[maxim07]

At least I am honest to admit it is a very stupid question.


I just purchased the kef keh 3500 speaker system from someone on ebay. I am looking to buy a receiver for this speaker system.


I can pick up a Yamaha HTR 5750 for pretty cheap. This is a 6.1 receiver. The speaker system is on a 5.1 system.


Is it stupid to buy a 6.1 receiver with only a 5.1 speaker system? Am I just wasting money?


I haven't bought speakers or a receiver in years, and don't know much about the new technology.


Any input is greatly appreciated

 

[King-Reyes]

Going 6.1 with a 5.1 setup isn't very smart. For the price, you should go 5.1 only. If you go 7.1 then you are future proof (HDMI ONLY). If you have a 6.1 speakers and buy a 6.1 receiver then it's a smart move. But it's up to you.

 

[Jakeman02]

You can use a 5.1 setup or less on any receiver, wheather it's a 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 receiver. It's getting harder to find 5.1 receivers, most everything is 7.1 now and you really don't pay any more money for a 7.1 vs 5.1 receiver. If you're content on running a 5.1 system then just look for the receiver that fits your budget and has the connection options and features you're looking for. If you think thier is a possibility in the future you'll want to go 7.1 then go ahead and check those out specifically, when you're ready you'll already have the receiver for it.


I don't know what your budget is but imo this is the best bang for the buck budget receiver going, price includes shipping and waranty and you also get $10 off your first purchase after signing up with the website.

http://www.shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?...il=1&ext_war=1

 

[simpleHT]

These days it is hard to get a 5.1 receiver. Most receivers on the market are 7.1, and the price should not be much more than the 5.1 receiver (if any). So, you are fine to use only 5.1 out of the 7.1 receiver. My receiver is 9.2 (sort of) (2 fronts, 1 center, 4 sides, 2 rears and 2 subwoofers), but I am doing only 5.1 setup.

 

[gimpy]

I have a Yamaha rxv630 which is a 6.1, I think (it does have a rear center outlet). You can just turn off the rear center channel in your setup. Works just fine.


Frank

 

[leftheaded]

not real sure how to ask this because i'm a noob.... so, if you do use a 7.1 receiver and have a 5.1 speaker setup, do you just lose the left and right middle channels? and do the 6 speakers that are used get the same signal/sound that they would either way (5.1 or 7.1 setup)?


reason i ask because i was considering buying a 5.1 setup now and just adding 2 other channels later to make 7.1


i'll try to reword if this makes no sense

 

[King-Reyes]

You won't loose any 7.1 information unless you have Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. You will loose 6.1 information if you have a DVD that has DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete. If you only have a DVD you won't loose any information because if you do have a 7.1 or a 6.1, the receiver will matrix the sound and doesn't sound as good as the a discrete one.

 

[sdurani]



Quote:
Originally Posted by leftheaded /forum/post/0


i was considering buying a 5.1 setup now and just adding 2 other channels later to make 7.1

You'll be fine. Modern receivers can scale the number of channels in the source to match the number of speakers in your set-up. For example: 5.1-channel material can be downmixed for 2 speakers or scaled up for 7.1 speakers. All you have to do when initially configuring your receiver is dial in the number of speakers you have.


Since there is no 7.1-channel material on DVD, separate information for side and rear speakers has to be extracted from the 2 surround channels to play back over 4 surround speakers. But if you have a 5.1-speaker set-up, the surround channels will be left alone and not split into separate side and rear information. Each channel simply goes to its respective speaker.


Later, when you do a 7.1-speaker set-up, you can apply processing to play back the 2 surround channels over 4 surround speakers. Sounds that would have normally phantom imaged behind you will be extracted and sent to the speakers behind you. The leftover sounds will remain in the side speakers. Nothing more complicated than that.


Sanjay

 

[sdurani]



Quote:
Originally Posted by King-Reyes /forum/post/0


You will loose 6.1 information if you have a DVD that has DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete.

