Are 4 surrounds really necessary? (1 Viewer)

[Jason Trich]

I have 4 surrounds but only a 5 channel amp, is it worth the upgrade to 7.1 receiver to utilize these extra speaks?

 

[Andrew Pratt]

depends on your room size. In smaller rooms it may not add that much bs regular 5.1 but in larger rooms or ones with multiple rows of seating 6.1 and 7.1 system can add quite a lot to the surround experience

 

[Joe Szott]

Just wondering, why do you have 4 surround speakers if you only have a 5 ch amp?

Help us understand your thinking/situation and we can give some advice.

 

[Jason Trich]

I aquired 2 extra IL10's for dirt cheap and I just bought a sharp xv z9000 with a 110" firehawk, my room is 24x19 soley dedicated to the theater, My wife would have a heart attach if I spent another 1500.00 on a receiver after spending 800.00 on the pioneer vsx 26tx 2 years ago, by the way this amp is 100x5 channel output. My fronts and centers are infinity preluse MTS with a velodyne pro sub, I just want some louder backfill.

 

[Rich Malloy]

I just want some louder backfill.

While I suppose a 7-channel amp would go louder, I don't think "loudness" is any reason to go 6.1/7.1. Simply increase the levels of your rear speakers if you're not getting sufficiently "loud" backfill.

What you should ask yourself is whether you're getting good imaging in the rear from your surround speakers, because it's the placement of sounds that's key here. Specifically, do sounds appear to come from directly behind you when appropriate? Do sounds that pan from rear right to rear left do so smoothly and without "leaping gaps" from one channel to another? If not, then you may have speaker placement problems, and some experimentation with placement (and height, as it effects dispersion) may be in order. On the other hand, your room may be such that you simply can't achieve sufficiently good imaging with only two surround speakers, in which case an extra pair of rear speakers and 6.1/7.1 processing might be the answer.

 

[Jason Trich]

I have the back turned up, But the effects are not very seemless when turned up too loud, I have tried multiple speaker configs and due to the size of the room I believe I could use the extra speaks. My main question was would the receiver/amp be over work with impedance if I hooked up all 4 surrounds to rear channels to dispurse the sound more, I realize that the same sound will be produced and the imaging won't be perfect but is it worth a try to get the sound to seem fuller. The front speaks are 16ft from rear and due to my sweet spot being 14ft from my screen I have a void on the transition from front to back, ANY cheap fixes would be appriciated......

 

[Rich Malloy]

That setup might help, but I do think the load on your amp is certainly of some concern. I was hoping someone else might chime in, but I'd definitely consult your owner's manual, or even the manufacturer directly. Perhaps your amp has a switch to change between 8-ohm and 4-ohm loads, as some do?

 

[Mark Amayao]

I feel regardless of how many speakers you have behind you the ex/es formats still rely on how well the dvd mix is done .... youd expect at least blockbuster action movies to take full advantage.

Blade II, Phantom Menace and even Seven were great examples of ex/es surround formats .... not just filler but well mixed filler ...

I was disappointed with Lord of the Rings .... but mainly I think cause I was expecting so much more .... It is an awesome 5.1 dvd though .... maybe the box set will remedy that ....