I am setting up a media room. it's 17'w x 20' deep. It has two levels of seating. The first row is about 10 feet from the screen and the second is about 15' from the screen. My question is two fold. 1. Where do I figure my speaker location- first row or second? 2. Should I buy a 5.1 or 7.1 system? I appreciate all input. Thanks!
The movie watching experience in 7.1 is much better than 5.1.
Do the 7.1!! With all due respect to Stof, I think he's way off base on this one. Whether or not there are 7.1 discrete DVDs means absolutely nothing, because the receivers job is to matrix 5.1 content into 7.1.
It sounds to me like you are building a nice space that you intend to enjoy for a long time. While it is true that there are no discs recorded in 7.1 as yet and 6.1 discreet discs are few and far between, the introduction of HDDVD and Blu-Ray disc promise that we will see 7.1 introduced at some point. If you want to have the speakers in place for the future, then you can install the full array of speakers now and be ready for 7.1 when it comes down the pike. It is true that receivers on the market right now will extrapolate signal from the side surrounds and distribute it to the rear channels as a sort of "back fill"- so your speakers will not lie dormant. As for accomodating both rows of seating, consider a dipolar surround speaker. There are many on the market that will offer a diffuse surround to all listeners. Some designs will shoot sound toward the rear of the room and you will get some rear wall refraction. This being the case, you can still get a very immersive experience from a 5.1 setup. If you want to start with the smaller setup now but be free to expand in the future, have lengths of wire run to the back of your room for future speaker additions. You can add the 'surround back' speakers at any time!
Cheers. Caleb Denison Home Theater Guru aperionaudio.com
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Cheers. Caleb Denison Home Theater Guru aperionaudio.com