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● 5.1-Channel Surround Audio Systems
A high-quality multi-channel audio system surrounds the listener with realistically lifelike sounds from all directions. These systems are used to:
- Playback movie and surround TV soundtracks in a home theater (at a quality level exceeding commercial cinemas, we might add),
- Convincingly recreate the acoustic space of the room or hall in which music was recorded, or
- Create new musical experiences where the listener is at the center of the performance, with musicians all around.
The same fundamental principles of a stereo system also apply to a surround sound system, except that you need five or six channels of audio, rather than just two. Obviously a surround system can be quite a bit more expensive than a 2-channel stereo system of equivalent quality.
In
addition to the usual front left and right speakers, a
surround system adds a center front (or
"dialog") speaker, rear left and right
speakers, and usually a subwoofer. Space and budget
considerations aside, you would have five identical
speakers optimally positioned equidistant from the
preferred listening position.
When cost precludes five identical best-quality speakers, our recommendation depends upon your priorities:
- If you will listen to 2-channel stereo music on this system, and if this listening is most important to you, then invest in the best front left and right speakers, even if this means compromising elsewhere.
- If home theater or multi-channel audio listening is most important, then invest in a high-quality center speaker. Use identical speakers in the front and rear corners, even if this means compromising a bit on quality.
- If stereo and home theater listening are equally important, then invest in excellent front left and right speakers and an excellent center channel speaker. Compromise on the left and right rear speakers as necessary.
You may have heard recommendations to use special-purpose "bipole" speakers positioned at the sides of the room, rather than regular speakers positioned in the rear. With the advances in surround technology brought by Dolby Digital and DTS, we no longer favor bipole side/rear speakers.
A bit of history on bipole surround speakers: Commercial cinemas need to have adequate sound in every seat in the cinema. They space speakers about every eight feet or so around the sides and rear of the theater to create a uniform surround soundfield. This setup can create good environmental effects — the chatter of a cafe, or the echoes of a cave, or omnipresent boom of an explosion. They cannot, however, create localized effects — say of a plane passing smoothly overhead from right rear to front left. These limitations were carried over from Dolby Surround, the older two-channel matrixed surround format, and home theater dipole side speakers emulate the speaker array found in commercial cinemas.
In a home theater, however, the seating is usually confined to the center of the room. Sourced by a discrete digital format such as DVD or BluRay very realistic 360 degree effects can be created at the central listening position if directional surround speakers are placed in the rear corners. We only recommend bipole speakers in home theaters with extensive off-center seating. If you are unsure of which setup you prefer, we suggest that you visit our facility for a first-hand demonstration of what we can achieve.
In addition to 5.1 there are also 4.0, 4.1, 6.1, and 7.1 systems. A 4.0 system is two front and two rear speakers; a 4.1 system just adds a subwoofer to a 4.0 system. A 6.1 system adds a rear center speaker to a 5.1 array, whereas a 7.1 system adds 2 more side-rear surround speakers. You can even do an 8.4 system if you wish which would mean 8 full range audio channels and 4 subwoofer channels! Generally speaking most people are doing 5.1 systems these days, although some people are doing 7.1 systems instead. All things being equal 5.1 systems are of course less expensive than 7.1 systems.
2009 Update: Some BluRay discs now come with 7.1 soundtracks, so now there is more of a reason for installing 7.1 surround systems than before. Having said that, the percentage of discs being released today in 7.1 surround is still relatively small.
The acoustics of the room will also greatly affect the performance of the surround system. If you are custom building a room, we suggest that you consider acoustics when you choose the size of the room and the listening position. The primary listening position should usually not be located halfway back into the room as this position has anomalies that will interfere with the sound from the speakers.
As in a 2-channel stereo system, the electronics and cabling that you use with the speakers will greatly affect the system's overall performance. If you are listening to movies, the dynamic contrasts in the loud passages may dictate a somewhat larger amplifier than usual.
Instead of a preamplifier, a multi-channel audio system employs a surround-sound processor which:
- Controls which source you're listening to (CD, DVD, VCR, FM Radio, turntable, and so forth).
- Controls the sound levels and other electrical characteristics (delay, crossover point, etc.) of each channel.
- Performs the surround decoding (Dolby Digital, DTS, or others)
- Converts the digital signal to analog for output to the amplifiers and speakers,
- Converts analog inputs to digital for further processing.
Surround sound processors vary considerably in sound quality and capabilities. In addition to the sonic merits of the equipment, you may wish to consider ergonomics, as some processors are considerably easier to use than others.
If 2-channel stereo listening is very important to you, then you may wish to consider a separate high-performance stereo preamplifier. With the surround processor's left and right front channels connected to the preamplifier, the system reuses the front amplifiers and speakers for multi-channel use. With a high-performance CD player, turntable, music server or other source connected directly to the preamplifier, this type of system design bypasses all the surround equipment during stereo use. We have found that this configuration usually provides the highest possible quality stereo listening.
A good multi-channel system properly setup can accurately recreate the complex acoustic space of a music recording, and it can create stunning sonic effects for movies and surround music.