I'm hoping that this is a simple setup issue that I have missed. I have filed a ticket for this problem, but I would appreciate any other help.

While I can get the channel calibration signal output through the rears (which proves that the connections through the 7100 to the speakers are all OK), I do not get any sound from the rear (surround back) speakers from any decoded signals using the 950.

When I try to decode a 5.1 source, I get fronts, center and sub all OK, but both rear channels are missing (using a test disc with a 5.1 channel check track).

My 950 speaker setup is as follows:
FRONT SMALL
CENTER SMALL
SURR SMALL
SURR REAR LB/RB
SUBWOOFER ON

When I turn on a DD 5.1 source, I get DOLBY D 3/2.1 on the display, indicating that the 950 sees a 5.1 source (which shows I have bitstream output from the DVD).

As far as I can tell, the tests seem to show that the 950 is having decoding problems. All help is very welcome.

Thanks
Pete

The signal you are decoding is a 5.1 signal only, so the 950 defaults to a 5.1 processing mode. To enable a 7.1 mode, you need to either force it into Dolby EX processing (using the "DD" button on the remote) or use the Cirrus Extra Surround (The "CR SURR" button on the remote). Once you do this once for any specific input (DVD, Video3, ...), the 950 will remember for that input and use the same mode for future 5.1 sources.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Thanks for the reply gonk, but setting the 950 to either Dolby EX or the Cirrus mode does not help, I still did not get outputs from the rears, only the fronts, center and subwoofer.
You did get me thinking about my connections, though. I have my rears currently selected to the "back" outputs, but it sounds like they would be better connected as the "surround" speakers...a job for tomorrow

Pete

In all likelihood, your current arrangement (surrounds on "surround" outputs, rears on "surround back" outputs) is probably best.

Are you testing the surround back channels with a set of test tones or a movie? I haven't run 5.1 test tones through the 950 to see what would happen, but it could be problematic for EX or CES decoding. If you haven't already, you might try a particularly active scene from a 5.1 movie (the lobby scene in Matrix, for example) and switch on Cirrus or EX, then see if you are still getting no signal at all to the rears.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

I have used both movies and test tones to try to get some sound out of the rears, but with no luck. The latest movie was Santa Claus 2, and the test that I use is from the Ultimate DVD Platinum setup disc, which has channel identification tracks for PCM, Dolby Digital and DTS. The test tracks should not be any issue, simple 5.1 encoding with individual channels identified.
I have had the 950 since the end of November, and from what I remember I used to get sound out of the rears...Thanksgiving and travel kept me from really checking out the system until just recently. I'm still hoping that it's some strange setup quirk that can be addressed. I have reset the 950, but that fixed nothing.
Thanks for your continued help.
Pete

OK, the Outlaws fixed it (thanks Steve).
As hoped, it was a simple setup issue caused by me having the rear speakers connected to the "back" 950 outputs instead of the "surround" outputs.
(gonk...in hindsight it makes sense. When I tried the Dolby EX test using the 5.1 source it could not decode rear information because it did not get a real EX signal...even though I forced the decode)

So, for everyone else...although it is not clearly specified in the manual, for a standard 5.1 setup the rear speakers should be connected to "surround" on the 950...even though you might have them located at the back of your listening area.

OK...back to listening !!

Ahhh... Your "rear" speakers were your surrounds. I was assuming that your rear speakers were the sixth and seventh speakers. That makes perfect sense.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review