Multi-channel audio has become mainstream and vendors have created many types of basic and more advanced technologies such as 5.1 wireless surround sound kits, virtual surround sound to simplify the setup of home theater kits. I will take a look at some of the products and technologies which have emerged and give some advice about choosing suitable components for a hassle-free setup.
Historically, installing a TV would be quick because they would already have built-in stereo speakers. This, though, has all changed with multi-channel sound. Nowadays external speakers are utilized to create a surround sound effect. While 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.
As a result installing a home theater has become fairly complex and long speaker cable runs are often undesirable for aesthetic reasons. Vendors have recently introduced new devices and technologies. These products were designed to help simplify the setup of home theater products.
The first method is referred to as virtual surround sound. This option will take the audio components which would typically be sent by the remote loudspeakers. It then uses signal processing to those components and inserts special cues and phase delays. Next these components are mixed with the front speaker audio. Since the signal processing is based on how the human hearing detects the origin of audio, the sound components which underwent signal processing can be mixed with the front speaker components and broadcast by the front speakers. Due to the signal processing, the viewer is tricked into thinking the audio is originating from virtual remote surround speakers.
Virtual surround eliminates the remote loudspeakers and simplifies the setup and also avoids long speaker cord runs. On the other hand, it also has a downside. The form of each human's ear is a little dissimilar. Therefore everybody processes sound differently. The signal processing of these virtual surround systems is based on a standard model which was calculated with a standard ear. However, virtual surround will not work equally well for each human.
An alternative approach for eliminating long speaker cord runs is to use wireless surround sound kits or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless product includes a transmitter and one or several wireless amplifiers. The transmitter connects to the source. The wireless amplifiers connect to the remote loudspeakers. This transmitter will generally have line-level in addition to amplified speaker inputs. Ideally it should have a volume control to adjust it to the audio source.
A few wireless kits come with wireless amplifiers that connect to two loudspeakers. This still requires wire runs between the two loudspeakers. Other products offer separate wireless amplifiers for each loudspeaker. The most basic wireless devices employ FM broadcast. FM transmission is susceptible to noise and audio degradation. More sophisticated products utilize digital audio transmission to completely maintain the original audio. To ensure that all speakers are in sync in a multi-channel application, make certain that you select a wireless system that has an audio latency of a few milliseconds at most. A high latency would lead to an echo effect. This effect would degrade the surround effect. Many wireless devices work in the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands. Some products utilize the less crowded 5.8 GHz frequency band and therefore have less competition from other wireless products.
Another option are side-reflecting speakers. These types are also named sound bars. In this case the audio for the remote speakers will be broadcast by individual 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 result by and large is dependent upon the shape of the room and interior design and not function well in many real-world scenarios as a result of different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
Historically, installing a TV would be quick because they would already have built-in stereo speakers. This, though, has all changed with multi-channel sound. Nowadays external speakers are utilized to create a surround sound effect. While 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.
As a result installing a home theater has become fairly complex and long speaker cable runs are often undesirable for aesthetic reasons. Vendors have recently introduced new devices and technologies. These products were designed to help simplify the setup of home theater products.
The first method is referred to as virtual surround sound. This option will take the audio components which would typically be sent by the remote loudspeakers. It then uses signal processing to those components and inserts special cues and phase delays. Next these components are mixed with the front speaker audio. Since the signal processing is based on how the human hearing detects the origin of audio, the sound components which underwent signal processing can be mixed with the front speaker components and broadcast by the front speakers. Due to the signal processing, the viewer is tricked into thinking the audio is originating from virtual remote surround speakers.
Virtual surround eliminates the remote loudspeakers and simplifies the setup and also avoids long speaker cord runs. On the other hand, it also has a downside. The form of each human's ear is a little dissimilar. Therefore everybody processes sound differently. The signal processing of these virtual surround systems is based on a standard model which was calculated with a standard ear. However, virtual surround will not work equally well for each human.
An alternative approach for eliminating long speaker cord runs is to use wireless surround sound kits or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless product includes a transmitter and one or several wireless amplifiers. The transmitter connects to the source. The wireless amplifiers connect to the remote loudspeakers. This transmitter will generally have line-level in addition to amplified speaker inputs. Ideally it should have a volume control to adjust it to the audio source.
A few wireless kits come with wireless amplifiers that connect to two loudspeakers. This still requires wire runs between the two loudspeakers. Other products offer separate wireless amplifiers for each loudspeaker. The most basic wireless devices employ FM broadcast. FM transmission is susceptible to noise and audio degradation. More sophisticated products utilize digital audio transmission to completely maintain the original audio. To ensure that all speakers are in sync in a multi-channel application, make certain that you select a wireless system that has an audio latency of a few milliseconds at most. A high latency would lead to an echo effect. This effect would degrade the surround effect. Many wireless devices work in the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands. Some products utilize the less crowded 5.8 GHz frequency band and therefore have less competition from other wireless products.
Another option are side-reflecting speakers. These types are also named sound bars. In this case the audio for the remote speakers will be broadcast by individual 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 result by and large is dependent upon the shape of the room and interior design and not function well in many real-world scenarios as a result of different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
About the Author:
You can find additional details regarding wireless surround sound speaker models as well as other surround sound products at Amphony's web site.