Surround Sound Question
 

Just 'built' my home theater with the 5.1 set up (4 surround , a center and a sub) - I have tested and each speaker appears to be calibrated correctly.

My only question is - when watching a high def 5.1 dolby program (like on one of the HD channels), very few times do I get any remarkeble sound from the 2 surround speakers as apposed to the center and 2 front. Some programs I do - MAXHD 'King Kong' for instance was great.

My assumption is that most programs just dont put much volume through the 'surround ' speakers - not a calibration setting.

Any thoughts out there? I primarily watch sports and it is 50/50 whether or not I get true 4 speaker sound impact.

Thanks.

A good place to start is a good calibration DVD. However, from an audio standpoint they often just duplicate the test tone found in most receivers.

Typically the surrounds are used for ambient sound and effects. One thing you can try is watching a movie scene in Dolby digital and then again in stereo...one thing you'll notice is that the room feels 'empty' with out the ambient sound.

There are also differences in receivers... getting a little out of my range here but some receivers have different wattage for different channels. However, if properly calibrated, that shouldn't matter.

Definitely start with the test tones on the receiver. Some receivers (I have a Yamaha that does this) have a microphone that you set in the seating area and it will perform the calculations for you - but I'm guessing you won't be that lucky. I'd suspect that a lot of your material is not going to come blasting out of the surround speakers. They are mostly used to give a feeling of "place" to things off screen. Also keep in mind that the placement for "rear" surrounds is not supposed to be much behind you. They are supposed to be to the left and right of the listener, and maybe very slightly behind (such as mounted on a wall to the left and right of a couch). Placing them several feet behind the listener is the result of a common misconception.

If you primarily watch broadcast sports - I'd suspect you would notice very very minimal surround effect. Unless they truly are pushing 5.1 through the HD signal for that particular program, you are generally talking about pro-logic matrix encoded sound there - so the effects will be less than 5.1 and the rear channels will not be discrete.

I like the surround especially during sports so I have deliberately cranked the volume on the surround channels especially the back. Watching football with surround is awesome because you can drop the center hannel and lose the announcers. You get all the ambiance and no talking heads. You do, however, get the sound effects and production music, and the commercials will get quite loud doing it like that. Bu tthe game rocks! The local football play by play guy is first rate (Jeff Joniak, WBBM-AM) so I like to put him in the center channel as I get a far better account formthe game form the radio guys.

--PP

Thats not a bad idea. I am going to try and augment the volume on the sorrounds and decrease on center channel and see if that helps 'put me in the stadium' a bit better. I actually was lucky enough to get a receiver (Sony) that had an auto-callibration microphone and went through that set up without error.
Maybe I am just being picky - but I thought I would really feel "sorrounded by sound" and it seams like it is just enhanced stereo.

My rear channel speakers are JBL control 5's and my front side speakers are JBL 4410's. They are all on Crown D75 amplifiers, so for me it was just a matter of cranking up the gain on the amps.

Most surround sound receivers will give you the ability to set the gain on each channel to compensate for the speaker being behind something, not evenly spaced, etc. If the center channel is set to 0dB, try setting the rear channels at +10dB and the side channels at +7dB. This will really give you the surround if its there. there's less audio information on the rear channels so they won't seen ten times as loud as the center channel (10dB increase).

I use the built in speakers in my monitor for the center channel so I can control the gain on those with the TV remote to make it convenient.

One other thing, the cheapest upgrade you can make to any sound system is to use heavy gauge speaker wire. Don't let a stereo store geek tell you that the $3.00 a foot (or worse!) Belden "monster cable" or its imitators is really necessary because it isn't. I use 12 gauge 2 conductor SO cord from Home Depot and it rocks.

--PP