Hi everyone,

I currently have the qs8 as my sides. I'm considering running rears for 7.1 and wanted to know which speakers would be best. Is there an advantage to using the quadpolars as rears versus direct radiating?

Thanks!

Sorry if this is an old topic, but is there a significant advantage from upgrading from 5.1 to 7.1?

Alex, welcome. Yes, there can be a significant advantage in a 7.1 setup if there's enough room behind the listening position(say at least 4')for a rear sound field to be formed. The location of sounds which are supposed to be imaged in the back will be more precise than if the side surrounds are reproducing them. Keep in mind that although there's very little actual 7-channel material yet, processing such as DPLIIx can be used to expand 2 and 5 channel recordings so as to give all 7 speakers some useful work to do.

As to the QS8s vs M2s back there, opinions vary. Some want a more specific sense of location from direct radiating speakers, others enjoy the greater sense of spaciousness of the QSs even in back. If you have some old speakers that you can set up temporarily and switch them around with the QS8s on the sides and back it might help with your decision.

I think it is room dependent and, well, personal preference. Some here with smaller rooms haven't noticed much advantage. If you have a large room, 7.1 may sound better.

Oh, and I think with some of the newer HD sound formats, those mixed specifically for 7.1, don't get down-mixed to 5.1. So, you lose out on some information. Pity, really.

As stated, it very much depends on your room sized and height, how far your listening position is from where the 7.1 backs are mounted and personal preference added in to boot. Tell us the dimensions of your room, including ht. Where your possible locations are for your back speakers (ie back wall or ceiling, side wall is not a good choice for 7.1 backs). We can share what we have learned from others and heard ourselves. Then you blend in your personal choice ideas. Simple...

Hello everyone,

Thanks for all your comments and feedback. Are any of you running a 7.1 set and enjoying it?

My room dimesions area as follows:
23L x 11W x 9H

My viewing distance from the screen is about 14 feet and the rears will be about 6 to 7 feet behind me. My plan is to use FMS stands for the QS8's or place direct radiating speakers on a book shelf for the rears. My wife is too keen on ceiling or wall mounting things (unfortunately)!

Theater equipment as follows:
Samsung Ln52a550
Vandersteen vcc1 center
vandersteen 2ce sig fronts
Axiom qs8's sides
Lexicon mc-4 surround processor
parasound A52 5 channel amp
Velodyne Vx-10 sub (Just ordered a new SVS pc12-nsd to be replacing velodyne sub)
Also, waiting for the oppo bdp83 BD player to go public. Currently using an oppo dv-980H as my DVD/CD player.

Any further advice would be great!

By the way this is a great board!!