7.1 + 2 extra side surrounds.

[delhite2]

hey
I'm in process of building a ht room from scratch i currently have the av gear mentioned in signature.

As it can be seen it is a 7.1 setup, the room size (corner of a basement) is 16'*25'*9.5' WxDxH it has just 1 entrance with no other windows or doors, it is surrounded be earth on three walls and rest of basement on the fourth wall.

I was going to have the room wired for speakers and was wondering if 7.1 + 2 extra side surrounds would be better than normal 7.1 i.e. i would power 2 additional surrounds with another amp which receives the side surround feed from AVRs pre-out. I have the amp but needed some suggestions for the speakers my budget being below 20k for the pair.

Comments Please.

 

[anm]

I hope you mean scratch and not scrap

 

[anm]

you should also consider height channels.

 

[anm]

and see if you would like to go for .2 or .4 system - which is 2 or 4 subs, as advised by many experts.

 

[sdurani]

was wondering if 7.1 + 2 extra side surrounds would be better than normal 7.1

"Better than normal" 7.1 at doing what? That is, what is the main reason you're considering extra side speakers (multiple rows of seating, very long room, etc)? Is there something specific you're hoping to accomplish with the extra speakers; put another way, is there something you feel is lacking about having one pair of surrounds at your sides?

 

[delhite2]

of course there will be two rows of seating and yes the room is plenty long at 25 feet.
they currently sit in a room 15 feet long, not that i feel anything lacking but i wanted to take the setup a step further.
@anm i'll indeed add another sub, just a matter of time.

 

[HTuser]

If you would like to go a step further, better to make a 11.2 system
You will have to upgrade your AVR

Add Front High + Front Wide and additional SW

DTS Neo:X mode can be considered

 

[delhite2]

If you would like to go a step further, better to make a 11.2 system
You will have to upgrade your AVR

Add Front High + Front Wide and additional SW

DTS Neo:X mode can be considered

not considering AVR upgrade in near future, but surely considering addition sub.

 

[sdurani]

there will be two rows of seating and yes the room is plenty long at 25 feet

In that case, it's not uncommon to use a pair of side speakers for each row of listeners, with a pair located in-line (directly to the side) of each row. To prevent problems with calibration (time alignment and level matching), you'll have to place the Audyssey mic in between both rows, so that it is equidistant from both pairs of sides.

As for speakers, there are a couple of options. Since you already have four RS-52 speakers, just buy another pair for consistent sound across the entire surround field. If that's over the budget, then move one pair of RS-52s to the sides and use more directional speakers (RB-51) for the rears.

 

[delhite2]

right on all accounts but one, i have 2 rs52s used as surrounds (side) and 2 rc52 used as rear surrounds, thanks anyways.

 

[sdurani]

Since you already have directional speakers for the rears, I would get another pair of RS-52s for the second set of sides. Using two different pairs of speakers for the sides is asking for inconsistencies as the sound is panned around the surround field.

 

[delhite2]

i am looking at something more reasonable,
how about some bipoles like Polk fxiA4 or say Synergy S-20 surrounds?
these can come at roughly half the price of RS52s.