The procedure of installing multi-channel audio speakers in home theater products is relatively tedious and suppliers have invented new products and technologies like wireless surround sound speakers or surround sound wireless headphones lately to help simplify the setup. I am going to look at some of the latest technologies that were designed to make setting up home theater systems a snap. I will highlight what to look out for when making your buying decision.
Traditionally, setting up a TV would be swift because they would already provide built-in stereo speakers. This, though, has all changed with multi-channel audio. Today external speakers are utilized to create a surround sound effect. As 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, home theater installations have become fairly complicated. Running wires to remote speakers also is often undesirable due to aesthetic reasons. Part manufacturers have designed several technologies to simplify the installation.
Virtual surround avoids the remote loudspeakers and simplifies the installation and also avoids long speaker wire runs. However, it also has a drawback. The shape of each human's ear is somewhat different. Consequently everybody processes sound in a different way. 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.
A different solution for avoiding long speaker cable runs is to make use of wireless surround sound products or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless kit 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 normally have line-level in addition to amplified speaker inputs. Ideally it should have a volume control to adjust it to the audio source.
A number of wireless speaker products are designed to connect 2 loudspeakers per wireless amplifier. A better option would provide a wireless amplifier for each remote speaker to avoid the cord runs between each of the 2 remote loudspeakers. The most sophisticated wireless systems utilize digital transmission to avoid signal degradation. In multi-channel audio systems, it is important to select a wireless solution with a latency of only several milliseconds. This will make certain that the audio of all loudspeakers 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. Some wireless products work at 5.8 GHz which offers the advantage of less competition from other wireless devices than systems utilizing the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band.
A third technology utilizes side-reflecting loudspeakers. This solution is named sound bars. The sound that would ordinarily be sent by the remote speakers is instead sent by loudspeakers at the front. These front speakers send the sound at an angle. Then the audio is reflected by the side and rear walls and appears to be originating from besides or behind the viewer. This approach works best in a square room with minimum interior design and obstacles. It will not work well in a lot of real-world scenarios with different room shapes however.
Traditionally, setting up a TV would be swift because they would already provide built-in stereo speakers. This, though, has all changed with multi-channel audio. Today external speakers are utilized to create a surround sound effect. As 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, home theater installations have become fairly complicated. Running wires to remote speakers also is often undesirable due to aesthetic reasons. Part manufacturers have designed several technologies to simplify the installation.
Virtual surround avoids the remote loudspeakers and simplifies the installation and also avoids long speaker wire runs. However, it also has a drawback. The shape of each human's ear is somewhat different. Consequently everybody processes sound in a different way. 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.
A different solution for avoiding long speaker cable runs is to make use of wireless surround sound products or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless kit 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 normally have line-level in addition to amplified speaker inputs. Ideally it should have a volume control to adjust it to the audio source.
A number of wireless speaker products are designed to connect 2 loudspeakers per wireless amplifier. A better option would provide a wireless amplifier for each remote speaker to avoid the cord runs between each of the 2 remote loudspeakers. The most sophisticated wireless systems utilize digital transmission to avoid signal degradation. In multi-channel audio systems, it is important to select a wireless solution with a latency of only several milliseconds. This will make certain that the audio of all loudspeakers 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. Some wireless products work at 5.8 GHz which offers the advantage of less competition from other wireless devices than systems utilizing the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band.
A third technology utilizes side-reflecting loudspeakers. This solution is named sound bars. The sound that would ordinarily be sent by the remote speakers is instead sent by loudspeakers at the front. These front speakers send the sound at an angle. Then the audio is reflected by the side and rear walls and appears to be originating from besides or behind the viewer. This approach works best in a square room with minimum interior design and obstacles. It will not work well in a lot of real-world scenarios with different room shapes however.
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