WiringTheatre room in the basement... Should I even bother with presence speakers?

[Mega-Prime]

I recently bought a Yamaha HTR 6090 &, previous to my purchase, was completely unaware of Presence speakers.

From what I understand, if you have presence speakers enabled, you need to sacrifice your rears? Is this true?

This weekend, I'm pulling speaker wire through the walls of my future Home Theatre room in the basement & am wondering if I should even bother passing cable for presence speakers if I may never even use them.


So, as Jerry Seinfeld might ask... "What's the deal with Presence Speakers?" :P

[gearyt]

as long as you are wiring...

5.1 + 2 is the yamaha thing.. you add two front speakers to throw a yamaha soundfield into the mix.. only Yamaha supports this ( that i have seen )

I just pulled my down, and went to a 7.1 system, which requires the speakers in the rear

But more is better than less in the wiring world

and the aux is not workable as the same amps are used, so either or

[victorvondoom88]

As far as wiring goes take your time and think about everything you might want to do before you wire.
Run wire for anything and everything you can possibly think of then run a few more just in case.

[d_rob1031]

Originally Posted by gearyt

as long as you are wiring...

5.1 + 2 is the yamaha thing.. you add two front speakers to throw a yamaha soundfield into the mix.. only Yamaha supports this ( that i have seen )

I just pulled my down, and went to a 7.1 system, which requires the speakers in the rear

But more is better than less in the wiring world

and the aux is not workable as the same amps are used, so either or

This is more true than you'll ever know. If there is anything that sucks more than wiring something once, its wiring the same thing again. Always wire in extra if you think you might ever add on and ALWAYS leave plenty of slack in any wire just in case you decide to move the speaker(s) anywhere.

[Mega-Prime]

Ok,

Are there any specific scenario where it would be better to have 5.1 + presence over 7.1? Like for example listening to music?

I just want to know if I should get 2 extra speakers to match my side/rears since I don't want to keep pulling off the presence speakers & switching them around.

[JamesN]

Originally Posted by Mega-Prime

I recently bought a Yamaha HTR 6090 &, previous to my purchase, was completely unaware of Presence speakers.

From what I understand, if you have presence speakers enabled, you need to sacrifice your rears? Is this true?

This weekend, I'm pulling speaker wire through the walls of my future Home Theatre room in the basement & am wondering if I should even bother passing cable for presence speakers if I may never even use them.


So, as Jerry Seinfeld might ask... "What's the deal with Presence Speakers?" :P

I have used various Yamaha receivers with their DSP technology for many years and have been quite pleased.

DSP lets you apply what Yamaha calls "Sound Fields" to source material that add subtle echoes and reverberations that mimic the acoustic environments of actual venues (jazz clubs, cathedrals, movie theaters, etc.) Additional speakers (presence speakers) are required to enjoy the full effect. It's not for everyone--some may find it gimmicky. I find that most of the fields are tastefully done and when properly matched to the source material provide an uncanny "you-are-there" experience.

I personally find that DSP is much more effective with music than with movies, especially acoustic music. But the movie-specific fields can be quite enjoyable as well.

You don't actually "sacrifice the rears". The presence speakers and rear surrounds can both be connected, but will not play simultaneously (except in Yamaha's top-of-the-line RX-Z11). The receiver automatically determines which set of speakers to employ based on the source material and the current sound field. So if you are playing a 6.1 or 7.1 soundtrack with a movie sound field, the receiver will automatically select the rear surrounds and the front presence speakers will be disabled. If you play a 5.1 soundtrack with no rear surround-encoded material, the receiver will select the presence speakers and the rear surrounds will be disabled.

In addition to adding acoustic ambience to the sound, the presence speakers also provide what Yamaha calls "Dialogue Lift". This effect raises the perceived height of the center channel, so if you have a large screen with the center channel located below it, it will make it seem as if the center channel sound is actually originating from the screen instead of below it. The relative "height" is adjustable from the receiver's menu for each sound field.

I would definitely recommend running the extra cable and taking advantage of the technology present in your receiver. Worst case scenario, if you don't like the results you can easily disable the effects and listen to the pure source material.

Hope this helps.

[Mega-Prime]

Originally Posted by JamesN

I have used various Yamaha receivers with their DSP technology for many years and have been quite pleased.

DSP lets you apply what Yamaha calls "Sound Fields" to source material that add subtle echoes and reverberations that mimic the acoustic environments of actual venues (jazz clubs, cathedrals, movie theaters, etc.) Additional speakers (presence speakers) are required to enjoy the full effect. It's not for everyone--some may find it gimmicky. I find that most of the fields are tastefully done and when properly matched to the source material provide an uncanny "you-are-there" experience.

I personally find that DSP is much more effective with music than with movies, especially acoustic music. But the movie-specific fields can be quite enjoyable as well.

You don't actually "sacrifice the rears". The presence speakers and rear surrounds can both be connected, but will not play simultaneously (except in Yamaha's top-of-the-line RX-Z11). The receiver automatically determines which set of speakers to employ based on the source material and the current sound field. So if you are playing a 6.1 or 7.1 soundtrack with a movie sound field, the receiver will automatically select the rear surrounds and the front presence speakers will be disabled. If you play a 5.1 soundtrack with no rear surround-encoded material, the receiver will select the presence speakers and the rear surrounds will be disabled.

In addition to adding acoustic ambience to the sound, the presence speakers also provide what Yamaha calls "Dialogue Lift". This effect raises the perceived height of the center channel, so if you have a large screen with the center channel located below it, it will make it seem as if the center channel sound is actually originating from the screen instead of below it. The relative "height" is adjustable from the receiver's menu for each sound field.

I would definitely recommend running the extra cable and taking advantage of the technology present in your receiver. Worst case scenario, if you don't like the results you can easily disable the effects and listen to the pure source material.

Hope this helps.

THANK YOU!!!

You really cleared things up.

After what you said about the dialogue lift, I'm sold.

I will be setting up a 140 - 150" screen for my projector & was actually worried about the center channel audio falling flat since it would be so close to the floor.