One would think so, but that turns out not to be the case. All DTS ES Discrete 6.1 soundtracks have the discrete surround-back channel completely duplicated in the L/R surround channels (for backwards compatiblity with 5.1 systems).


When those soundtracks are played back on 6.1/7.1 set-ups, the surround-back information is actively cancelled out of the L/R surround channels so that it is only heard from behind you and not from your sides.


However, when playing a 6.1-channel soundtrack on a 5.1-speaker set-up, the discrete surround-back channel is ignored. But that doesn't matter because all that information is already in the L/R surround channels and will be heard from the L/R surround speakers. No information will be lost.


Sanjay

 

[snakeyes1022]

Now just to clarify for the real dummies here (ME) if i have a 5.1 setup (room is not big enough to warrant 7.1) if i have my ps3 send the sound out through hdmi to for example pio elite vsx-84 will i be gaining a audible advantage over toslink. i will apoligize in advance if this is a stupid question or has been answered a thousand times before


Jake

 

[sdurani]



Quote:
Originally Posted by snakeyes1022 /forum/post/0


if i have my ps3 send the sound out through hdmi to for example pio elite vsx-84 will i be gaining a audible advantage over toslink

The advantage will be when listening to the higher resolution audio tracks on Blu-ray or SACD. Your PS3 can transmit those signals at full resolution using HDMI. But if you want to send the audio through coax or toslink optical, then the signal has to be compressed down to DD or DTS.


Sanjay

 

[satwar]



Quote:
Originally Posted by King-Reyes /forum/post/0


You won't loose any 7.1 information unless you have Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. You will loose 6.1 information if you have a DVD that has DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete. If you only have a DVD you won't loose any information because if you do have a 7.1 or a 6.1, the receiver will matrix the sound and doesn't sound as good as the a discrete one.

Thanks for an interesting discussion.


I have a small TV room so I don't expect to ever upgrade from a 5.1 to 7.1 speaker configuration. I'm sure this is a dumb question, but if modern receivers can matrix 7.1 channel sound down to a 5.1 speaker configuration, why doesn't this apply to Blu-Ray & HD-DVD sound, as stated above ?

 

[leftheaded]

i think what king-reyes meant was that only blue ray and hd dvd are the only 7.1 formats, so thats the only place a 5.1 speakers setup actually "loses" some info. maybe not, but that's how i read it.


and if i interpreted sanjay correctly when he said

Quote:
Since there is no 7.1-channel material on DVD, separate information for side and rear speakers has to be extracted from the 2 surround channels to play back over 4 surround speakers. But if you have a 5.1-speaker set-up, the surround channels will be left alone and not split into separate side and rear information. Each channel simply goes to its respective speaker.

that means that the speakers are sent the exact same signal whether you have 2 or 4 surrounds. in this case, its the equivalent to disconnecting 2 surrounds from a 7.1 speaker setup. again, maybe not, but thats what i read

 

[new27]

damn Sanjay, your answers are always sweet, you know your stuff

 

[snakeyes1022]

Thanks for the info i was getting confused by a few comments (in other threads)saying if you dont care about 7.1 then current recievers are future proof. Thanks again for the clarification

 

[sdurani]



Quote:
Originally Posted by leftheaded /forum/post/0


i think what king-reyes meant was that only blue ray and hd dvd are the only 7.1 formats, so thats the only place a 5.1 speakers setup actually "loses" some info. maybe not, but that's how i read it.

You still shouldn't lose any info because the 7.1 discrete channels will be downmixed to however many speakers you have.

Quote:
and if i interpreted sanjay correctly when he said...


that means that the speakers are sent the exact same signal whether you have 2 or 4 surrounds. in this case, its the equivalent to disconnecting 2 surrounds from a 7.1 speaker setup. again, maybe not, but thats what i read

I should have been clearer. When I said that the surround channels are separated into separated into side and rear content for 7.1 playback, I meant that the information that goes to the sides is different from the information going to the rear speakers.


Sanjay

 

[satwar]

Thanks Sanjay, you have a very clear writing style that is easy to understand.