5.1 vs 7.1 - worth the upgrade? opinions needed!

[Phate]

Hello all,

Quite a few of you know my setup, but for those that don't here it is:

Panny 50" plasma of sorts
Pioneer VSX-321 amp (I'm sure this is the model) (working solely from memory)
Acoustic Energy Aegis EVO floorstanders (fronts)
Acoustic Energy Aegis EVO III's bookshelf for my rears
Center I was given, its a wharfdale and my sub is on extended loan from Raymond Lin (long story, don't ask )

I've got decent cabling all round and the performance I am very pleased with overall, thinking about actually buying my own sub at some point in the future and replacing the center with an AE Aegis EVO to match the rest of my speakers.

So I'm very happy with my setup.

But to cut a long story short I have 2 spare bookshelf speakers which match my existing ones.

Now...I have no real use for these at the minute and in the future so I've had ideas for making my setup 7.1...

Basically, I'm looking for suggestions/arguments/comments for either side of the coin as to whether or not I should bother, for example would I see enough improvement vs the effort of running the cables properly etc.

Many thanks for the read and help!
Jake

 

[Jano]

Depends on the room, but in my experience there is so little content available that truly uses 7.1, its pointless.

 

[Lowe]

It's not really worth the outlay in my experience, certainly not in a living room. 5.1 is more than enough unless your room is significantly big.

 

[Nikumba]

Agree with Jano, I think I have one maybe two blu rays that are 7.1 probably does not make it worth it

 

[tom_nieto]

If you already have the speakers, why not give it a go? Personally I'd be more tempted to use them in a 6.1 setup and use the speakers in a centre and rear centre configuration. Or perhaps a "stereo" centre pairing. Isn't half the fun of hifi experimenting?

 

[coolamasta]

I have a pretty nice 5.1 set up and as a test a few months ago I plugged in some spare bookshelf speakers on stands as the side speakers making it 7.1 and to be honest I really didn't notice much coming form them, I tried different Blurays running DTS HD MASTER audio and a few times you heard a little something going on but all the effort required to fit them or some wall-mounted one and running cables etc wasn't worth it for me, but if its easy to do for you then it might well be worth giving it a go

 

[Raymond Lin]

I too have 2 spare speakers (match surrounds), and it's just not worth it at the moment, like others have said, there are not that many 7.1 material and those that are, its is merely for effects like small gush of wind noise, things like that.

Plus, more useful having the spare speakers as a separate stereo for the bedroom.

 

[413x]

i think i have one 7.1 film, super 8, not worth it,
especially as you dont really notice rears imo

 

[Nick1881]

My room is very small and I previously experimented with 7.1 and wasn't very impressed. However I tried again last week and was impressed with the results, I bought some KEF E301 speakers and just need to get them mounted in the position I want them.

I watched the Lone Ranger tonight, at one point I turned around to look for a fly I heard behind me, then felt silly. There seems to be more 7.1 films coming out and if it's not going to cost you much then go for it.

 

[lunarwolf]

first you need a room big enough to place the speakers properly for it to work

second there is very little content in 7.1, although a lot more today than previously.

thirdly make sure your amp can actually cope with the extra power needed. not just a question of having jacks in the back of the amp

conclusion. if you can, why not. not high on the priority list and not necessarily the best place to upgrade. start with a sub

my 2 cents

PS I have a 7.1 system

 

[Grimley]

I put in a 6.1 setup in my room almost 10 years ago thinking it would take off with DVD. More fool me I shouldn't have bothered if I knew then what I know now, my room's only 10X13 anyway.

 

[mad4jags]

A good 5.1 system running dipole rear speakers can have sounds popping out at you from every direction,so I personally feel that 7.1 is just a gimmick.

 

[lucid]

The last really big system I installed for a client over summer is 9.1 So it has side and rear surrounds and also front presence speakers. These are "heights" rather than "widths" due to the room size, just 4.5m wide x 6m long. The rear speakers are mono-pole in-walls. Decent ones too, M&K IW85, but mono-poles nonetheless. Seating distance was approx 1.5m from the rear wall and approx a 1m gap from the side walls to the nearest of the three seats in the row.

