Home Theater - 5.1 or 7.1?

[EdT82SC]

Hey all you audiophiles out there. How much difference is there between 5.1 and 7.1 speaker setups? I am planning on tearing open the ceiling in the family room to install some in-ceiling speakers, and I only want to do it once. If I will notice the difference I will spend the money on the second pair of rear speakers, but if not then I won't bother. A couple of my co-workers who both have 5.1 setups tell me you can't tell much difference between 5.1 and 7.1. What do your guys think?

[Super_Dave_D]

It all depends on how many speakers you want (or you wife will allow). Heres a good article.

http://news.digitaltrends.com/talkback103.html

[austin552]

7.1 receivers have 7 amplifiers, matrix decoders like PLLIIx, and DSP modes like 7 channel stereo that will send sound to all 7 speakers. If you have the space for 7 speakers, then a 7 channel receiver may be of value. In a small room, it probably won't work well and he should just stick to 5.1 but could still buy a 7.1 receiver for the other reasons I mentioned.

[imcarthur]

5.1 is enough. The bulk of the sound comes from the front 3. Don't waste your money on more surround speakers.

But . . . if you want to get the best sound out of an inwall/in-ceiling speaker, box them. Create a rigid box to contain the airspace behind the speaker & dampen it with insulation or cotton fiber. That way the driver has an airspace that it can compress which will lead to better low frequency response. The vast majority of installations skip this step & suffer for it.

Ian

[David]

I wired for a 6.1 plus two speakers in the kitchen for our great room (although it's really not all that great.) I use a 7.1 receiver with two channels powering the two kitchen speakers. It works well, but until I can find a 6.1+2 or an 8.1 receiver, my rear center speaker won't work .

[Nathans_Dad]

I did my media room this past summer. I actually had a very nice home installer come out (although I decided to do it myself) and evaluate my space and make recommendations. He said that basically unless you have a VERY long room you won't be able to tell between 5.1 and 7.1. My room is 22 feet long and he said that 5.1 would be just fine. Also factor in the cost, if you want to spend X on speakers, you will get a better experience by spending X on 5 great speakers and a sub rather than trying to get 7 speakers and a sub out of the same amount of money.

In practical experience I have 5.1 in my room and it rocks.

[TerryH]

If it were up to the speaker companies, 100.1 would be coming soon.

Like other mentioned, unless your room is huge, 5.1 should suffice and 6.1 can carry most any room. You should always run extra wire if you have the ceiling out. You never know what's next on the horizon.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by TerryH

If it were up to the speaker companies, 100.1 would be coming soon.

No, that would be the Japanese electronics manufacturers that would benefit. When it comes to speakers, consumers just take a portion of their budget & divide it into 5 or 7 or 100. You can get an incredibly good pair of speakers for $3K - $5K. For stereo. Put those same speakers into 5.1 & add the matching center etc & all of a sudden it's $6K-$10K. But the consumer will typically take that 3K-5K & make do with that.

So when it comes to music listening, most home theaters are a step backwards.

Ian

[EdT82SC]

Thanks for all the input, folks. My room is only 18 feet long so it sounds like 5.1 will do the job for me. I think my home theater is in a different league then some of you guys. I've spent $430 for a Pioneer 7.1 7x110 watt receiver. Then another $900 on Infinity front, center, and sub woofer. The in-ceiling speakers I am looking at are about $100. Actually, here is another question for you guys. The 6.5" in-ceiling speakers are rated for 100 watt maximum, but my receiver is 110 watt. I think the rear channel never gets anywhere near full power, and this should be safe. Or should I go for the 8" speaker rated for 125 watts?

[cairns]

If your room is eighteen feet long (and presumably 12 feet wide) you should mount side firing speakers like these:
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=2376&sc=ht

I had the same dilemma and originally installed a 5.1 system. The side speakers made a HUGE difference- and once you seal up that room you can't go back.

Picture the opening scene in Gladiator- the arrows are launched in front of you, they whizz over your head and land behind you. With a 5.1 system they don't whizz over your head- and it doesn't sound as natural or immerse you IN the scene. My room is the same size and I know from experience that while the 5.1 sounds OK adding the extra speakers makes a big difference.

At least run the wiring so if you change your mind later adding them will be easy.

