Howdy All.
I have been just sitting back and reading for many months now....but finally decided to start posting again.

So, I have my HK7300 with 2xM80, 1 VP150, EP500, and 4xqs8. I use it for HT and sometimes music. However, my question is....most movies are DD or DTS and only utilize 5.1. So what is the 7.1 hype about. I always manually have to turn DD EX (or is it DD ES?) on or use the HK 7.1 VMAX settings to get 7.1.

Are they ever going to decode movies in DD ES (or ex)?

-Tarun

There actually are some movies done in 6.1, hence the DTS ES and DD EX designations. Anyway, I'm sure at some point movies will be done in discrete 7.1, for now I use PLIIx modes on my Denon.

Thanks for clearing up my terminology.

I think thats what I mean...only some movies dome out with the 6.1 to start with. So we basically have to count on our receiver to do the work if we want to enjoy 7.1.

Anyone have any tips, suggestions, and or movies they would recommend for 7.1 enjoyment?

Anything in DTS 6.1 would be good, Gladiator is one I think of off the bat, or any superbit DVD.

Superbits are not done in 6.1, they are regular 5.1.

The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars movies offer some good 6.1 sound. I also hear that the recent release "Domino" is pretty impressive as well.

I stand corrected on the superbit, LOTR is done in 6.1 on the extended version. I just saw Domino and enjoyed it.

The Alamo was 7.1 IIRC

In a bigger room (like mine) I like having the extra two speakers to fill in a little more between the normal side surrounds. Its not revolutionary, but it is evolutionary IMO.

That's a good point, particularly if you are only using direct radiating speakers.

Tarun, yes, we certainly do have to rely on our receivers for 7.1, since there is no 7.1 source material, but that's part of what we paid for when we bought the receiver. Processing such as DPLII and Logic 7 takes the anbience naturally present(in varying degrees)in two channel material, extracts it from the front channels, and steers it to the surround speakers where it belongs. The latest DPLIIx and Logic 7 can also extract some of the material in the side surrounds of 5.1(or the occasional 6.1)movies and steer it to the back surrounds to give a better surround effect.

So, a 7.1 setup can be useful with all source materials if there're at least a few feet behind the listening position so that a back surround effect can be realized.

I have an HK 235. My side surround speakers are on the side walls and I have direct radiating speakers on the back walls. Even with QS8's on the side, I find myself changing everything to 7.1 because the rear speakers add so much depth and realism to the surround effect.

If one's surrounds are behind the listener (mine are actually about 1 to 2 feet in front of the main listening position), I don't think the 7.1 difference would be as noticable. I love the way 7.1 sounds, even with media encoded for 5.1 formats, but I think every setup will be a little different.

Like Pete D, the side speakers in my 7.1 setup are slightly ahead of the listening position. This helped fill the sound stage between my mains and surrounds, and this sounds to me more like a theater. I think the rear speakers help anchor the sounds behind you similar to how the center speaker anchors sound in the center. I really like the 7.1 setup because the sound staging stays fairly fixed even when you move to different places in the room. As JohnK points out, the PLIIx modes help anchor the rear sounds on the 5.1 sound tracks.

I second LOTR and Star Wars as great 6.1 movies.