rear speakers

I'm not getting much sound from my rear speakers. I have tried turning up the levels which has helped some. I also reversed the polarity which seems to have helped. I checked everything on the radio shack db meter and all is fine... I recently visited a local hi-fi shop with a similar set-up as mine and their rear speakers are playing much more sound than I am getting. What should I do?

Thanks in advance,
Ray

What sources are you listening to, and what mode are you listening in? There are some modes and sources that just don't yield much surround activity, so it's best to rule that out first.

PLII especially, but DD is not what it should be as well.

Can you describe your surround placement?