[911Rob]

I would think that the fact you are asking the question means that 5.1 is enough for you.

Really? My buddy spent $6000 bucks on his sounds around in-home theatre system alone and another $5000 on his Porsche stereo system. He knows everything about the sound and its quality. I listen to his stuff and my stuff sounds much the same at a fraction of the cost?

I can't sing, I don't play any instruments and many people tell me I'm tone deaf. WTF do I care, I do like it loud though.

Go with the 5.1 and save some cash.

[89911]

Most digital HD broadcast are in 5.1. I really don't see that improvement in having an addition 1 or 2 speakers behind me can provide. I guess the next time a bullet ricochets behind me, I'll notice, but the majority is the front 3 speakers.

[imcarthur]

Wayne

Here are some facts from Dolby Labs.

The big leap from early HT was Dolby Digital. Since then, the advances have been mods rather than full-blown 'new' technology.

Video is another very complex story.

You will find that EVERYBODY is an expert.

Ian

[89911]

Originally Posted by EdT82SC

Thanks for all the input, folks. My room is only 18 feet long so it sounds like 5.1 will do the job for me. I think my home theater is in a different league then some of you guys. I've spent $430 for a Pioneer 7.1 7x110 watt receiver. Then another $900 on Infinity front, center, and sub woofer. The in-ceiling speakers I am looking at are about $100. Actually, here is another question for you guys. The 6.5" in-ceiling speakers are rated for 100 watt maximum, but my receiver is 110 watt. I think the rear channel never gets anywhere near full power, and this should be safe. Or should I go for the 8" speaker rated for 125 watts?

I think your safe. I recently purchased these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250194089625&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=015
But I'm using these just for listening. ( by the way, these sell at Crutchfield for $200) I'm a big Polk fan for budget audio. These are also rated for 100 watts. I don't think you will ever get that much power going to these in a surround mode.

[chuckw951]

Originally Posted by cairns

If your room is eighteen feet long (and presumably 12 feet wide) you should mount side firing speakers like these:
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=2376&sc=ht

I have a pair of B&W 704s and need a new set of surround sound speakers. I really like these speakers but they have low WAF (wife acceptance factor). Looks like I will have to go with in wall speakers for the surround speakers.

[gr8fl4porsche]

I never found any in-wall/ceiling speakers I liked when I was setting up my system. I too was dealing with the WAF. Ended up with Mirage Nanosat Prestigue's mounted on the wall. They sound nice and are quite attractive little speakers.

If you do in-wall, make sure you pick a pair with directional tweeters to aim at the seating area.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by gr8fl4porsche

I never found any in-wall/ceiling speakers I liked when I was setting up my system . . . If you do in-wall, make sure you pick a pair with directional tweeters to aim at the seating area.

In-wall /in-ceiling speakers are typically 'challenged' for a couple of reasons:

They are cheaply made. Contractor-grade (up to $200 each) are very cheap Chinese-made plastic pieces of crap. Look at the basic design when shopping. Pick one up. Listen to a pair installed. The better ones ($250 - $2500) will look, feel & sound significantly better.

The back wave is uncontrolled. By just sticking them in a wall or ceiling – undamped with an unknown air volume – you will get crap bass response. Guaranteed. For an in-wall, at the very least, box the space with studs & throw in some insulation. For in-ceiling, you could box it too, but you are better off with a back-boxed speaker. Most $s but well worth it. For WAF impaired, this is your only chance to get something decent. Bigger is not always better. A boxed 6” with sound better than an unboxed 8”.

Swivels, tilts can help to beam the high & mid frequencies toward a listening point. Does zilch for bass although the mechanism might rattle so look for a reasonably rigid solution.

In-wall/in-ceiling speakers don’t image. So forget about the true hi-fi experience that a decent bookshelf or nice floor-standing can produce. A compromise is a compromise.

Ian

[Les Paul]

http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/711/the-worlds-15-sexiest-speakers-put-your-girlfriend-to-shame

Just for grins

[Mule]

Plasma tweeters & a rotary subwoofer. The times they are a changing.

[HelmetHead]

I have found a wealth of knowledge on this site...its My PelicanParts BB for audio/video information.

http://www.avsforum.com/

Helmethead