Discussion So I listened to 4.1 surround sound...

[nakedfrog]

I converted my 5.1 from my living room to a 4.1 stereo setup. I have the 4 bookshelf speakers stacked in pairs, running to the front/rear outputs on a Yamaha RX-V375 and I use "All Channel stereo" with the sub active, speakers set to "Large" and the sub crossed at 65hz.

Wouldn't that just be 2.1 anyway, since all four channels are in the front and producing the same audio?

 

[deadlyapp]

Wouldn't that just be 2.1 anyway, since all four channels are in the front and producing the same audio?

yep. There's lots wrong with his post.

 

[Fritzo]

My original Klipsch V400 computer sound system speakers used to be 4.1 many years ago. Sounded great, until they died.

Yeah, I had the Cambridge Soundworks 4.1 system. Still have the speakers...they were great for being so tiny.

Using a Logitech THX 5.1 system now that they don't sell anymore. If you can find a cheap Z-5300 setup on eBay, GET IT. Best sounding PC setup I've heard to this day.

 

[Raduque]

Wouldn't that just be 2.1 anyway, since all four channels are in the front and producing the same audio?

Technically, but I'm using the rear outs as mirrors of the fronts. Notice I didn't call it "surround".

So why did you remove the center channel?

Nowhere to put it on my desk.

yep. There's lots wrong with his post.

Such as...?

 

[Red Squirrel]

For a computer setup I can see 5.1 being really awkward. Like where do you put the centre? Dab smack in front of your monitor? And where do you put the back ones, hooked up to your chair? (I've seen this lol) I guess if you have a really square room where the PC is roughly in the middle you could set them up on the walls.

 

[Fritzo]

Technically, but I'm using the rear outs as mirrors of the fronts. Notice I didn't call it "surround".


Nowhere to put it on my desk.



Such as...?

There was a mixing standard called Quadraphonic in the late 70's that used 4.0/4.1 surround.

 

[Scarpozzi]

In the old days when surround sound was relatively new and the Internet wasn't full of fake markups, it was possible to get decent bargains....but that's mainly because electronics used to cost so much to begin with. Now the margins are much slimmer and prices have fallen to get decent surround sound systems for not a lot of money.

In 1999, I was on egghead.com, which used to run ebay style auctions of refurbished items. One of the things up for bid was a Kenwood Home Theater in a Box...$500 retail at Circuit City. I was able to snag this system for $169 as a refurb. I hooked that surround sound system up to my Pentium II PC and had a sweet 27" Princeton Graphics display (800X600 resolution)... I was jamming to some awesome Napster tunes in the dorms and watching DVDs and rips from my computer. It was a nice setup. 5.1 Surround sound was nice because the 8" subwoofer had its own 100watt amplifier.

With the large screen, I actually placed it on my dresser in my dorm room and ended up getting a wireless "Surfboard" keyboard that had a joystick-style mouse controller built-in. It allowed me to sit about 6-8 feet away on my bed instead of using the desk.

 

[GrumpyMan]

Ah yes, quadraphonic settings was actually an option on sound cards, worked well enough back at that time.

 

[Raduque]

For a computer setup I can see 5.1 being really awkward. Like where do you put the centre? Dab smack in front of your monitor? And where do you put the back ones, hooked up to your chair? (I've seen this lol) I guess if you have a really square room where the PC is roughly in the middle you could set them up on the walls.

Once I had an L shaped desk and setup a shelf on the right side of the desk. Had the rear channels on the shelf and the left arm of the L. The front was on a small shelf above my monitor. All the speakers were little cubes, like 3-4" square.