I never see these setups at anyone’s house. I think people find the speakers ugly, as they’re normally towers behind you.
For those who don’t know, 5.1 is actually six speakers. Left, middle, right, back left, back right, and one sub woofer, normally positioned in the centre.
Doesn't have to be towers. They sell smaller rear speakers, or you can mount in-wall. I think the bigger challenge is having a room with enough depth behind the listening position to place those speakers. That's what always stopped me.
shareI've used it around 10 years. It only makes sense if you watch a lot of (action, fantasy or war-themed) media, for the additional sound effects from behind. So, it is a must have for a cinema room (where you would rather look for a 9.2 setup and beyond) but not really necessary for the usual living room.
It also depends on the front (left/right) speakers if you really need a subwoofer. I had a 5.0 setup by Nubert (an older setup of this serie: https://www.nubert.de/nuboxx-serie/1055/) with 2 stands as front speakers and the bass was more than enough.
By the way, if you really want a subwoofer it is recommended to use 2 subwoofers (DBA = double bass array) to avoid room resonances.
Yah, and I disagree with the OP that the subwoofer is typically placed in the center. That would be atypical. Much more common to see them off to the side. The lower the frequency, the less directional the sound, so a subwoofer is pretty omni-directional.
shareThere is a simply "trick" to place the sub: first place it directly on the listeners position in the room, then start a "test sound", crawl around and listen where it sounds "best" and then move the sub to this location.
shareInteresting.
shareI live in a studio apartment and don't have the room.
It's up to 13.2 and beyond now
google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=13.2+home+theater+setup
I have one, though I. haven't been able to take advantage of the subwoofer since I live in an apartment now. My brother has one as well, in his basement.
I have two polk floorstanding speakers. They look fine to me, on either side of the entertainment center. It's nice for gaming, since I can hear when things are behind me.
That's a good point, gaming.
shareI cut back to stereo years ago.
One day I may go with a bunch of speakers but I'm happy now.
I've had 5.1 and I'm up to 7.1. I haven't really used the subwoofer since my neighbor called the cops on me twenty years ago. I had the first X-Men movie going with all the explosions near the Statue of Liberty when the cops knocked on my door.
I like the Klipsch speakers and I have a Pioneer receiver. I've had my system for nine years and I'll keep it until it dies. A few people have told me that soundbars are comparable to the surround sound speaker setups without all the wires.
Yes, I have 5.1 in my house.
And because of the sub-woofer, my other speakers are not large at all.
They are quite small actually, but they are good quality Klipsch speakers which produce excellent sound.