[Marbles]

I

[Wayne1]

When I went to all VMPS speakers, I dropped back to 5.1 from 7.1.

I am using an older Lexicon DC-1 V 1.4.

Personally I don't miss the side channels.

With the VMPS, the resolution is just so much better than the AVincis I used to use

[bubba966]

7.1 can be pretty cool when something is mixed for it properly. But more often than not there's just nothing back there.

I've been running 7.2 for a couple of years now, and find it wasn't really worth the intentional effort for the most part. But then I watch something like Dog Soldiers and am pleasently surprised. And really applies for that particular movie. You ought to check it out.

I used to only run movies actually mixed for EX/ES decoding in EX/ES. But after a while I decided to run every 5.1 source in EX/ES even if it was mixed for it. You pay for the extra gear to run it, so you might as well. I haven't had a problem yet just leaving it set to EX decoding.

A couple of good EX/ES movies are

Fight Club
Star Wars Episode 1
LOTR
End of Days
Pitch Black
The World Is Not Enough

And though it's not an EX mixed movie, the previously mentioned Dog Soldiers decodes very well.

[Anonymous]

Hey, guys.  What's up?  Nice to see a new forum, hope it goes over well.  Hope this doesn't mean you've totally given up on HD, though:  wouldn't be the same without you guys.

Well, I actually haven't taken the 7.1 plunge yet, mostly because I can't afford another set of surrounds to match my current speakers, and also because my room isn't going to make it real easy to implement rears correctly.  Still, I do see the day coming when I'll give it a shot, especially once there's a bit more material out there to watch.

[Rob Babcock]

Hmmm...still getting the hang of this.  Last post didn't have my name.

[bubba966]

Rob,

Good to see you here. I certainly won't be giving up on HD. But it will be nice to be somewhere where things can actually get fixed.

I still reccommend to not go 7.1 "intentionally". Don't go out & buy a processor, amps, and speakers, cables, etc. just to run it as it's not worth it.

But I'd bet that Marbles already had the speakers. And I'd bet he had an amp or two already  lying around.

[JohnR]

Cool!

Say, what do you guys think, for those of us who only have 5.1 decoders , of having multiple surrounds but all driven from the same signal. Like having a speaker on side and one in the rear corner, to reduce localization.

JohnR

[bubba966]

Cool!

Say, what do you guys think, for those of us who only have 5.1 decoders , of having multiple surrounds but all driven from the same signal. Like having a speaker on side and one in the rear corner, to reduce localization.

JohnR

That's kinda what dipoles are for, aren't they?

But localization is good on occasion, if the source is mixed to be localized.

[Rob Babcock]

It'd cost me about $800 to get another set of surrounds, and right now if I had the money I'd probably spend it on a TV for my bedroom or maybe put it towards a new amp.  I've been wanting to ditch my pile of stereo amps and go to a five channel in my HT system.  Of course, I'm also contemplating checking out the new Outlaw Mono amps.  I know that would be going the opposite direction (been wanting to tame my ever growing heap of gear lest I be forced to buy another rack), but the M-200 is really got me interested.  I could then move one of the stereo amps to my second system and have a spare for sub projects, etc.

There's also my concern that I sorta hate to buy more speakers since eventually I'd like to upgrade the five I have.  Having to ditch all seven would just make it sting that much more.

Still, I imagine I'll go 7.1 eventually.

[John Bauder]

Would 7.1 really work in a small room?  My surrounds are only about 2 or 3 feet from the back wall now - so I my head.  Seems like the rears would be like headphones with that arrangement in a 7.1 system.

[John Casler]

I just received my B&K Ref 50 and went from a 5.1 setup to a 7.1 setup.

Marbles,

Glad you found a Pre/Pro you liked.

I use the Harman Kardon AVR8000 and 7.1 is great.  

As far as listening to almost everything in 7.1, the 8000 has Logic 7 which can "overlay" 5.1 sources (DVD movies) just like the Lexicon MC12 and MC1.

In fact it is about 85% of the MC1 in capabilties with 5 -  110wpc amps thrown in.

I have to say the sonic envelopment of 7.1 is quite incredible, but I have my speakers set up a little differently.

The front array is the VMPS line up of RM40 and LRC.

The sides are VMPS Tower IIs with DIPOLES sitting on top.  I do not run these "behind" the listening plane but dead on axis.  I also have them several feet out from the side walls so I don't have any major side wall interaction.

The rears are also monopoles with DIPOLES stacked on top and about 6 feet behind the sweet spot and 6 feet apart.

Generally I run both dipole and monopole at the same time.  

Only for Multi-channel music do I run the monopoles alone on the sides.

I have been in discussions with Brian about making a ribbon version of a "selectable pole" speaker.  That is a speaker that will have 3 poles and a toggle to select MONO, DI, or TRI pole.

If it ever reaches production, it certainly would solve a lot of problems in set up, since it would meet the requirements for not only THX, but also Dolby Digital, DTS, and all Multi-channel music software.

More will be done after the CES.

Regards,

John

VMPS LA CA USA