7.1 VS 5.1 Surround Sound

[mesaywee3]

Alright I just went and picked up an onkya 7.1 Surround sound system for $767.

HDMI v1.3a Repeater (4 inputs, 1080P compatible)
1080i Upscaling powered by Faroudja DCDi Edge
TrueHD, DTS-HD Decoding
Slim, 7.1 speaker system with 290W powered subwoofer

http://www.onkyo.ca/model.cfm?m=HT-S7100&class=Systems&p=i

I have a 42 inch LCD Sharp Aquos 720P tv (Useless information)

I got this sound system for gaming on the 360 and of course movies.... but that got me thinking, do 360 games even support 7.1? I think I might just go the 5.1 root if they don't. If any audophiles can help me out with this it would be great.

Oh and im in a small ass bedroom, did I overkill?

[The Messiah]

It's overkill & the only game I know that supports 7.1 is MGS 4.

Get a 1080p LCD & PS3. ;)

[The_Canadian]

7.1 is better, but hardly anything uses it right now.

But the real question is, why do you even want to have surround sound and a 720p TV in a small bedroom? Speakers from your 480i tube should be just fine in a small room.

[mesaywee3]

7.1 is better, but hardly anything uses it right now.

But the real question is, why do you even want to have surround sound and a 720p TV in a small bedroom? Speakers from your 480i tube should be just fine in a small room.

Surround sound niggah, two speakers wont scare the shit out of me while playing Dead space or Gears 2. And there isn't much of a difference between 720P and 1080P, but when I move out I will be upgrading to 50 inch 1080P.

And yeah I kind of figured 7.1 was a bit overkill but at least im set for the future.... and one more question, movies are 7.1 now right? Like when Dark knight comes out on DVD that should be a 7.1..... right?

[Lividum]

Recent DVDs seem to have 5.1 support sporadically. Something big like Dark Knight will have 5.1, but I really doubt it will have 7.1. Never seen that on any DVD. Blu-Ray might be another story.

[mesaywee3]

Recent DVDs seem to have 5.1 support sporadically. Something big like Dark Knight will have 5.1, but I really doubt it will have 7.1. Never seen that on any DVD. Blu-Ray might be another story.

Yeah i'm thinking ill have to pick up a bluray player as well. How long do you guys think before they will start phasing in 7.1 for games and movies?

[Lividum]

A couple years if it catches on, but 5.1 does surround sound well for a lower cost, so I don't really know if 7.1 will have a point. It probably only marginally improves surround quality (that is, if you play media with 7.1 channels). It's up to the filmmakers/game producers to record in 7.1, and the majority don't. Until they do, 7.1's going to be kind of excessive.

edit: Lionsgate releases its movies in 7.1. That's about it, I think. Don't know about games though.

[Thomson]

slight overkill there mate, a speaker system that big will sound pretty bad in a small room. it isn't designed for small rooms. plus Xbox doesn't support 7.1 anyway. you would of been better getting a $300 mid range system that is designed for rooms like yours. plus it would sound 10x better. these systems can easily do 200w which is more than enough for a small room.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/index.php? go to these forums and have a browse in the Audio theory section and see if you can get the best out of your system.

apart from that it looks like a awesome purchase. i have a Samsung Home theatre and let me tell you guys, a proper surround sound system makes your gaming experience 100x better.

EDIT:http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/index.php? this thread specifically will show you how to configure your system best and maybe how best to position your system

[mesaywee3]

Thanks for the great advice Thompson.

I'm having a tech guy stop by my place tomorrow and if he does say that its to big of a system for my room ill probably move it to my basement. Hopefully he will be able to calibrate the dirty bastard to my room.

I got the sound working, with the three front speakers, the two side speakers and the subwoofer going, the only two which wont work on the 360 is the two back ones. So I guess I got the thing fully working.

[Thomson]

so you gunna have 3 up front and 2 behind then? i suppose the other 2 can act as spares incase you break one.

if you have Battlefield Bad Company then crank that bad boy up and play mulitiplayer. BF is by far the best sounding game on the Xbox, the explosions are so basey. also, Burnout Paradise sounds pretty good. you should also re-watch Lord Of The Rings again.

[The Messiah]

Getting chainsawed with surround on GoW still gives me heart attacks.

[mesaywee3]

so you gunna have 3 up front and 2 behind then? i suppose the other 2 can act as spares incase you break one.

if you have Battlefield Bad Company then crank that bad boy up and play mulitiplayer. BF is by far the best sounding game on the Xbox, the explosions are so basey. also, Burnout Paradise sounds pretty good. you should also re-watch Lord Of The Rings again.

I was able to get all the speakers working, the 3 front 2 side and 2 backs, all still 5.1. The guy that came over set it all up for me.

And yeah holy shit battle field is insane, it has brought a whole new life to the game.

I will take your advice and watch lord of the rings again, I popped in Pearl Harbour and it blew me away.