The process of setting up multi-channel audio speakers in home theater systems is quite tedious and suppliers have invented new products and technologies such as wireless surround sound speakers or surround sound wireless headphones recently to help simplify the setup. I am going to take a look at some of the newest technologies that were developed to make installing home theater systems a snap. I will highlight what to look out for when making your buying decision. While previously installing a TV has been quite straightforward, the emergence of multi-channel sound has made installing home theater systems much more complex by requiring a number of external speakers to create surround sound. The most commonly used 5.1 surround sound format requires installing 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 increases this number to 8 by adding two extra side speakers.
Historically, installing a TV would be swift because they would already have built-in stereo speakers. This, however, has all changed with multi-channel audio. These days external speakers are used to create a surround sound effect. 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 newer 7.1 standard raises this number to 8 by adding two additional side speakers.
One option is minimizing the quantity of speakers by creating virtual speakers. This approach applies signal processing to the sound and adds phase shifts and cues to the audio which would normally be sent through the remote speaker. The audio is next sent by the front speakers along with the front speaker sound components. The signal processing is modeled after the human hearing. It uses the knowledge about how the human ear can determine the source of sound. The signal processing has an effect that will deceive the listener into presuming that the sound is coming from an alternate location.
The advantage of this technology is that only a small number of loudspeakers are required and no long speaker cord has to be run all through the viewing environment. The disadvantage though is that each human will process audio in a different way as a result of the different form of every human ear. The signal processing of these virtual surround systems is based on a standard model which was measured with a standard ear. However, virtual surround will not work equally well for each human.
An additional approach for simplifying home theater installations and eliminating long speaker cord runs is to employ wireless surround sound products or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless solution will generally incorporate a transmitter component that connects to the TV or source and wireless amplifiers that will be connected to the remote loudspeakers. Normally the transmitter part will have amplified loudspeaker inputs and line-level inputs. This provides flexibility to connect to any type of source. A transmitter volume control helps maximize the dynamic range and avoids clipping of the sound within the transmitter.
Some wireless speaker systems are designed to connect 2 speakers per wireless amplifier. A better solution would come with a wireless amplifier for every remote loudspeaker to eliminate the cable runs between each of the 2 remote speakers. The most basic wireless products use FM transmission. FM transmission is prone to noise and sound distortion. More advanced systems utilize digital audio transmission to perfectly maintain the original audio. Be certain that you pick a wireless system with a low audio latency, at most a few milliseconds. This will make sure that the sound from all speakers, including the non-wireless speakers, is in sync. Low latency is also important for good sync with the video. A high latency would lead to an echo effect. This effect would degrade the surround effect. Wireless kits often utilize the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. A number of products also use the 5.8 GHz band. These devices have less competition from other wireless gadgets than devices utilizing the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
A third technology uses side-reflecting loudspeakers. This solution is referred to as 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 seem to be originating from besides or behind the viewer. The result by and large is dependent upon the shape of the room and interior design and not work well in many real-world scenarios resulting from different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
Historically, installing a TV would be swift because they would already have built-in stereo speakers. This, however, has all changed with multi-channel audio. These days external speakers are used to create a surround sound effect. 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 newer 7.1 standard raises this number to 8 by adding two additional side speakers.
One option is minimizing the quantity of speakers by creating virtual speakers. This approach applies signal processing to the sound and adds phase shifts and cues to the audio which would normally be sent through the remote speaker. The audio is next sent by the front speakers along with the front speaker sound components. The signal processing is modeled after the human hearing. It uses the knowledge about how the human ear can determine the source of sound. The signal processing has an effect that will deceive the listener into presuming that the sound is coming from an alternate location.
The advantage of this technology is that only a small number of loudspeakers are required and no long speaker cord has to be run all through the viewing environment. The disadvantage though is that each human will process audio in a different way as a result of the different form of every human ear. The signal processing of these virtual surround systems is based on a standard model which was measured with a standard ear. However, virtual surround will not work equally well for each human.
An additional approach for simplifying home theater installations and eliminating long speaker cord runs is to employ wireless surround sound products or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless solution will generally incorporate a transmitter component that connects to the TV or source and wireless amplifiers that will be connected to the remote loudspeakers. Normally the transmitter part will have amplified loudspeaker inputs and line-level inputs. This provides flexibility to connect to any type of source. A transmitter volume control helps maximize the dynamic range and avoids clipping of the sound within the transmitter.
Some wireless speaker systems are designed to connect 2 speakers per wireless amplifier. A better solution would come with a wireless amplifier for every remote loudspeaker to eliminate the cable runs between each of the 2 remote speakers. The most basic wireless products use FM transmission. FM transmission is prone to noise and sound distortion. More advanced systems utilize digital audio transmission to perfectly maintain the original audio. Be certain that you pick a wireless system with a low audio latency, at most a few milliseconds. This will make sure that the sound from all speakers, including the non-wireless speakers, is in sync. Low latency is also important for good sync with the video. A high latency would lead to an echo effect. This effect would degrade the surround effect. Wireless kits often utilize the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. A number of products also use the 5.8 GHz band. These devices have less competition from other wireless gadgets than devices utilizing the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
A third technology uses side-reflecting loudspeakers. This solution is referred to as 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 seem to be originating from besides or behind the viewer. The result by and large is dependent upon the shape of the room and interior design and not work well in many real-world scenarios resulting from different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
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