Question Should I set the "multi speaker" setting on my Sony soundbar system set to "on" or "off"?

[Hobopotamus]

Hello,

I just bought a 5.1 soundbar system called "Sony HT-S20R".
One of the settings is called "multi speaker", and it is described as:

"You can set the output of the speakers of the system.
• [ON]: The sound is output from all the speakers, regardless of the number of audio channels for the playback source.
• [OFF]: The sound is output from the speakers that correspond to the audio channel for the playback source"

As I'm new to this whole home-cinema-thing, I'm not sure if there's some consensus about whether this setting should be set to "on" or "off" for the best experience.
I guess I'm also not completely sure what it means - especially when it's set to "off".

Can anyone enlighten me?

Best regards,
Hobopotamus

 

[hang-the-9]

I would use Off, the other way just sends the same signal to all the speakers so front audio will be coming out the rear speakers also when using stereo.

Or you can just try both and see what you think, it's not like your cats will run away from you if you select one or the other or your mother will call you nasty names. There is no harm in trying it yourself.