This is the new ES system. It can be beneficial in filling in the rear area. There are several augmentations to this such as Lexicon's 7.1, which has 2 surrounds and 2 rear channels. However, right now there is very little software that I am familiar with that is native 6.1 or 7.1 channels. The rear channel(s) is derived from the other channels. The September/October issue of the Perfect Vision did a nice piece on disecting all of these new formats--it is confusing. For me, I'm sticking with 5.1 dolby digital and DTS until another format becomes a standard and not just a feature to differentiate a product in the market.
