again, purchasing a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver again, knowing now what I know, I would have bought the 5.1. There just isn't enough new 7.1 mixes coming out, and no standard placement for speakers, it is currently a technology at the brink of either being relevent or just fading to the 5.1 standard. | | | | The artist formerly known as TylerDurden_73 |
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| Registered: June 27, 2007 | | Posts: 2,049 |
| | Posted: | | | | Well first of all:
I do already have a 7.1 Receiver. Speaker wise I have a 5. 1 Setup. (About $8000 worth).. So if I wanted to upgrade and keep the quality of the speakers I would have to invest quite a lot.
Luckily I work at an electronics store so I would get the stuff at least cheaper.
My main question was. Does it really add to the ambience or are there just a few effects now and then? | | | | Check out my Youtube channel under https://www.youtube.com/user/alittleolder |
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| Registered: June 27, 2007 | | Posts: 2,049 |
| | Posted: | | | | Quoting GSyren: Quote:
Another question is: Is there enough 7.1 material out there to justify upgrading at this time? Well actually all (almost all) movies are originally made with a 5.1 Soundtrack. If there is a 7.1 Track on the disc it usually means that they have gone back to the source and artificially made a 7.1 track out of the existing 5.1 track. I have heard of no production that was actually recorded in 7.1 .. 6.1.. Yes, there are a few but very few.. | | | | Check out my Youtube channel under https://www.youtube.com/user/alittleolder |
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| Registered: June 27, 2007 | | Posts: 2,049 |
| | Posted: | | | | Quoting Randall_Lind: Quote:
Unless you are in the market for a new receiver save your money. As I said, I already have a 7.1 Receiver.. But the get the same brand of speakers for upgrading to 7.1 I would have to spend about $1200 to $1500 on the Surround Back Speakers.. Or I could try to use my existing setup and just buy really cheap speakers for like $300 and try it with them.. | | | | Check out my Youtube channel under https://www.youtube.com/user/alittleolder |
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| Registered: June 27, 2007 | | Posts: 2,049 |
| | Posted: | | | | Quoting Telecine: Quote:
I recently upgraded to a 7.1 setup. I did it more to get the lossless HD sound, Video upscaling to 1080p and HDMI inputs and outputs. I would rate those features ahead of the 7.1 speaker setup. Your mileage may vary. Why didn't you just buy a new receiver with a 5.1 speaker setup if you weren't really that interested in 7.1? | | | | Check out my Youtube channel under https://www.youtube.com/user/alittleolder |
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| Registered: June 27, 2007 | | Posts: 2,049 |
| | Posted: | | | | Quoting mediadogg: Quote:
I found that my disappointment with 7.1 made me did deeper into why, and I discovered that I had not enabled it properly. Once I switched to all digital (via HDMI, coax, and optical), I get very satisfying 7.1 sound.
Most of the time, 7.1 is actually synthesized from a 5.1 or lesser signal, so if you don't give your receiver a good quality 5.1 input, the 7.1 may be lacking. I'm hedging because all of this depends a lot on the features of your particular A/V receiver. In my case, I have an old Sony 7.1 unit that makes nice when its got a digital input, but does not sysnthesize 7.1 from 5.1 analog speaker inputs. My PC has 7.1 speaker output, but my receiver only has 5.1 input. That's why I had to go all digital. Your situation will undoubtedly be different.
But now that I have 7.1, I love it. My sound is glorious. Not the most expensive or fancy speakers, but highly acclaimed, very musical and clear (Polk).
Also, I am an advocate of 7.2. Balanced subwoofers give a depth and richness due to the additive effectis of the bass waves in the middle of the room (make sure your subwoffer has a phase switch - those waves can also cancel. You have to experiment.) In my case the signal would come from a BD Player via HDMI.. So that's not the problem.. Usually I try everything at our store first before I buy it.. Sadly our Studio isn't setup for 7.1 | | | | Check out my Youtube channel under https://www.youtube.com/user/alittleolder |
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| Registered: March 14, 2007 | | Reputation: | | Posts: 820 |
| | Posted: | | | | Quoting stephan.klose: Quote:
Quoting Telecine:
Quote:
I recently upgraded to a 7.1 setup. I did it more to get the lossless HD sound, Video upscaling to 1080p and HDMI inputs and outputs. I would rate those features ahead of the 7.1 speaker setup. Your mileage may vary.
Why didn't you just buy a new receiver with a 5.1 speaker setup if you weren't really that interested in 7.1? I did just purchase a receiver. I already had matching speakers to make a 7.1 setup. |
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