question on 5.1 and back surround speaker (1 Viewer)

[Eric_M]

If you have the back center speaker hooked up and you are in 5.1, do you still get sound out of that speaker or will you only get sound when in 6.1? I am wondering if it is really that important to have that back center speaker since there is very few films with that option.

 

[Alf S]

You will need a 6.1 receiver to hear a back center channel effect.

As far as being important, it's kind of up to the individual. I for one really like the added sense of being enveloped with sound when I use my new Pioneer 811 6.1 set-up. Some movies are more subtle than others when you mix to 6.1, but some are more aggressive and in some cases fun.

For example in the bloopers for Toy Story 2 you can hear the director in the back center giving direction etc.

Probably not a must have for everyone, but I for one enjoy it.

Alfer

 

[Eric_M]

Thanks for the reply but what I was wondering is assuming my reciever is 6.1, and I have the back center hooked up, will you get sound coming out of that back speaker even if it is a normal 5.1 DD film that doesn't support 6.1?

 

[ThomasL]

Eric, if your receiver has an option to put itself into 6.1 matrix mode then yes, it will create a back center channel matrixed from the two surround channels. Whether or not this sounds better than the original 5.1 is up to the listener. My impression is some movies sound better, others sound better in their original 5.1 format.

cheers,

--tom