Is 7.1 better than 5.1


My amp and processor can do 7.1 but I only have 5.1 set up at this time. Should I buy another pair of speakers?
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Yes, your processor will matrix and fill in the back two channels.

This reminds me of the purist two channel crowd. Break out and join the 7.1 crowd!!

KG
my biggest gripe about 5.1 is when there is some object (or talking person) moving from the front to the back by the side. with my long shoebox room, the object simply warped from the front to the back.

I suppose having an extra pair of speaker in between the front and the back will make the transition smoother. Is it worth it? I don't come across too many of that kind of scenes.
I shelved my 7.1 denon/paradigm setup for 5.1 cj/Dali arrangement and prefer the 5.1 due to quality of amp/speakers. I also rent lots of bluray from netflix and most are still 5.1 DTS (which sounds great)
Maybe with the improved bluray audio codecs its time to try 7.1 again.
This weekend I will try adding the studio 470 dipoles to the 5.1 mix, and then the studio 20s to see what happens. Only problem is the CJ amp is 5.1, may be a synchro issue with using the denon 5803 to power the surrounds. ?
One thing to try, would be to borrow a pair and hook them up and do a weekend of listening.

After having said that--I've set up hundreds of systems--many of which didn't have money as the mitigating factor.
The set up, in terms of how well it's done, is more important IMHO than 5/7.
The key to proper setup is listening, listening, listening.
You can, if limited by space, 'fib' to the processor to create additional space. Now, a little information is a dangerous thing.
But one system, I set up in a conference room for a recording studio. The goal was to make the sound, (this will really sound daunting, and it was) good all around the table--not centered for everyone, that's impossible, but the varying perspective that you'd have if located relative to the real position at the table, versus the center of the action.
This is a very complex answer, if you'd like to email me, or even talk about it, I can give you some good tips based on thousands of mistakes!! Most people, hobbyiests don't have time or inclination to become proficient at this.
Happy to help, and this is a terrific question.

Larry