Fellow Outlaws....I am not working with a 7.1 speaker arrangement, and I was curious if there was a way to set the 950 to use the rear surrounds, instead of the side surrounds, when listening to analog 6 channel music (DVD-A/SACD)? I have to ask because it doesn't appear that there is a way to trick the 950 by pluggin the analog outs from the DVD player into the rear surround in's on the 950 (I realize there aren't any on the 950) under "multichannel" inputs. Anyone figure out a way to do do the above?

Thanks all!

Incog

The only way that occurs to me to do this would be to set up some switching between the 950 and your amps so that you can redirect the left and right side surround signals to the left and right rear surround amp channels.

Incognito,

Do you have a 7.1 speaker system connected to the 950? From your post, I got the impression you have a 5.1 system connected. I follow the logic behind asking this question with a 7.1 system, but not a 5.1. Please confirm, I would be happy to assist you further but I need to make sure I understand your inquiry entirely.

Thanks,

Scott

Scott,

Yes, I have a 7.1 setup. I was curious if it were possible to get the rear channels in the analog multichannel (for SACD) to play through the rear surrounds (speakers 6 and 7) rather than the side surrounds (4 and 5). I only ask because I moved the old rear surrounds to the sides (right side the couch) and put the new speakers on the back wall (for 7.1). It would be nicer to have the surround from the SACD coming from speakers that aren't directly in line with my ear. Just curious....it if can't be done on the 950, it would be nice on the new preamp to have a way to switch between those, or just have an 8 channel input on the back, they a person can just pick which input to plug the surrounds into.

Thanks Scott!

That makes more sense! Sorry about the confusion. Gonk's advice, as usual, is correct. I will be sure to bring this feature up with the design team for future products! Sorry I could not be of greater assistance.

Incognito,

I would seriously re-think using the rears instead of the sides for surround music listening. When we listen in large venues, our sense of space comes from lateral (sideways moving) sound. That's one of the main reasons why concert halls are rectangular shaped. Even halls that are fan shaped (e.g., Tanglewood) have flat panels on the side walls that are swung out to be perpendicular to the audience in order to have better lateral reflections.

Try this experiment with your 950. Play some 2-channel music through the PLIIM CR mode so that you get surround content from all four surround speakers. Use the Channel Trim function to lower all the surround channels to the -15dB setting. Now, raise the volume of the two rear channels only; first to the +3dB setting, then to +6dB, even try +9dB. You'll notice the front soundstage getting louder. Now drop those channels back down to -15dB and then raise the volume of only the two side channels in similar steps as earlier. You'll notice the front soundstage actually gets wider, with imaging that extends outside your front left & right speakers.

If I had to use only two of the four surround speakers, it would have to be the ones at my side; they contribute much more when listening to music. Try it for yourself.

Best,
Sanjay