Playing around with the amp settings (Onkyo PR-SC5508 + 9ch power amp) it was possible to listen in different modes to compare basic 5.1 with 7.1 using the rears or 7.1 using the front heights or 9.1 altogether.

My first observation was that running monopole rears in 5.1 isn't as enveloping as a single pair of bi-poles. Running in 7.1 rear surround mode helped, but there was still an impression of the rear speakers calling out their position rather than producing a diffuse rear sound field. Conclusion: 5.1 using one pair of bi-poles is more effective in a small room than two pairs of mono-poles in 7.1 mode.

Next, I had a listen to the effect of the front heights. The result from these was very surprising. It lifted the front soundstage. If I had to choose, I'd go with front heights before rear surrounds every time, but on one condition; the side surrounds must be di-poles.

 

[DJ_Bucho]

From what I've read I'd say just stick with that you've got to be perfectly honest mate. On the other hand you've got the speakers already so you wouldn't be forking out for some new ones, so one thing I would suggest is just running the cables from your amp (I presume it can support 7.1) over the top of your carpet to the speakers and giving it a try to see exactly what you think.
That way you don't have to worry about hiding the cables or anything like that, but you sample the effect of the extra 2 speakers and see if it really makes a difference. If you feel it's not really worth it, simply unplug the cable and stick the speakers back in the loft etc. If however you love the sound with the extra 2 speakers, then, look into routing the cables properly, be it hiding them under the carpet, chasing them into the walls etc.
That's what I'd do

 

[zuludawn]

I don't no where you guys get your information from but most Blue Ray films have DTS-HD audio which does 7.1 with the right equipment, out of about 200 Blue Ray films i own most have DTS-HD 7.1.

 

[Somnambulist]

Given the size of most people's rooms in the UK, 5.1 done right should be more than adequte. If you have the space and amp power then why not, I guess, although as ever it's all about implementation rather than getting speakers for the sake of numbers.

 

[Phate]

Thanks for all the input.

I think I'm going to leave it for the time being, purely because if I do end up liking it, its a massive ball ache to pull the floor up and cable it all properly...when I have a decent system already.

Although I might be moving next year, so I'll keep the speakers and secretly plan a 7.1 setup next time

 

[Buckster]

depends on your room - in my living room the rears are in-line with sofa firing sideways, but with the 2 extra rear centres - I had the opportunity to place them behind and above the sofa.

I watch all content in simulated 7.1 utilising PLIIx (ie stereo sources - PLIIx, DTS + PLIIx etc etc) on my Pioneer AX10Ai, and it gives a much better steering across the rear, and gives real "behind" you content, than in 5.1 "pure"

but depends on your room and setup

 

[Richdog]

depends on your room - in my living room the rears are in-line with sofa firing sideways, but with the 2 extra rear centres - I had the opportunity to place them behind and above the sofa.

I watch all content in simulated 7.1 utilising PLIIx (ie stereo sources - PLIIx, DTS + PLIIx etc etc) on my Pioneer AX10Ai, and it gives a much better steering across the rear, and gives real "behind" you content, than in 5.1 "pure"

but depends on your room and setup

Old thread but serves my uses so I'll add to it...

I have a similar setup to you in a small (5x4m) living room and am considering adding 2 rears for 7.1, these thin bi-pole speakers here https://www.definitivetechnology.com/products/mythos-xtr-20bp

I am missing the "from behind you" feeling, so think that it may be worth giving it a try. Anyone else done the upgrade in a similar way and been satisfied with it?

 

[Uncle Petey]

Not done it with bipoles, but I did stick a spare pair of Mordaunt Short Genies behind me for some 7.1 action.
No regrets at all and it works well with films that support it, even with my less than ideal placement behind the sofa that puts them a bit too close to my head + they shouldn't match with my Tannoy MX2/MX1/MXC, yet seem to blend in well enough.

Long story short, you should be pretty happy with those.