Setting up multi-channel audio including a home theater system has always been relatively difficult and manufacturers lately have come up with unique products and technologies including wireless speaker kit products or virtual surround sound to help simplify this process. I am going to look at a number of of the latest technologies which were developed to make installing home theater systems a snap. I will illustrate what to look out for when making your buying decision.
Historically, installing a TV would be quick since they would already come with 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. In case of 5.1 surround, 6 speakers are used: center, left and right front, left and right rear and a subwoofer. Newer 7.1 systems need a total amount of 8 loudspeakers by adding 2 additional side speakers.
Thus the installation of home theater systems has become a fairly complicated procedure. A lot of houses are not pre-wired for surround sound. Also, long speaker wires are often unattractive. Part vendors have come up with a number of technologies to simplify the installation. The first approach is creating so-called virtual speakers by applying signal-processing to the audio and introducing phase shifts and special cues to those audio components that would usually be broadcast by the remote speakers. Because the signal processing is based on how the human hearing detects the origin of sound, the sound components which underwent signal processing can be mixed with the front speaker components and broadcast by the front loudspeakers. The viewer is in effect tricked into believing the audio is coming from a location other than the front speakers.
Virtual surround eliminates the remote speakers and simplifies the installation and also avoids long speaker wire runs. On the other hand, it also has a disadvantage. The form of each human's ear is slightly different. As a result everybody processes sound in a different way. Because the signal processing is based on a standard human ear model, virtual surround will not work equally well for each person dependant upon how much the viewer varies from the standard model.
Wireless surround sound devices are one more method for simplifying home speaker installations and normally include a transmitter module that connects to the source and wireless amplifiers that will connect to the remote speakers. Usually the transmitter part will have amplified loudspeaker inputs and line-level inputs. This provides flexibility to connect to each kind of source. A transmitter volume control helps take full advantage of the dynamic range and avoids clipping of the sound inside the transmitter.
While a few wireless speaker kits come with a wireless amplifier that connects to two speakers, other products offer individual wireless amplifiers for each loudspeaker. The most sophisticated wireless devices utilize digital transmission to eliminate signal degradation. In multi-channel audio products, it is important to select a wireless option with a latency of only several milliseconds. This will ensure that the audio of all speakers is in perfect sync. If the latency is higher than 10 ms then there will be an echo effect which will degrade the surround sound. Wireless kits frequently use the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. A few products also utilize the 5.8 GHz band. These products have less competition from other wireless products than products using the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
A third technology employs side-reflecting speakers. This option is known as sound bars. In this case the audio for the remote loudspeakers will be sent by separate speakers located at the front at an angle and reflected by walls as to seem to be coming from besides or behind the viewer. This option works best in a square room with minimum interior design and obstacles. It will not function well in a lot of real-world scenarios with different room shapes however.
Historically, installing a TV would be quick since they would already come with 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. In case of 5.1 surround, 6 speakers are used: center, left and right front, left and right rear and a subwoofer. Newer 7.1 systems need a total amount of 8 loudspeakers by adding 2 additional side speakers.
Thus the installation of home theater systems has become a fairly complicated procedure. A lot of houses are not pre-wired for surround sound. Also, long speaker wires are often unattractive. Part vendors have come up with a number of technologies to simplify the installation. The first approach is creating so-called virtual speakers by applying signal-processing to the audio and introducing phase shifts and special cues to those audio components that would usually be broadcast by the remote speakers. Because the signal processing is based on how the human hearing detects the origin of sound, the sound components which underwent signal processing can be mixed with the front speaker components and broadcast by the front loudspeakers. The viewer is in effect tricked into believing the audio is coming from a location other than the front speakers.
Virtual surround eliminates the remote speakers and simplifies the installation and also avoids long speaker wire runs. On the other hand, it also has a disadvantage. The form of each human's ear is slightly different. As a result everybody processes sound in a different way. Because the signal processing is based on a standard human ear model, virtual surround will not work equally well for each person dependant upon how much the viewer varies from the standard model.
Wireless surround sound devices are one more method for simplifying home speaker installations and normally include a transmitter module that connects to the source and wireless amplifiers that will connect to the remote speakers. Usually the transmitter part will have amplified loudspeaker inputs and line-level inputs. This provides flexibility to connect to each kind of source. A transmitter volume control helps take full advantage of the dynamic range and avoids clipping of the sound inside the transmitter.
While a few wireless speaker kits come with a wireless amplifier that connects to two speakers, other products offer individual wireless amplifiers for each loudspeaker. The most sophisticated wireless devices utilize digital transmission to eliminate signal degradation. In multi-channel audio products, it is important to select a wireless option with a latency of only several milliseconds. This will ensure that the audio of all speakers is in perfect sync. If the latency is higher than 10 ms then there will be an echo effect which will degrade the surround sound. Wireless kits frequently use the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. A few products also utilize the 5.8 GHz band. These products have less competition from other wireless products than products using the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
A third technology employs side-reflecting speakers. This option is known as sound bars. In this case the audio for the remote loudspeakers will be sent by separate speakers located at the front at an angle and reflected by walls as to seem to be coming from besides or behind the viewer. This option works best in a square room with minimum interior design and obstacles. It will not function well in a lot of real-world scenarios with different room shapes however.
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