Originally posted by curegeorg:
I have not touched upon the lack of 7.1 material available, last time i checked it was only BEGINNING to be produced with 6.1.
What does source material have to do with it? I've been running a 7.1 set-up for the last 8 years. In fact, the 7.1 processes I mentioned earlier (from Lexicon, Meridian, Fosgate) all existed before consumers had access to discrete 5.1 DD and DTS material. Discrete 7.1 source material has
never been a prerequisite for 7.1-speaker playback.
most titles are 5.1 and the 6th and 7th channels are duplicates of the 4th and 5th, which lends itself to stadium type of seating (or multiple rows) in which there is a larger listening area. if there is no difference between the 1st and 2nd surround sound "row", there will be no "side" sounds and no "rear" sounds, instead it will be all rear. hearing the same sound coming from two different places in a room as an effect will not enhance the experience (in fact, if not properly setup, has a greater chance to lessen it), and definitely would not be a big improvement over 5.1 speakers.
No offense, but this makes no sense at all. What in the world gave you the idea that the two pairs of surround speakers are playing "duplicates" of the two surround channels? 5.1 to 7.1 surround processing, such as Pro Logic II
x, results in unique content in each of the four surround speakers. Heck, even simple EX/ES decoding puts sounds behind you that are not otherwise heard at your left or right, and vice versa. This definitely enhances playback, at least on my system. Some surround content (ambient sounds: rain, traffic, room reverb) sound better coming from my sides while other surround effects (back-to-front flyovers) appear more natural when they disappear behind me. How does this "lessen" the experience?
if the material is encoded for 6.1, then the "rear center" channel is split between the 2 rears which is not ideal, seeing as the sound was intended to come from the middle rear.
"Ideal" playback of the surround-back channel is through two speakers, not one speaker. The surround-back channel is not a "rear center" and was definitely not "intended to come from the middle rear". I just finished detailing the reasons why in my first post in this thread.
the jist of what i have been saying is that 7.1 is fine and dandy, BUT the cost vs reward right now is low.
The rewards seem low to
you because you're approaching it from multiple false premises. For people who actually understand how 7.1 systems work, the experience is highly rewarding. I've described real world advantages that 7.1 has over 5.1, advantages that are easily audible. If you feel that any of the information I posted is not factual, please point it out.
Best,
Sanjay
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