Or even 7.1 for that matter...

My receiver does up to 7.1, but I can't mount anything behind my seating; no stand, nothing on walls or ceiling. My question is would it be horrible if I had the rear surround on the floor facing up? Would it be worth it to hook up 7.1 if I were to do this or should I stick to 6.1?

The receiver is and Onkyo 803.

Thanks,
Replacement

Not sure about Blu-ray or HD DVD disks but i haven't come across too many regular DVD movies that employ 6.1 or 7.1. In fact i the only ones i can think of are Lord of the Rings (Extended editions 1-3) - 6.1 and I watched Pixar's Cars the other night and that was in 6.1.

I only have a 5.1 setup , but my receiver will do 6.1. it makes a phantom 3rd rear speaker since I don't have one, it sounds good enough for me.

I'll change my setup when more movies start using it.

Because you don't have any space behind your seating I say stick with 5.1 and be happy with it. You need to have some space behind you to have seperation between your side and rear speakers so the sounds are discrete.

Have the best 5.1 setup you can afford, sit back, watch your favorite movies and enjoy. :D

Not sure about Blu-ray or HD DVD disks but i haven't come across too many regular DVD movies that employ 6.1 or 7.1. In fact i the only ones i can think of are Lord of the Rings (Extended editions 1-3) - 6.1 and I watched Pixar's Cars the other night and that was in 6.1.

I only have a 5.1 setup , but my receiver will do 6.1. it makes a phantom 3rd rear speaker since I don't have one, it sounds good enough for me.

I'll change my setup when more movies start using it.

Um, you aren't actually engaging a 6.1 mode without a rear speaker are you? You need to leave your receiver in 5.1 if you only have a 5.1 array. Your receiver does not CREATE a phantom rear center, that is already contained in the 5.1 soundtrack if you leave it as it is, and if your speakers are placed properly will result in just such a phantom image.

Or even 7.1 for that matter...

My receiver does up to 7.1, but I can't mount anything behind my seating; no stand, nothing on walls or ceiling. My question is would it be horrible if I had the rear surround on the floor facing up? Would it be worth it to hook up 7.1 if I were to do this or should I stick to 6.1?

The receiver is and Onkyo 803.

Thanks,
Replacement

If you can't place your speakers properly for a 7.1 array, I think 5.1 should suffice. PLacing the speaker behind the listening position and pointed up is a mediocre compromise, but may be effective for you. However, I doubt it would be worth the expense and effort, but if you have some extra speakers around, by all means give it a try and see what you think.

My question is would it be horrible if I had the rear surround on the floor facing up?It won't be "horrible", but it certainly won't give you the intended effect of having those sounds clearly behind you and well separated from the sounds at your sides. Good advice from Kevin and Chris: with the couch at or near the back wall, a well set-up 5.1 system would be better than a poorly configured 7.1 speaker layout. Would it be worth it to hook up 7.1 if I were to do this or should I stick to 6.1?Sure, if you have some time, spare wire and an extra speaker or two. Never hurts to experiment.

Sanjay

I've had 6.1 for like 3 to 4 years now, and I love it.

I'd recommend it over 5.1, but if you have the space and extra money, why not go with 7.1?

Um, you aren't actually engaging a 6.1 mode without a rear speaker are you? You need to leave your receiver in 5.1 if you only have a 5.1 array. Your receiver does not CREATE a phantom rear center, that is already contained in the 5.1 soundtrack if you leave it as it is, and if your speakers are placed properly will result in just such a phantom image.

My receiver doesn't have a output for a 6th speaker, yet the receiver decodes the 6.1 signal. I guess it splits the rear middle between the two rear channels.

Well I had a 6.1 set up at my old location and I now have a 5.1 and I miss that rear sound when watching movies.

I have some speakers from another set up that I am no longer using, but they are not the same brand. I don't want to put my nicer speaker on the floor (the 6th one) so I was planning on using the cheaper speakers back there since I don't care if they get scratched up (it is a tile floor and sometimes things fall behind the couch).

Since this is a temporary set up and it may be a while until I get to place my HT in a pernamant location I'll give the 7.1 a try. If I don't like it at least I'm not out anything.;)

Thanks for your input and I'll post back with the results.

My receiver doesn't have a output for a 6th speaker, yet the receiver decodes the 6.1 signal. I guess it splits the rear middle between the two rear channels.

What? What is your receiver? How can it not have an output? Does it have a pre-amp out for this channel but not an amplified one?

As for decoding the 6th channel, you misunderstand how that works, it's all in the 5.1 soundtrack. There is nothing to decode unless you want to matrix out that information that is contained in the 5.1 mix. It's not a discrete channel, except for DTS-ES discrete, which is still backwards compatible with 5.1 so in that sense it works the same way if you have a 5.1 array.

I've had 6.1 for like 3 to 4 years now, and I love it.

I'd recommend it over 5.1, but if you have the space and extra money, why not go with 7.1?:rolleyes:

Never hurts to experiment

I have a Bass Management system that does 6.1, so that's what I use. It's great! No movies actually have 7.1 data; they're all mixed for 6.1 (or 5.1 for older material), so you're not missing anything.

I have a Bass Management system that does 6.1, so that's what I use. It's great! No movies actually have 7.1 data; they're all mixed for 6.1 (or 5.1 for older material), so you're not missing anything.

It isn't about missing anything, but it is about good rearward coverage without the reversal effect. That is why a 7.1 speaker array is the standard, even in systems where only 6.1 processing is available.

Well I connected 2 more speakers to my set up for a 7.1 system. I watched 300 on Blu-Ray. It sounded better than not having anything behind me. I can tell that it is not optimal, but it will do for now.

As long as your happy is all that matters ;)

I've had 6.1 for like 3 to 4 years now, and I love it.

I'd recommend it over 5.1, but if you have the space and extra money, why not go with 7.1?

QFT.

I LOVE hearing the sound from the rear 6th speaker. Makes it far more enjoyable.

One day I will go to 7.1, but for the last several years the 6.1 has turned a good theater experience into a great one.