7.1 home theatre SOUND vs 5.1 home theatre

[mtbdudex]

I've had 5.1 home theatre for about 4 years, using my Onkyo 787 and Atlantic Technology system 350's. I moved into my new custom built log home 2 years ago and now am finishing off the basement, including a custom home theatre room. I'm going to keep the Onkyo/AT upstairs in my living room. For my custom home theatre room( 21 feel long, 16 feet wide, 9 feet ceiling - just 3000 cubic feet), I'm seriously thinking about 7.1 speaker system instead of 5.1 speaker system.

I'd like feedback from people who actually have 7.1 speaker system in similiar sized room - this room is for movies/sports, not multi-channel music:
-did you notice "more" surround sound with the additional 2 rear surround speakers?
-did you compare your "listening experience" with and without them on?
-what rear surround speaker type did you go with go with? (Dipole/Bipole/etc)

I need good, factual experience to help my decision, plus to convience my wife!

Thx,

[hershon]

Good question. I'm anxious to see the response. One thing I'm picking up on from similar posts is that people seem to be implying that because the 7.1 sets are newer things have improved quality wise on the receiver since when you bought it. I'm personally happy with my 5.1 sound and even if I wasn't there really is no place in my apartment setup to put the extra speakers.

I've had 5.1 home theatre for about 4 years, using my Onkyo 787 and Atlantic Technology system 350's. I moved into my new custom built log home 2 years ago and now am finishing off the basement, including a custom home theatre room. I'm going to keep the Onkyo/AT upstairs in my living room. For my custom home theatre room( 21 feel long, 16 feet wide, 9 feet ceiling - just 3000 cubic feet), I'm seriously thinking about 7.1 speaker system instead of 5.1 speaker system.

I'd like feedback from people who actually have 7.1 speaker system in similiar sized room - this room is for movies/sports, not multi-channel music:
-did you notice "more" surround sound with the additional 2 rear surround speakers?
-did you compare your "listening experience" with and without them on?
-what rear surround speaker type did you go with go with? (Dipole/Bipole/etc)

I need good, factual experience to help my decision, plus to convience my wife!

Thx,

[Geoffcin]

I've had 5.1 home theatre for about 4 years, using my Onkyo 787 and Atlantic Technology system 350's. I moved into my new custom built log home 2 years ago and now am finishing off the basement, including a custom home theatre room. I'm going to keep the Onkyo/AT upstairs in my living room. For my custom home theatre room( 21 feel long, 16 feet wide, 9 feet ceiling - just 3000 cubic feet), I'm seriously thinking about 7.1 speaker system instead of 5.1 speaker system.

I'd like feedback from people who actually have 7.1 speaker system in similiar sized room - this room is for movies/sports, not multi-channel music:
-did you notice "more" surround sound with the additional 2 rear surround speakers?
-did you compare your "listening experience" with and without them on?
-what rear surround speaker type did you go with go with? (Dipole/Bipole/etc)

I need good, factual experience to help my decision, plus to convience my wife!

Thx,

In a room very similar in dimension to yours. The short answer is YES, I did notice a lot more spatial cues with the extra rear speakers. I am using standmount dipole/multipole speakers for the side surrounds, and inwall speakers for the rear surrounds. My room is 22ft long X 16ft wide, and the main seating is 4ft from the rear wall. At this distance the inwalls were perfect for the job. If you are designing your room from the ground up like I did, then you should consider inwall speakers for the rear, it gave me a lot more room to work with.

Here's a link to a thread about my HT project;

New theater room project