Is 7.1 surround sound for the home better then 5.1?

Question

I'm planning on buying a system and would like to try to get the best one.Thanks.

Answer 1

sometimes, it depends, it would be better to talk to an expert in the store, 7.1 uses 7 speakers whereas 5.1 uses 5 speakers

Answer 2

Unless you have a very large room it's not worth it. It was made for big theaters to fill in space around the back.

Answer 3

Probably Not:

5.1 = 2 front, 2 rear, 1 center and 1 subwoofer (the .1 channel).

7.1 = 2 front, 2 side, 2 rear, 1 center, and 1 subwoofer (the .1 channel).

Are the extra left and right SIDE channels going to bring that much improvement.  Probably Not.

And don't  forget - virtually all movie dvd's available are still in 5.1

MAYBE 7.1 is a thing of the future.

Answer 4

At the moment 7.1 sound receivers will extend the 5.1 sound to the extra 2 rear speakers...so it's kind of like pro logic where the sound is taken from the other speakers....and in fact it's Dolby Pro Logic llx that transforms the 5.1 signal into 7.1.

I'd say since most movies are 5.1 that although there isn't a huge improvement there is still some improvement. But if you are planning to invest in Blu-ray or HD DVD note that 7.1 soundtracks are being used more and more so getting a 7.1 setup might be a good way of future-proofing your investments....that's what I thought when I bought my Yamaha RX-V657 7.1 receiver.....until they came out with HDMI receivers. Guess I'll have to future-proof it again eh?

If you really are interested in getting a future-proof system get an HDMI receiver with 7.1 that can decode the new audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio Lossless and get a player that can either send these audio signals through HDMI as bitstream or decode them in the player itself.

Answer 5

If you have the space and can set it up properly... Definately

Answer 6

yes it doesn't matter. they even have 23.1 surround sound.

Answer 7

no. if you look at your DVD collection or movie collection in general. a good majority if the disks are encoded in 5.1 audio. rarely youll see one encoded in 6.1. 7.1 is rarer. The only movie i saw that has more than 5.1 is Gladiator. and wow it was amazing.

My blu-ray collection is all 5.1.

so you probably wont utilize it in full.

Answer 8

Only if you think you'll need 8 speakers in your room. Actually, 6 speakers ( 2 front, 2 rear, 1 center and sub ) should be ample to

give your home theater system a kick a-- output. No need to spend the extra money.