Upgrading to 7.1. Is it worth the extra £1100?

[gosalh]

Hi all,

I already have a 5.1 Apex System along with a Denon 3311. With the release of more Blurays with 7.1 soundtracks. Does anyone think its actually worth upgrading from a 5.1 to 7.1?

I would need to purchase an additional 2x A10s and accompanying stands and some extra cable.

Thanks

 

[bballtom]

Have a look in this months mag, there is reader panel on 7.1 systems

 

[hammill]

As I recall Clare just downgraded to a 5:1 system from a 7:1 system...

 

[Frank Harvey]

Depends on the size of your room....

 

[The_Lhc]

I would need to purchase an additional 2x A10s and accompanying stands and some extra cable.

How much are you paying for the cable? General price per A10 seems to be £285 and the stands are £275 per pair, so that's £845 by my maths, that's £255 for the speaker cable?

No option to wall mount the speakers then?

 

[Anonymous]

Ask yourself, how much 7.1 material is there? and how much will there be in the future?
Is it the sort of material you would be interested in?
£1100 buys a lot of Blu-rays!
5.1 done well is brilliant!

I recently watched Avatar on my friends 7.1 Denon / Tannoy set up and it sounded wonderful.
I re watched it on my Yamaha / Monitor Audio set up and it also sounded fantastic and just as absorbing. Did I miss the two back speakers? no

 

[Frank Harvey]

I moved from 7.1 to 5.1, not because I thought there was no point in 7.1 (I'd have been happy to stick with it), but because the centre rear speakers were much higher than the rest of the speakers (and virtually on top of me), and felt the system worked better as 5.1.

 

[ric71]

I am running 7.1 at the moment using front height speakers.I am using MA Radius HD's as the heights with my Apex system.It works very well with movies. A much bigger soundstage at the front, I feel you lose some rear information but I prefer it with movies. I do not like it with multi channel music.I don't think I would change the Radius heights for Apex as they work well and do not carry full information so IMO the Apex would not realise their full potential. I cannot comment on surround back. IMHO front heights are a nice to have but I only use them as the Radius became redundant when I upgraded rears to Apex which made a massive difference!

 

[Anonymous]

I am running 7.1 at the moment using front height speakers.I am using MA Radius HD's as the heights with my Apex system.It works very well with movies. A much bigger soundstage at the front, I feel you lose some rear information but I prefer it with movies. I do not like it with multi channel music.I don't think I would change the Radius heights for Apex as they work well and do not carry full information so IMO the Apex would not realise their full potential. I cannot comment on surround back. IMHO front heights are a nice to have but I only use them as the Radius became redundant when I upgraded rears to Apex which made a massive difference!

Well you are not really running 7.1 then. I think you are running 5.1 plus 2 front height effects. which is not true 7.1. the OP is wondering about the 2 back surround speakers which would change his system to 7.1

On a further note I do sometimes enjoy the front height speakers when in use but most of the time they disrupt a good 5.1 or 7.1 set up.

 

[Anonymous]

I am running 7.1 but given lack of discs with the sound track, it was hardly worth the extra cash - I certainly wouldn't spend £1,100 quid on it!!!

 

[roger06]

Have a look in this months mag, there is reader panel on 7.1 systems

Last month's now...

 

[ric71]

Does this mean that someone who has two subs is running 5.2 or 5.1 and if so why are receivers with two sub pre outs then described as 7.2 as there is only 1 .1 channel in a recording?

 

[The_Lhc]

Does this mean that someone who has two subs is running 5.2 or 5.1 and if so why are receivers with two sub pre outs then described as 7.2 as there is only 1 .1 channel in a recording?

It's .2 to indicate the presence of two subs, however nobody (short of Tomlinson Holman who demonstrated a true 10.2 system with stereo subs some years ago) actually provides two separate sub channels on their soundtracks (nothing to stop you using hi-level outputs and having a sub on each front L+R speaker though and the centre if you feel so inclined, as REL suggest in their manuals, can't imagine why...). The amp is .2, even if the soundtrack being played is .1.

In your case however, you aren't utilising the surround back channels (6 and 7) of the soundtrack, even if you're using the surround back outputs on the amp, the signal to the height speakers is interpolated by electrickery from the front channel signals (you could run front height AND surround back if you so wished and your amp had sufficient speaker outputs for a pseudo-9.1 setup if you wished), it's not contained on the soundtrack, which is what the other chap was saying.

Basically, anytime you listen to a genuine 7.1 soundtrack your amp is sending the surround back signal to the surround speakers.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

It depends on your room and the rest of your system. I would suggest spending any money making sure you had the best 5.1 first and then add in 7.1 as the cherry on top. 7.1 is worth it but generally buying the next amplifier or subwoofer in the range or larger front speakers can bring bigger gains.

