Opinions wanted

[Clive]

What would you consider the ideal room size and room configuration best suited for the following HT system setups 5.1 > 6.1 or 7.1 setup. What are the benefits?

[sirbogey]

5.1 is more than adequate for most room sizes. I've been using the 5.1 configuration for 5 years now and don't see any reason to switch to 6.1 nor 7.1 in the next decade. Unless you really live in a palace and got rows of seats and plenty of cash to burn. :lol:

[Shane Martin]

My room is nearly 3600 cubic feet so 7.1 works great for me. My rears and sides are spaced adequately. All I need now is a good 7.1 receiver

[heebee-jeebee]

my living room is very oddly shaped, almost like a hallway. the 5.1 sometimes seems like it is a little localized, like i can tell exactly where the speaker is. that may be due to the placement, but like i said, the room is very oddly shaped. 5.1 really is good enough i think.

for reference, my living room is 12 feet by 30 feet, with an additional 4 foot by 8 foot sitting area that houses a large couch.

[wildfire99]

I would always go with 7.1. It provides much better rear localization than 5.1. Play a good digital surround enabled game (like Halo 2) and try 5.1 vs 7.1. If the sound mixers can't produce a good surround mix, it's not the speaker layout at fault. I would never do 6.1 unless that #6 is a bipole, even then I'd be tempted to not do it. It's too easy to localize and you do occasionally get the "is it coming from in front or in back" if you're centered in the room.

As to room size... if the room is too small, the surround speakers get smaller, not fewer in number. I would take a 5.1 system with top-notch speakers over a 7.1 with "standard" grade stuff, though.

[Clive]

Good Point