HI, I dissagre a little with CLdavis. The EX is basicly Dolby Pro-Logic in the rear channels. THX EX is not a sound or surround DSP. Therefore THX EX doesn't collapse the EX speakers or those of the surrounds. You can here EX active FULL TIME on some new electronics. I happen to have one myself. I DO NOT need to have a EX encoded DVD to get the EX channel to work. Trust me it worked just great when I played Harrison Ford in :AirForce One" My EX channel was very much alive and kicking. It will help when more movies are recorded in 6.1. But I can still enjoy non-EX movies in THX EX. Now there's DTS ES to think about. And guess what you can't decode it with EX technology. There's a kick in the pants HUH! You should know that EX is not a discrete channel. It is a matrixed from the rears. I have two pairs of surrounds and 1 pair of EX rear speakers. Circle Surround is like BOSE-LOGIC it's not licenced by Dolby Labs, THX or DTS. It's thier own version of how it should sound. It seems to do a good job for those who own one. Personally if I were you, I would wait until DTS ES bears it's head and see where things go. Otherwise get EX gear wit an external 7 channel input and add the DTS ES later. I have a little more expendable income that some and have to have the latest and greatest. I have changed my system twice this year. If you want to talk more E-mail me. Good luck to you. Heath- HDebernard@aol.com
