5.1 to 6.1 surround mode? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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uncooked
07-09-2004, 09:31 AM
Im going to be getting myself another centre for my 6.1 amp, ive had it in 5.1 most of the time. ive occasionally popped a extra speaker back there just to get the feel, but im going to buy a matching one. "athena asc1"

my questions is i have a yamaha 5650, 80 x 6, all the 6.1 modes and all that.

say im watching a 5.1, dolby or dts, movie is there anyway i can play it with 6.1 without using a mode like neo 6. becuase that just splits stereo.

maybe something like "sci fi 6.1" or one of thoughs types of dsp's does it?

or am i stuck with the centre just not playing when im watching a 5.1 movie.

all help is apreciated.

This Guy
07-09-2004, 12:30 PM
I have a mode like that on my Marantz receiever. It's called 6.1 surround and can be played from a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital or DTS film. It doesn't really add much so I took it out of my system (my Marantz doesn't have DTS-ES or DD-EX). Just play around with the receiver or look in the manual.

cam
07-09-2004, 03:12 PM
Im going to be getting myself another centre for my 6.1 amp, ive had it in 5.1 most of the time. ive occasionally popped a extra speaker back there just to get the feel, but im going to buy a matching one. "athena asc1"

my questions is i have a yamaha 5650, 80 x 6, all the 6.1 modes and all that.

say im watching a 5.1, dolby or dts, movie is there anyway i can play it with 6.1 without using a mode like neo 6. becuase that just splits stereo.

maybe something like "sci fi 6.1" or one of thoughs types of dsp's does it?

or am i stuck with the centre just not playing when im watching a 5.1 movie.

all help is apreciated.
I personally don't know what your receiver will do with 5.1 material but mine would ex or es anything that was 5.1. It was not true 5.1+1. My receiver would just do what it thought was best to make the sound to those center rears. I must admit it absolutely sucked. If it is 5.1 just leave it as 5.1. If it is ex/es or discreet I sure hope your room is optimal for such a set-up.

Woochifer
07-09-2004, 04:29 PM
First off, you actually DON'T want to use a center speaker for the back surround in a 6.1 setup. The horizontal center speaker exists only because a TV monitor sits where the center would ideally go. Actually, you should use a speaker identical to your surrounds as the back surround if those other surrounds are direct firing.

As for whether or not you should go with a 6.1 setup, that really depends on your room setup. In general, if your sofa is pushed against the back wall and you got limited space behind, then you should stick to a 5.1 setup.

That Yamaha should have a mode that activates the EX/ES decoder and the back surround channel. With 5.1 sources (which include EX encoded sources since DTS ES discrete is the only true 6.1 format for consumers) and the decoder activated, it will process the two surround channels and extract the back surround channel in much the same way that a Pro Logic decoder extracts the center from 2.0 Dolby Surround sources. With an EX encoded source, you know that the back surround information is supposed to be in there, and the back surround channel should blend in properly with the other surrounds. If a 5.1 source has no back surround encoding specified, it might still play back properly depending on how the mix was done. However, if the surround tracks don't have a lot of channel separation, what could happen is all of the sounds get collapsed into the back surround channel, which will sound really strange.

Basically, it's a case by case determination. If the back surround channel is sucking all of the surround spatiality into the center, then you should turn the back surround channel off. If it subtlely fills in the back and give the overall sound a slightly better sense of 360 envelopment, then the back surround channel is doing what it's supposed to.

uncooked
07-09-2004, 06:54 PM
the centre i will be using is designed for either horizontal or verticle. its a centre or you can buy 2 and even use them as surrounds. atleast thats what the manual says.

its part of a athena box set the p.5. its the c.5. and now im buying a asc1 for the main centre and moving the smaller c.5 to the back.

the room is definetely designed for 6.1, ive got it all pre wired, there is a speaker wire connecting plate in the back of the room for each of the 3 surrounds.


here is a pic i have on my computer, its pretty crappy but you get the idea, I took the pic on an angle kind of so thats why it looks like there not even on the wall, but they are.

dont mind the telescope......... its not normally there lol

im thinking of making some kind of bracket that can be mounted to the air duct right above it that can suspend it there.