before I added my rear surround and was only 5.1, I did set things up with a meter but that was a while ago. Since then I am running 2 separate amps. 1 for the mains and center, the other for the rears. I think that some of the problem may be that my one amp (adcom) has volume level controls in the back. Right now they are turned all the way down so the levels of my rear speakers may not have been the same as my fronts which are hooked to an outlaw amp. Yes I'll most likely have to get a meter. But seeing that your level settings are higher for the surrounds makes me think that my levels were too low to begin with. Thanks for the info guys, I'll go get a meter. Dave