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Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q How would I go about setting up multiple surround speakers in the same channel—two side left and two side right speakers, for example—as in a commercial movie theater? One more question: If I used a Y splitter and additional amplifiers to power the speakers, could I still employ Audyssey processing to calibrate the speakers? I am planning to build a home theater with two to three rows of seating. —William Lee / via e-mail

The Sci-Fi Channel (or whatever stupid name they’re calling it now. Siffy or something?) hasn’t had a show worth watching since Battlestar ended its run. Yes, I’m including the horribly squandered premise of Stargate Universe.

With intense hope and prayers to the FSM, that might change with The Expanse premiering in December.

Why am I writing about it now? It’s based on a series of books, and you’ll have time to read them (or some of them) before the show starts, if you want.

Here’s some details about the show and the books.

The Rolling Stones are at it again. The world’s greatest band has rolled out the big guns for its 15-date North American stadium run that’s been dubbed the ZIP CODE Tour, a 19-song walk, stomp ’n romp through a half-century of impeccably unimpeachable classics. That taut live set places an emphasis on digging deeper into cuts culled from the perpetually seminal 1971 album Sticky Fingers, which has just been given the Super Deluxe box-set treatment by Polydor/UMe. A club gig at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on May 20 saw The Stones rip that joint up 16 times, including their first stabs at Mississippi Fred McDowell’s “You Gotta Move” since 1976 and the dreamily soothing “Moonlight Mile” since 1999, both Sticky tracks having since made their way into regular rotation as part of the stadium set lists. (Longtime fans like yours truly feel The Stones should do intimate clubs gig like the Fonda outing more often, as it helps loosen up the vibe of songs that often become broader and less adventuresome in stadium settings.)

Most receivers have seven amp channels. I've just reviewed several of them in a row: the Onkyo TX-NR545, Pioneer VSX-1130, and Sony STR-DN1060. Our October issue will collect them in a roundup, with a review of the Denon AVR-X1200W following in November. All list for $600 and include Dolby Atmos height-enriched surround in a 5.1.2-channel configuration. That is a couple of height channels short of the 5.1.4 configuration Dolby Labs recommends for Atmos in the home. And that in turn prompts an uncomfortable question: Is the seven-channel receiver obsolete?