 

[ric71]

Very well explained lhc.
I'm not splitting hairs I promise but even though additional speakers and amps are being utilised it is still 5.1. So people who are running 11.1 DSX systems are really only running 5.1 with additional effect channels unless they are listening to a 7.1 recording?
That means only discrete channels count when describing a systems channels not number of speakers or amps?

Sorry just got some time on my hands

 

[duaplex]

Yeah im going through the same thing right now and I have come to the conclusion that my room is simply not big enough. Mine is 14*12 and my sofa is a foot off the back wall. Dipoles are mounted in the top corners behind me (4ft height above my head) and angled down by 25 - 30 degree's.

I was tempted to go 6.1 over 7.1 but having read more about this and listening to what others have said here, it does not seem worth it as the rear speaker would pratically be on top of my head. This would only serve to unbalanced a well balanced sound in the room and make it sound worse rather than better. Unless you have a good distance from the back wall to your sofa i.e 11ft or more, then i do not think its worth it.

Its very difficult from what i read to balance a 7.1 system in a sutible room let alone a room that is too small to start with.

Those are my two cents.

 

[Jammoe]

I agree and think it's all down to the available space.

I set up 7.1 about this time last year. The only disc i noticed any real difference with was 3.10 To Yuma - I heard two distinct gunshots coming from the rear(!) My front room isn't the biggest, but it's not small (about 3m by 6m). The additional speakers were a little under a metre behind me.

I decided the improvement just wasn't worth it, and as i spend about as much time listening to music as watching movies, am happier that i have a better improvement from bi-amping the front pair rather than having the extra channels.

Having said that, i'll be tempted to try it again in the future if i have a wider front room.

 

[nads]

and here is me with a 7.1 set up and yes if does make a big diference over the 5.1 discs.

But my speakers and wire did not cost that much and i would not spend that much to go to 7.1

 

[Big Chris]

When I originally went to my current system's 7.1 from my old Sony HCIAB 5.1, the initial impression was of less surround effect, but I soon realised this was down to not having a big 'hole' between the front and rear speakers. I watch most of, but not all movies with the rears receiving a signal, whether as a proper 7.1 soundtrack (rare, but they are out there), or more usually using PL2x or DTS Neo:6 processing.

I can't say if it's worth an extra £1000+, as it probably set me back about £300 for another pair of M1 sats and the cable runs to them. Also, my sofa is about 1.5/1.7 metres from the back wall. I personally believe the distance from the rear speakers and their placement is the biggest factor to consider. If my sofa was up against the back wall as it was in my flat, I probably would have just stuck with 5.1.

 

[duaplex]

I would have to agree Big Chris and its why i have stopped at 5.1. I would love to have rthe room and the scope to upgrade, but sadly I cant.

Well one day, I shall build a cinema room and then maybe

 

[gosalh]

Thanks to all for the advice.

I actually made a mistake with the price. The stands would be £275 not £500.

I'll have a think about this, thanks for the info.

 

[The_Lhc]

Thanks to all for the advice. I actually made a mistake with the price. The stands would be £275 not £500.

Yes, bizarrely, whilst the speakers are priced individually, the stands are priced per pair.

 

[Anonymous]

I've found it a very good upgrade. The room shape lends itself to 7.1, (or 7.2 if you include both subs).

My lounge is approx. 5.2m long x 3.5m wide. My viewing sofa is 3.2m from the screen, (screen wall mounted on end wall).

This leaves approx. 2m behind my viewing position. Dipole speakers, mounted 2 feet above ear level, in line with viewing position as surround left/right and M1s high up at the rear as Surround back left/right.

I find PLIIx works really well when the source is 2.1/5.1.

 

[Anonymous]

When I originally went to my current system's 7.1 from my old Sony HCIAB 5.1, the initial impression was of less surround effect, but I soon realised this was down to not having a big 'hole' between the front and rear speakers. I watch most of, but not all movies with the rears receiving a signal, whether as a proper 7.1 soundtrack (rare, but they are out there), or more usually using PL2x or DTS Neo:6 processing.

I can't say if it's worth an extra £1000+, as it probably set me back about £300 for another pair of M1 sats and the cable runs to them. Also, my sofa is about 1.5/1.7 metres from the back wall. I personally believe the distance from the rear speakers and their placement is the biggest factor to consider. If my sofa was up against the back wall as it was in my flat, I probably would have just stuck with 5.1.

With your set up and using DPL2x that you notice there are quite a few movies with a matrixed 6.1 sound? Aren't dvds of Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Toy Story 2 in 6.1. I thought there were quite a few movies that had the 6.1 embedded. Much like the old DPL was embedded into the stereo soundtrack.