5.1 speaker setup and Audio cd's?

[Kartikp]

Is there an improvement in sound quality if u have a 5.1 as opposed to a 2.1 speaker setup when playng audio cds or MP3s??

[PaulBoy]

IMO the answer is no - it does not improve the sound quality
All a 5.1 setup would do to a 2.1 is (if you are lucky) give you stereo from the rear seakers & the front speakers
My Denon amp does this and calls it 5 channel stereo
The Denon will also "tinker" with a 2 channel signal to give you various "effects" like DTS Neo which is supposed to imitate DTS
Some of these effects work better than others but IMO again if you just want to fill your room with sound(like at a party) these settings are OK otherwise stick with stereo
Hope that helps / make sense ... Paul :)

[TimJBart]

seeing as my front speakers are so much bigger and better than the surround ones i just change the signal to stereo when playing audio cds. I can't see the point in dispersing the sound to the smaller speakers myself...

[Neon]

I agree with both these posts! Sometimes one of the DSP effects makes it sound "better" (or at least different). Mostly, I just switch it stereo. I have very good fronts (and a sub, which helps too).