You must have been out of town a while?? ___7.1 has been written about for a couple of years. Virtually any new piece has 7.1/,and all for a good reason. It is just more involving.___ Now, yes you need the room for the extra speakers___and yes, these processors/ receivers "matrix" the 7.1 from a 5.1 source. It just depends on your desire to have a more involving experience / or not!
