I didn’t realize you gamed or I would have given a more detailed explanation of what is said about gaming. I’m specifically talking about when using 7.1 with traditional speaker placement meaning the surrounds at the side and not a few feet back (which sort of defeats the purpose of 7.1). It doesn’t effect the ambient sounds but then that’s not what’s gonna get you killed. It does really screw up the directional cues. Instead of a sound coming from behind you like it should it usually comes from of to one side or the other.
You can really notice this effect in a game like “Elder Scrolls Oblivion” when you turn your character around in a circle when standing near someone who is talking or near a big fire. The sound pans around until it gets to the back of one side and the gets softer until it jumps to the other side. However with 5.1 and the speakers a little farther back the rear pans are seamless, at least with the QS8s. It’s the phantom back effect John talked about.
Although it’s considered an audio no-no if you do experiment try the QS8s in the corners with a tweeter firing down each wall. The best rear soundstage I ever got was set up like this. The only drawback was some movies like “Master and Commander” got a little boomy when cannonballs were ripping through the ship. So I moved them forward just a bit and got a good compromise.
Once I get some dedicated 7.1 sources and especially if games start shipping in 7.1 I’ll revisit using rears but for now I like 5.1 better.
However, just remember like my avatar I’m an Oddball.
