is 7.1 surround noticeable from 5.1?

L

Legend

Regular
I want to buy a decent surround sound system. the question is, should I pay that extra buck and get a 7.1 or isn't it that noticeable from a 5.1 system? I am not asking from an audiophile techy or "there isn't enough 7.1 specific content" point of view. I simply want to know if there is a noticeable difference for the average joe. if I enter a room and hear a surrond sound system, can I easily distinguish if it is 7.1 or 5.1?

any pointers are appreaciated. thanks :)

PS. this is in the Console tech section because I will be mainly using it to play games and watch movies through the consoles.
 
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I havent heard a noticeable difference, but things are limited when you're watching a movie. It will make a difference in that there are more sources of sounds (upmix for music)
 
It's basicly the same as having a center channel or not, but on either side of your head rather than in front of you. How much that matters depends mostly on how much space there is between the speakers as well as how well the project sound and how far away you are from them, and of couse how well the content is mapped to those channels in the first place.
 
Top Gun SE actually made 'decent' use of the back channel (DVD movies only have provisions for 6.1 channels so technically its not back left and back right for discreet 6.1 material) but overall its tough to judge with movies as most are only 5.1 and your processor uses math to matrix out the 2 additional channels in a 7.1 setup. Its better than NOT having 7.1, but not abundantly so.

Also, i think you need space behind your listening position for effective use of a surround back channel(s). Having had both, i would say that if your sofa is up against the back wall, you're probably not going to reap much of a benefit by putting the back speakers above you or near the regular surrounds.
 
Legend said:
I want to buy a decent surround sound system. the question is, should I pay that extra buck and get a 7.1 or isn't it that noticeable from a 5.1 system? I am not asking from an audiophile techy or "there isn't enough 7.1 specific content" point of view. I simply want to know if there is a noticeable difference for the average joe. if I enter a room and hear a surrond sound system, can I easily distinguish if it is 7.1 or 5.1?

any pointers are appreaciated. thanks :)

PS. this is in the Console tech section because I will be mainly using it to play games and watch movies through the consoles.
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Simle answer is it depends on the room, the equipment and the source material.
But 7.1 can sound really good.
I doubt very much though that I could tell the difference just listening to a single system, in an A/B I'm pretty sure I could make the call.
 
expletive said:
Top Gun SE actually made 'decent' use of the back channel (DVD movies only have provisions for 6.1 channels so technically its not back left and back right for discreet 6.1 material) but overall its tough to judge with movies as most are only 5.1 and your processor uses math to matrix out the 2 additional channels in a 7.1 setup. Its better than NOT having 7.1, but not abundantly so.

Also, i think you need space behind your listening position for effective use of a surround back channel(s). Having had both, i would say that if your sofa is up against the back wall, you're probably not going to reap much of a benefit by putting the back speakers above you or near the regular surrounds.
Click to expand...

speaker position and delay make all the difference.... otherwise you are right on the money
 
Highly dependent on HT setup and source material. I have a THX Dolby and DTS demo disk that delivers some very noticable difference in 5.1 mode vs 7.1 mode on my receiver. But on most material, it's just a matrixed rear channel. This may change when HD-DVD/BR appear.

The same can be said of the ".1" LFE channel. I can disable it, put my A/V receiver in stereo mode, and use a crossover amp, and most of the time it will sound the same. However, they are some source titles for which discrete LFE channel delivers noticably better subwoofer response.


Actually, the same can be said for the center channel. For example, Fox's 24 TV "IN HDTV + Dolby 5.1" has some kind of ludicrous sound mastering in which the dialog is not placed on the center channel, so as a result, in Dolby/THX decoding, I can barely hear people talking over the mood music (it's bad enough 24 has been mumbling and conspiring).

Sound authoring makes a big difference. I think LucasFilm/Skywalker Sound goes to some of the greatest lengths to get it right. You want to hear bass? Load up Star Wars Ep 2 and listen to the "sonic mines" sequence. Or watch the Pod Race from Ep 1.
 
great feedback guys!

okay, since some of you mentioned other factors how about this:
If I got very good 7.1 content, best settup and everything is done perfectly. I know there is a difference between that set up and a 5.1 one, but how much is the difference? is it one of those 'once you experience it, you can't go back to 5.1', or is that a little too extreme?

PS. what kind of system do you recommend that isn't insanely expensive like Bose?

thanks. :)
 
Some comments from 3DSS that you may want to read.

"To really benefit from it you will need to have the space to get a proper speaker spread. If you have to jam the sats into a narrow space it won't benefit and can even hurt if too narrow. "

Basically, the jump from 5.1 to 7.1 will be even smaller than the jump from 4.1 to 5.1. I recommend going 7.1 only if you have a room sized larger than 15x15.

I suggest going for quality 5.1 first, and then if you are more comfortable understanding how the sound works, then you can make the jump towards 7.1

I've also justed started getting into component audio, and I wholehearted recommend X-LS from www.av123.com I guarantee you won't find anything better under $200 per pair. =) Get two pairs of those, a centre channel, a sub for $600, and then invest into some quality receiver and you're set for very good entry level home theatre sytem. If you like how they sound, then you can buy the higher quality Omega Reference to form 7.1 system finally.
 
It all depends of the game type, a FPS or a racing game that played from the IN-CAR view will be very noticable, a 3rd person game wont really benefit as much. I have a 7.1 Denon amp with M/K speakers and the difference between 5.1 and 6.1 films depeneds on the film type, Balde 2 for example has both 5.1 and 6.1 options and on that film the difference is HUGE.
 
Bose sucks. Period. No one in the HT community thinks their products are anything other than mediocre but with omnipresent marketing on radio and in stores.
 
!eVo!-X Ant UK said:
Both wrong, Balde 2 chapter10 ( the Bass in the night club ) ;)
Click to expand...

Why would you need a DVD for bass from music? I can get bass from a music CD. We're talking about sound effects not music. ;)
 
NANOTEC said:
Why would you need a DVD for bass from music? I can get bass from a music CD. We're talking about sound effects not music. ;)
Click to expand...

So am i :| And you would need a DVD for bass if your a DVD audio nut like me ;)
 
DemoCoder said:
Bose sucks. Period. No one in the HT community thinks their products are anything other than mediocre but with omnipresent marketing on radio and in stores.
Click to expand...
I really don't know much about sound system brands. all I know is that Bose is much more expensive than anything I have seen.
I am thinking of getting me a Sony system. they are cheap, good quality and nicely designed. there is also Samsung's which also look sleek.

by the way, some of these systems are wirless. doesn't that effect the quality or latency of the audio track at all?
 
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