I have a question for those who have upgraded from 5.1 to 7.1 with a similar speaker setup: Axiom M80's front, VP150 center, and Qs8's rear. I currently have the M80's biamped using a Denon 3808. If I go to 7.1, I'll loose the bi-amping on the M80's, which I feel improved the sound quality. Would upgrading to 7.1 be worth loosing this feature, and would the sound be that much better? Thanks for anyone who could provide some input.
yes, because what your doing is not true biamping. Also, are your current Qs8's on the sides (where they should be for 5.1) or behind you? Many people use the term "rears" when describing the side surrounds which go to the left/right, not behind.
A couple things to consider are how big is your room and what do you watch.
I have a very large listening space and feel that the 7.1 is worth it, I'm not sure if it would be as beneficial in a small room. I also have several BD discs in 7.1 sound, so that's always fun.
I agree, what you are doing is called passive bi-amping and is not worth it (IMO, flame suit on). How much space do you have behind you? You need about as much space behind as in front to get much benefit from 7.1.
http://www.thx.com/home/setup/speakers/71.htmlhttp://www.thx.com/home/setup/speakers/dolby.htmlIn my room, I like having 7.1. It adds to the sound field or the envelopment. I have QS8's for both sides and rears. Later, I may try M22's for the backs....
I am running a 6.1 set up with a corner loaded configuration, the TV in the corner, a QS 8 above one couch and another on the far wall. This left a large gap between the 2 surrounds adding the center rear helped fill in this gap, so it was worth it for me.
Picc, welcome. Despite what you said that you "feel", not using the so-called "Bi-amping" feature would lose nothing, since it has the same power capability as the regular setup and can't increase power which is limited by the one main power supply section in the receiver.
As to whether the 7.1 speaker setup would be of benefit, the primary factor would be whether you have enough room behind your listening position(say at least 4')for a good rear soundfield to form.
You are probably right, the bi-amp feature on the new Denons are percieved vs actual improvement. What I gained here is although my large listening room is far from optimally setup, upgrading to 6.1 or 7.1 would help fill the large gaps. Thanks to everyone's input.