The procedure of setting up multi-channel audio speakers in home theater systems is relatively tedious and vendors have invented new products and technologies like wireless surround sound speakers or surround sound wireless headphones recently to help simplify the installation. I will look at the latest trends to determine which products really work. I will also give some advice for choosing the ideal components. The majority of today's TVs will be set up as a multi-channel audio system. As traditionally TVs would have built-in stereo loudspeakers, nowadays a number of external loudspeakers are used to let the viewer experience surround sound. As the traditional 5.1 format needs 6 speakers: a front center, two front side speakers, two rear speaker and a subwoofer, the more modern 7.1 format adds two additional side speakers.
Many of modern TVs will be set up as a multi-channel audio system. As traditionally TVs would contain built-in stereo loudspeakers, today a number of external loudspeakers are used to let the viewer experience surround sound. As the traditional 5.1 format needs 6 speakers: a front center, two front side speakers, two rear speaker and a subwoofer, the more modern 7.1 format adds two additional side speakers.
The first solution is known as virtual surround sound. This option will take the audio components which would typically be sent by the remote loudspeakers. It then applies signal processing to those components and inserts special cues and phase delays. Next these components are mixed with the front speaker sound. The sound is then sent by the front speakers along with the front speaker audio components. The signal processing is modeled after the human hearing. It uses the knowledge about how the human ear can determine the origin of sound. Due to the signal processing, the viewer is tricked into assuming the sound is coming from virtual remote surround speakers.
This technology reduces the number of needed speakers and avoids long speaker wires but every person will process sound somewhat differently because of the form of the ear. The signal processing is based on measurements which are done using a standard human ear model. If the form of the ear changes, sound will travel in a different way. As a result virtual surround will not function equally well for each person.
The advantage of this technology is that only a couple of speakers are needed and no long speaker cord has to be run all through the viewing environment. The drawback though is that each person will process audio in a different way because of the dissimilar form of each human ear. Since the signal processing is based on a standard human ear model, virtual surround will not function equally well for every person depending on how much the viewer differs from the standard model. An alternative solution for avoiding long speaker wire runs is to employ wireless surround sound devices or wireless speakers. A wireless product consists of a transmitter and one or several wireless amplifiers. The transmitter connects to the source. The wireless amplifiers connect to the remote speakers. Generally the transmitter part will include amplified loudspeaker inputs and line-level inputs. This provides flexibility to connect to any kind of source. A transmitter volume control helps maximize the dynamic range and eliminates clipping of the audio within the transmitter.
While some wireless speaker systems have a wireless amplifier that connects to two speakers, other devices offer individual wireless amplifiers for each loudspeaker. Entry-level wireless kits use FM broadcast or audio compression that will deteriorate the sound quality to some degree. More sophisticated wireless systems utilize uncompressed digital audio broadcast. In multi-channel audio devices, it is essential to choose a wireless solution with a latency of merely a few milliseconds. This will guarantee that the audio of all loudspeakers is in perfect sync. A high latency would lead to an echo effect. This effect would degrade the surround effect. Wireless kits frequently use the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. Some products also use the 5.8 GHz band. These products have less competition from other wireless gadgets than devices utilizing the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
Another method, which is often named sound bars uses side-reflecting speakers. The audio that would normally be broadcast by the remote speakers is instead broadcast by speakers at the front. These front loudspeakers broadcast the sound at an angle. Then the audio is reflected by the side and rear walls and appears to be originating from besides or behind the viewer. The result by and large is determined by the shape of the room and interior design and not function well in many real-world scenarios due to different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
Many of modern TVs will be set up as a multi-channel audio system. As traditionally TVs would contain built-in stereo loudspeakers, today a number of external loudspeakers are used to let the viewer experience surround sound. As the traditional 5.1 format needs 6 speakers: a front center, two front side speakers, two rear speaker and a subwoofer, the more modern 7.1 format adds two additional side speakers.
The first solution is known as virtual surround sound. This option will take the audio components which would typically be sent by the remote loudspeakers. It then applies signal processing to those components and inserts special cues and phase delays. Next these components are mixed with the front speaker sound. The sound is then sent by the front speakers along with the front speaker audio components. The signal processing is modeled after the human hearing. It uses the knowledge about how the human ear can determine the origin of sound. Due to the signal processing, the viewer is tricked into assuming the sound is coming from virtual remote surround speakers.
This technology reduces the number of needed speakers and avoids long speaker wires but every person will process sound somewhat differently because of the form of the ear. The signal processing is based on measurements which are done using a standard human ear model. If the form of the ear changes, sound will travel in a different way. As a result virtual surround will not function equally well for each person.
The advantage of this technology is that only a couple of speakers are needed and no long speaker cord has to be run all through the viewing environment. The drawback though is that each person will process audio in a different way because of the dissimilar form of each human ear. Since the signal processing is based on a standard human ear model, virtual surround will not function equally well for every person depending on how much the viewer differs from the standard model. An alternative solution for avoiding long speaker wire runs is to employ wireless surround sound devices or wireless speakers. A wireless product consists of a transmitter and one or several wireless amplifiers. The transmitter connects to the source. The wireless amplifiers connect to the remote speakers. Generally the transmitter part will include amplified loudspeaker inputs and line-level inputs. This provides flexibility to connect to any kind of source. A transmitter volume control helps maximize the dynamic range and eliminates clipping of the audio within the transmitter.
While some wireless speaker systems have a wireless amplifier that connects to two speakers, other devices offer individual wireless amplifiers for each loudspeaker. Entry-level wireless kits use FM broadcast or audio compression that will deteriorate the sound quality to some degree. More sophisticated wireless systems utilize uncompressed digital audio broadcast. In multi-channel audio devices, it is essential to choose a wireless solution with a latency of merely a few milliseconds. This will guarantee that the audio of all loudspeakers is in perfect sync. A high latency would lead to an echo effect. This effect would degrade the surround effect. Wireless kits frequently use the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. Some products also use the 5.8 GHz band. These products have less competition from other wireless gadgets than devices utilizing the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
Another method, which is often named sound bars uses side-reflecting speakers. The audio that would normally be broadcast by the remote speakers is instead broadcast by speakers at the front. These front loudspeakers broadcast the sound at an angle. Then the audio is reflected by the side and rear walls and appears to be originating from besides or behind the viewer. The result by and large is determined by the shape of the room and interior design and not function well in many real-world scenarios due to different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
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