Multi-channel audio has become mainstream and manufacturers have created many types of basic and more advanced technologies like wireless surround sound speakers, virtual surround sound to simplify the setup of home theater products. I will take a look at some of the products and technologies which have emerged and give some advice about selecting suitable components for a hassle-free installation. The majority of today's TVs will be set up as a multi-channel audio system. Whereas historically TVs would contain built-in stereo loudspeakers, today a number of external speakers are used to let the viewer experience surround sound. The most commonly used 5.1 surround sound format requires setting up a total of 6 speakers. These are one center speaker, two front side speakers, two rear speakers and a subwoofer. The newer 7.1 standard raises this number to 8 by adding two additional side speakers.
Most of modern TVs will be installed as a multi-channel audio system. Whereas traditionally TVs would contain built-in stereo speakers, these days a number of external loudspeakers are used to allow the viewer experience surround sound. The most commonly used 5.1 surround sound format requires installing a total of 6 loudspeakers. These are one center speaker, two front side speakers, two rear speakers and a subwoofer. The more recent 7.1 standard raises this number to 8 by adding two additional side speakers.
Therefore the setup of home theater kits has turn out to be a fairly complex process. Many homes are not pre-wired for surround sound. Also, long speaker cables are often unattractive. Manufacturers have lately launched new products and technologies. These devices were designed to help simplify the installation of home theater kits. The first approach is building so-called virtual speakers by applying signal-processing to the sound and introducing phase shifts and special cues to those audio components that would typically be sent by the remote loudspeakers. The sound is next sent by the front loudspeakers along with the front speaker sound components. The signal processing is modeled after the human hearing. It utilizes the information about how the human ear can determine the origin of sound. Because of the signal processing, the viewer is deceived into assuming the sound is coming from virtual remote surround speakers.
Virtual surround avoids the remote loudspeakers and simplifies the installation and also eliminates long speaker cord runs. Then again, it also has a downside. The form of each human's ear is somewhat dissimilar. For that reason everybody processes sound differently. Since the signal processing is based on a standard human ear model, virtual surround will not work equally well for everyone depending on how much the viewer differs from the standard model.
An alternative approach for simplifying home theater installations and eliminating long speaker wire runs is to utilize wireless surround sound products or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless solution will typically include a transmitter module that connects to the TV or source and wireless amplifiers that will be connected to the remote speakers. The transmitter will normally come with amplified speaker inputs and line-level inputs and come with a volume control to adjust it to the source audio level.
Some wireless speaker systems are designed to connect 2 loudspeakers per wireless amplifier. A better solution would come with a wireless amplifier for each remote loudspeaker to eliminate the cord runs between each of the 2 remote speakers. The most advanced wireless kits use digital transmission to eliminate signal degradation. Make certain that you choose a wireless system with a low audio latency, at most several milliseconds. This will make sure that the audio from all loudspeakers, including the non-wireless speakers, is in sync. Low latency is also vital for good sync with the video. Otherwise there will be a noticeable echo kind effect. Most wireless gadgets work in the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands. A number of products utilize the less crowded 5.8 GHz frequency band and consequently have less competition from other wireless devices.
A third technology employs side-reflecting speakers. This method is named sound bars. In this case the sound for the remote loudspeakers will be broadcast by separate loudspeakers positioned at the front at an angle and reflected by walls as to appear to be coming from besides or behind the viewer. The effect largely is determined by the shape of the room and interior design and not work well in a lot of real-world scenarios due to different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
Most of modern TVs will be installed as a multi-channel audio system. Whereas traditionally TVs would contain built-in stereo speakers, these days a number of external loudspeakers are used to allow the viewer experience surround sound. The most commonly used 5.1 surround sound format requires installing a total of 6 loudspeakers. These are one center speaker, two front side speakers, two rear speakers and a subwoofer. The more recent 7.1 standard raises this number to 8 by adding two additional side speakers.
Therefore the setup of home theater kits has turn out to be a fairly complex process. Many homes are not pre-wired for surround sound. Also, long speaker cables are often unattractive. Manufacturers have lately launched new products and technologies. These devices were designed to help simplify the installation of home theater kits. The first approach is building so-called virtual speakers by applying signal-processing to the sound and introducing phase shifts and special cues to those audio components that would typically be sent by the remote loudspeakers. The sound is next sent by the front loudspeakers along with the front speaker sound components. The signal processing is modeled after the human hearing. It utilizes the information about how the human ear can determine the origin of sound. Because of the signal processing, the viewer is deceived into assuming the sound is coming from virtual remote surround speakers.
Virtual surround avoids the remote loudspeakers and simplifies the installation and also eliminates long speaker cord runs. Then again, it also has a downside. The form of each human's ear is somewhat dissimilar. For that reason everybody processes sound differently. Since the signal processing is based on a standard human ear model, virtual surround will not work equally well for everyone depending on how much the viewer differs from the standard model.
An alternative approach for simplifying home theater installations and eliminating long speaker wire runs is to utilize wireless surround sound products or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless solution will typically include a transmitter module that connects to the TV or source and wireless amplifiers that will be connected to the remote speakers. The transmitter will normally come with amplified speaker inputs and line-level inputs and come with a volume control to adjust it to the source audio level.
Some wireless speaker systems are designed to connect 2 loudspeakers per wireless amplifier. A better solution would come with a wireless amplifier for each remote loudspeaker to eliminate the cord runs between each of the 2 remote speakers. The most advanced wireless kits use digital transmission to eliminate signal degradation. Make certain that you choose a wireless system with a low audio latency, at most several milliseconds. This will make sure that the audio from all loudspeakers, including the non-wireless speakers, is in sync. Low latency is also vital for good sync with the video. Otherwise there will be a noticeable echo kind effect. Most wireless gadgets work in the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands. A number of products utilize the less crowded 5.8 GHz frequency band and consequently have less competition from other wireless devices.
A third technology employs side-reflecting speakers. This method is named sound bars. In this case the sound for the remote loudspeakers will be broadcast by separate loudspeakers positioned at the front at an angle and reflected by walls as to appear to be coming from besides or behind the viewer. The effect largely is determined by the shape of the room and interior design and not work well in a lot of real-world scenarios due to different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
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