Question re 7.1 Audio

Forums › Home Theatre (incl HTPC) › Question re 7.1 Audio

katey

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

Topic # 11908 18-Feb-2007 00:48

Hi guys,

I was interested in purchasing a Panasonic SA-XR700GN-S 7.1 Dolby Digital receiver (see http://panasonic.co.nz/product-detail$product$755$.html) to connect all my A/V devices, and in anticipation of eventually buying a PS3 and playing Blu-Ray discs encoded with 7.1 audio. However, I can't seem to find a Panasonic 8 speaker setup to go with their 7.1 receiver - the speaker set they suggest pairing with the SA-XR700GN-S receiver is the SB-TP1000GNS (see http://panasonic.co.nz/product-detail$product$756$.html), but that only has 5 speakers. I definitely want 4 separate speakers at the front (centre/left & right/sub), 2 to the sides (left & right) and 2 at the rear (left-rear & left-right), and for all speakers (except the sub and centre speaker of course) to be wall-mountable tallboys.

Can anyone advise of any wall-mountable 7.1 tallboy speakers available for sale anywhere? The only 7.1 speakers I can find seem to be the small ones (e.g. Creative, Harmon Kardon) designed for PCs. I'd really appreciate any help anyone could give me.

Thanks a lot!
Kate.

wmoore

510 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 61142 18-Feb-2007 14:11

Hi

have you checked out brands like KEF, Mission, mirage etc...to see if they have a 7.1 set up. or why do you choose your own speakers
for 7.1.

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." -
-- Abraham lincoln

Nety

2584 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5

Mod Emeritus

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 61206 19-Feb-2007 12:53

Also keep in mind that 7.1 is not realy 7.1.. the two rear speakers are getting the same signal. So it is just 6.1 with the two rear speakers sharing the back signal.

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

stevenz

2782 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 120

Reply # 61229 19-Feb-2007 15:00

Pretty much the normal setup from what I understand for 7.1 is just a 5.1 with an extra 2 of the same speakers you're using the right R/L surrounds as the rear presence speakers, but in a wall-mountable form (most surrounds should have a wall-mounting option). You should be able to order any 5.1 setup you want and then just add the extra 2 separately. Unless you've got a _really_ well suited room, 7.1 is a bit of a waste of time over 5.1 IMHO. Besides, as wmoore says, you'd probably be best to consider other brands anyway who will probably have more readily accessible full 7.1 kits. Some of the low-end Energy or B&W stuff would probably suit your needs, and again, if a 7.1 kit isn't available, just make sure that the surrounds are wall-mountable and buy an extra 2 of them. The last 5.1 setup I bought was a low-end Infinity "primus" range, and the surrounds from that had optional mounting kits. Failing that, custom wall-mounts aren't too hard to come by.

Nety

2584 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5

Mod Emeritus

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 61240 19-Feb-2007 15:49

6.1 can be true 6.1 descrete but depends on the source.

DTS ES and Dolby Digital Surround EX

DTS is the only true 6.1 with Dolby it is matrixed.

However Dolby HD and DTS HD are true 7.1 but you need a decoder that supports them.

katey

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 61285 19-Feb-2007 23:19

Hi guys,

Thanks very much for all your replies. I'll look into getting a 5.1 tallboy wall-mount speaker setup, and find a couple more aesthetically matching speakers to go with it.

So will the Panasonic SA-XR700GN-S receiver (see http://panasonic.co.nz/product-detail$product$755$.html) properly decode and output 8 discrete channels of audio from a Blu-Ray disc encoded with 7.1 audio? Or will it merely output the same rear channels to both the side and rear speakers?

Thanks again,
Kate.

Nety

2584 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5

Mod Emeritus

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 61311 20-Feb-2007 10:52

It does support HD so yes it will do true 7.1.