How do I test 7.1 surround sound ? Which song/music would give me output to each channel so that I can test it

Question

How do I test 7.1 surround sound ? Which song/music would give me output to each channel so that I can test it

Answer 1

Many DVDs have THX testing on it (if you have any Star Wars DVDs, they have them).

They have audio tests for speakers.

Also, check the stereo/receiver manual... many times the unit (or the remote) has a "tone test" button which will play white noise over every channel so you can check each speaker.

Cheaper than buying a full fledged audio/video DVD.

Answer 2

Any with a good ammount of ambience or background effects would be good to test 5.1/7.1 speakers. Any song that while listening in 2 channel stereo you notice a lot of left/right stereo effects will give you some sound on all your speakers providing your receiver has a Pro Logic IIx  music setting.

Answer 3

Audio and video discs encoded with discrete 7.1-channel surround sound audio remain scarce. (I’m currently not aware any 7.1-channel music DVDs other than non-commercial demo discs.)



Below is a list of high-definition DVD movies with above-average-to-demonstration quality, 7.1-channel soundtracks. There are additional high-definition DVD movies encoded with a 7.1-channel soundtrack however they fall short of the combined surround sound performance and/or audio quality of the titles listed below and therefore I’ve chosen to omit them from the list.



The movie titles are listed in the approximate order of audio and surround sound performance. You may want to take other factors into consideration, such as video quality (some of the titles listed below are no better than average,) movie content, etc.; I’ve simply listed movie titles (as of 2008-01-20) with reference or near-reference quality 7.1-channel soundtracks.



######## BLU-RAY MOVIE TITLES ########



   Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto Del Fauno)

   Spanish; 7.1-channel DTS–HD Master Audio Surround



   3:10 to Yuma (2007)

   English; 7.1-channel Uncompressed PCM Audio Surround



   Hairspray (2007)

   English; 7.1-channel DTS–HD Master Audio Surround



   War

   English; 7.1-channel Uncompressed PCM Audio Surround



   Rush Hour 3

   English; 7.1-channel DTS–HD Master Audio Surround



   Oldboy

   Korean; 7.1-channel DTS–HD Master Audio Surround



   Shoot ‘Em Up

   English; 7.1-channel DTS–HD Master Audio Surround



   Saw IV

   English; 7.1-channel DTS–HD Master Audio Surround



   Ultimate Avengers Collection

   English; 7.1-channel Uncompressed PCM Audio Surround



######## HD DVD MOVIE TITLES ########



   Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto Del Fauno)

   Spanish; 7.1-channel DTS–HD Master Audio Surround

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Note: as GH correctly stated, if you do not currently have a high-definition disc player you may still be able to generate 7.1 channels of surround sound if your A/V receiver or ‘pre-pro’ is equipped with Dolby® Pro Logic® IIx technology. Dolby® Pro Logic® IIx will synthesize 7.1 channels of surround sound from all content containing 2 to 7 channels of audio.

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Blu-ray Disc Reviews

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/reviews....



HD DVD Disc Reviews

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/reviews.h...



Blu-ray Disc Statistics

http://www.blu-raystats.com/stats.php?Or...



HD DVD Statistics

http://www.hddvdstats.com/index.php?Orde...

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If your A/V receiver/‘pre-pro’ lacks a built-in surround sound test tone feature then you may wish to use the following option.



Using the Microsoft files below, along with the appropriate cable(s) connected between your computer (if it’s equipped with a sound card that supports 7.1 channels) and your multichannel A/V receiver, you can perform a simple check of each of the individual channels of your surround sound system.



“You can make sure your system is set up properly by downloading the 8-channel test files from the Microsoft Download Web site. The download contains a multichannel WAV file and the encoded Windows Media file.”



http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows...



8 Channel Test Files

http://download.microsoft.com/download/6...

(1378 KB)

 

Answer 4

I would recommend a setup disc/guide prior, rather that trying to adjust by ear.There are several good test DVDs that can be purchased, AVIA Home Theater Setup DVD is one, Sound and Vision has another. These give a total home theater set up procedure for audio and video.

Try the Eagles DVD "When h**l Freezes Over";

Use the 7 Bridges Road track.