I have 7.1 in a much smaller room. 6 x 4.5m but feel that given the right source material, it is worthwhile.

I use a G61R so the 7.1 starts life as 7.1 out of the Oppo, becomes 5.1 out of the HD621 then matrixes back to 7.1 in the G61R.

I was bothered about that thinking the 861 was the way to go to maintain the 7.1 end to end but the extra outlay didn't make sense to me.

Anyway, that aside I have experimented with 7.1 and with 5.1 sides only, rears only.

5.1 is sufficient for Trifield IMO and I prefer the sides in that case.

For movies it varies. With some mixes the extra channels are put to good use but generally it's of marginal benefit. So much so, that I removed a set of surrounds and employed them in another room over Christmas.

HOWEVER, when I got the latest Transformers Bluray (7.1 and ATMOS mixes) I immediately connected them back up in the cinema to enjoy the 7.1. Wow. Definitely notice the difference with that soundtrack (and a select few other Blurays).

I would design the cables into your chosen room, even if you're not convinced 7.1 is worth it and borrow a set of extra surrounds from your dealer to convince yourself in your own room. The worst case will be that you wasted a little money on some cables. Not a big issue I imagine, if you can afford DSP8000SEs.

For music, it's a very personal thing. After preferring Trifield for years, I've gone back to 2 channel!










Various from vintage to SE