5.1 Surround Sound

[Pip Madeley]

I treated myself to a home cinema system (5.1 surround) yesterday for twenty-five notes, and I really don't know why I waited seven years to get one! It's amazing! I've tested out a couple of DVDs - 'Dr Who: The Leisure Hive' and 'Genesis: The Way We Walk' and I'm made up!

Has anyone else got a 5.1 surround setup? If so, what are your best experiences with it, with which DVDs? Do you always watch your DVDs with the 5.1 surround on?

I must say, I'm looking forward to 'Survival' much more now.

[Perry Vale]

I bought a system about 3 years ago, but unfortunately where I'm currently living, I'm unable to have it set up.

But I totally agree, when you first hear it you have to go 'wow!'. The Five Doctors is a good one, especially the THX ad/intro (which scares the sh*t out of you if you're not ready for it).

It's very good with music too, if you're a Bjork fan, the Vespertine stuff sounds incredible. Enjoyed listening to the REM cds too, you hear little bits that you've never noticed before.

Don't upset your neighbours though Pip.

[Stephen Morgan]

I love my surround sound, I've had a Sony system for about six years.
The Lord of the Rings DVDs are good, I usually choose the DTS soundtrack on films like that, although there is only a subtle difference between that and 5.1. I was watching the Lord of the Rings a few Christmases back, Viv was out for the day and I cranked the volume up, I was in total oblivion to the rest of the world, and totally lost in the film when Viv walked in, coincidentally during a quiet part of a big battle scene, just as she opened the door and walked into the living room all hell let loose and the sound went whizzing around all the speakers, I thought she was going to jump out of her skin.
The Queen hits DVDs are good too, the surround mix of Bo Rap is excellent, with a really good balance in all the speakers, not bad for something originally recorded for just two channels.
As for the Who discs, well, it's only worth bothering to turn the system on for a surround mix, and Mark Ayers mixes really are excellent, he knows what he's about, I wish all Who could sound that good.
My DVD player plays SACD discs, which is always a bonus, and I have one or two such discs, Nick Drake, The Police, Pink Floyd, Queen, David Bowie and Elton John. Those discs are always a bit more expensive than a normal cd, but worth it for the great sound.
The sound on the Live Aid DVDs is good too, reading the booklet with the DVD it seems to have been a mammoth task to get the sound back together with bits of it lost and only parts of the Radio 1 soundtrack to go by. What they've actually done with the sound to give it a 5.1 mix is truly miraculous.