The process of setting up multi-channel audio speakers in home theater products is relatively tedious and vendors have invented new products and technologies like wireless surround sound speakers or surround sound wireless headphones lately to help simplify the setup. I will look at the latest trends to understand which devices really work. I will also give some guidance for selecting the best components.
Historically, setting up a TV would be swift because they would already provide built-in stereo speakers. This, on the other hand, has all changed with multi-channel sound. Today external speakers are utilized to create a surround sound effect. 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 raises this number to 8 by adding two extra side speakers.
As a result the installation of home theater kits has turn out to be a relatively complex process. Numerous homes are not pre-wired for surround sound. Furthermore, long speaker wires are often unattractive. Suppliers have recently introduced new products and technologies. These devices were developed to help simplify the installation of home theater products. One option is minimizing the number of loudspeakers by creating virtual loudspeakers. This technique applies signal processing to the sound and adds phase shifts and cues to the audio which would ordinarily be broadcast through the remote loudspeaker. The signal processing is designed based on how the human hearing determines the location of a sound. The audio signal is then sent through the front speakers. Due to the signal processing, the viewer is deceived into thinking the sound is originating from virtual remote surround speakers.
Virtual surround eliminates the remote speakers and simplifies the installation and also eliminates long speaker cable runs. However, it also has a downside. The shape of each human's ear is slightly dissimilar. Thus everybody processes sound differently. The signal processing is based on measurements which are done using a standard human ear model. If the shape of the ear changes, sound will travel differently. For that reason virtual surround will not function equally well for everyone.
Another approach for avoiding long speaker cable runs is to utilize wireless surround sound devices or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless kit consists of a transmitter and one or a number of wireless amplifiers. The transmitter connects to the source. The wireless amplifiers connect to the remote loudspeakers. The transmitter will often come with amplified speaker inputs in addition to line-level inputs and come with a volume control to adjust it to the source audio level.
Some wireless speaker kits are designed to connect 2 speakers per wireless amplifier. A superior solution would provide a wireless amplifier for every remote speaker to get rid of the cable runs between each of the 2 remote speakers. The most sophisticated wireless devices employ digital transmission to eliminate signal degradation. In multi-channel audio products, it is essential to select a wireless solution with a latency of only several milliseconds. This will ensure that the sound of all loudspeakers is in perfect sync. Otherwise there will be a noticeable echo type 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 devices than devices utilizing the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
A third technology utilizes side-reflecting loudspeakers. This option is named sound bars. There are additional loudspeakers located at the front which broadcast the sound for the remote loudspeakers from the front at an angle. The sound is then reflected by walls and appears to be originating from besides or behind the viewer. The result largely depends on the shape of the room and interior design and not work well in a lot of real-world scenarios as a result of different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
Historically, setting up a TV would be swift because they would already provide built-in stereo speakers. This, on the other hand, has all changed with multi-channel sound. Today external speakers are utilized to create a surround sound effect. 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 raises this number to 8 by adding two extra side speakers.
As a result the installation of home theater kits has turn out to be a relatively complex process. Numerous homes are not pre-wired for surround sound. Furthermore, long speaker wires are often unattractive. Suppliers have recently introduced new products and technologies. These devices were developed to help simplify the installation of home theater products. One option is minimizing the number of loudspeakers by creating virtual loudspeakers. This technique applies signal processing to the sound and adds phase shifts and cues to the audio which would ordinarily be broadcast through the remote loudspeaker. The signal processing is designed based on how the human hearing determines the location of a sound. The audio signal is then sent through the front speakers. Due to the signal processing, the viewer is deceived into thinking the sound is originating from virtual remote surround speakers.
Virtual surround eliminates the remote speakers and simplifies the installation and also eliminates long speaker cable runs. However, it also has a downside. The shape of each human's ear is slightly dissimilar. Thus everybody processes sound differently. The signal processing is based on measurements which are done using a standard human ear model. If the shape of the ear changes, sound will travel differently. For that reason virtual surround will not function equally well for everyone.
Another approach for avoiding long speaker cable runs is to utilize wireless surround sound devices or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless kit consists of a transmitter and one or a number of wireless amplifiers. The transmitter connects to the source. The wireless amplifiers connect to the remote loudspeakers. The transmitter will often come with amplified speaker inputs in addition to line-level inputs and come with a volume control to adjust it to the source audio level.
Some wireless speaker kits are designed to connect 2 speakers per wireless amplifier. A superior solution would provide a wireless amplifier for every remote speaker to get rid of the cable runs between each of the 2 remote speakers. The most sophisticated wireless devices employ digital transmission to eliminate signal degradation. In multi-channel audio products, it is essential to select a wireless solution with a latency of only several milliseconds. This will ensure that the sound of all loudspeakers is in perfect sync. Otherwise there will be a noticeable echo type 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 devices than devices utilizing the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
A third technology utilizes side-reflecting loudspeakers. This option is named sound bars. There are additional loudspeakers located at the front which broadcast the sound for the remote loudspeakers from the front at an angle. The sound is then reflected by walls and appears to be originating from besides or behind the viewer. The result largely depends on the shape of the room and interior design and not work well in a lot of real-world scenarios as a result of different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
No comments:
Post a Comment