Should I go for a 9 channel amp

[Jared Rapsey]

Hi all

I have a 7.1 Yamaha rxa810 receiver and it works great but was thinking of changing to experience the new sound formats, was thinking of a pioneer VSX 930 but I do have a 9.1 set of q7000 in my room and currently switch between my heights and my rears and wanted to know if anyone has been through this already and paid more money and gone for 9 channel receiver.

Would it be worth it when most movies are in 7.1 anyway and dose it make much difference to the sound experience.

Any thoughts please.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

I'm currently using an "ancient" Onkyo TX-NR717 (7.2 NOT Atmos and only passes 4K /upscales to 4K at 30 frames per second) and am scouting around for a replacement.

I think that the new receivers and audi codecs "interpet" (if that's the righ phrase) the audio signals they do get then jumble them up and rearrange them to suit the number of speakers you actually have. So even if your source is just "vanilla" 5.1 or 7.1 the electronics will take full advantage of however many speakers you have.

In the future, the codecs will, apparently, allow for somethign like 256 channels, so the Millenium Falcon and the X-wing (is that righ?) fighters shooting at it, for example, will each get their own channel which will switch around speakers as the action unfolds. I think computer programmers would call that "object orientated" as the sound is linked to the "object" (e.g. the Millenium Falcon) and directed around the speakers accordingly, rather than "speaker orientated" where the sound fed to each speaker is just a pre-defined mix of the overall soundscape.

I was thinking of 9.2 but with the luxury of having a media room I can put in-wall and in-ceiling speakers in, I'm going to go for an 11.2 (or 7.2.4 in Atmos speak) setup. I'm currently weighin up the differences between the Onkyo TX-NR3030 which as 11 channels and 11 amplifiers for them and the Yamaha RX-A3050 which has only nine built in amplifiers, all be it, perhaps, of better sound quality, with another two being available via a second amplifier.

By buying "ex demo" or "open box" as they call it in the US, or even buying on Fleabay I can get the 11 channel amps for more or less the same recommended retail prices as the 9 channel ones.

Actually, I'd like FIFTTEEN channels (FL, FR, C, FSL, FSR, RSL, RSR, RRL, RRR and six overheads) but that'll have to wait until Manchester United finally see the sense in signing up a fifty year old, 40 fags a day, can't kick a ball to save his life, last ran for a bus in 1987, centre forward....