Setting up multi-channel audio such as a home theater system has always been quite complex and manufacturers lately have developed unique products and technologies like wireless speaker kit products or virtual surround sound to help simplify this process. I will look at the newest trends to determine which products really work. I will also give some guidance for picking the perfect components.
Consequently setting up a home theater has become rather intricate and long speaker cable runs are normally undesirable for aesthetic reasons. Vendors have recently launched new devices and technologies. These products were designed to help simplify the installation of home theater kits.
Thus the setup of home theater systems has become a fairly complicated procedure. Many homes are not pre-wired for surround sound. Also, long speaker wires are often unattractive. Suppliers have lately introduced new products and technologies. These products were developed to help simplify the installation of home theater systems. One approach is reducing the quantity of loudspeakers by making virtual speakers. This approach applies signal processing to the sound and adds phase shifts and cues to the audio which would normally be sent by the remote speaker. The signal processing is engineered according to how the human hearing determines the location of a sound. The audio signal is then sent by the front loudspeakers. Due to the signal processing, the viewer is deceived into believing the audio is originating from virtual remote surround speakers.
The first approach is building so-called virtual speakers by applying signal-processing to the sound and introducing phase shifts and special cues to those audio components that would typically be sent by the remote loudspeakers. The audio is then broadcast by the front loudspeakers together with the front speaker audio components. The signal processing is modeled after the human hearing. It utilizes the information about how the human ear can determine the source of sound. The viewer is in effect deceived into assuming the sound is originating from a location other than the front speakers.
An additional method for simplifying home theater installations and avoiding long speaker wire runs is to use wireless surround sound products or wireless speakers. A wireless solution will typically include a transmitter component that connects to the TV or source and in addition wireless amplifiers that will be connected to the remote speakers. The transmitter will normally have amplified speaker inputs in addition to line-level inputs and come with a volume control to adjust it to the source audio level.
Whilst some wireless speaker devices come with a wireless amplifier that connects to two speakers, other devices offer separate wireless amplifiers for every loudspeaker. The most basic wireless products utilize FM transmission. FM transmission is susceptible to noise and audio degradation. More sophisticated products make use of digital audio transmission to completely preserve the original audio. In multi-channel audio kits, it is vital to pick a wireless option with a latency of only a few milliseconds. This will ensure that the sound of all speakers is in perfect sync. If the latency is larger than 10 ms then there will be an echo effect which will deteriorate the surround sound. Wireless kits frequently utilize the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. Some products also use the 5.8 GHz band. These devices have less competition from other wireless gadgets than products using the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
Another method, which is often called sound bars uses side-reflecting loudspeakers. The audio that would normally be broadcast by the remote speakers is instead broadcast 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 coming from besides or behind the viewer. This method works best in a square room with minimal interior design and obstacles. It will not work well in a lot of real-world scenarios with different room shapes however.
Consequently setting up a home theater has become rather intricate and long speaker cable runs are normally undesirable for aesthetic reasons. Vendors have recently launched new devices and technologies. These products were designed to help simplify the installation of home theater kits.
Thus the setup of home theater systems has become a fairly complicated procedure. Many homes are not pre-wired for surround sound. Also, long speaker wires are often unattractive. Suppliers have lately introduced new products and technologies. These products were developed to help simplify the installation of home theater systems. One approach is reducing the quantity of loudspeakers by making virtual speakers. This approach applies signal processing to the sound and adds phase shifts and cues to the audio which would normally be sent by the remote speaker. The signal processing is engineered according to how the human hearing determines the location of a sound. The audio signal is then sent by the front loudspeakers. Due to the signal processing, the viewer is deceived into believing the audio is originating from virtual remote surround speakers.
The first approach is building so-called virtual speakers by applying signal-processing to the sound and introducing phase shifts and special cues to those audio components that would typically be sent by the remote loudspeakers. The audio is then broadcast by the front loudspeakers together with the front speaker audio components. The signal processing is modeled after the human hearing. It utilizes the information about how the human ear can determine the source of sound. The viewer is in effect deceived into assuming the sound is originating from a location other than the front speakers.
An additional method for simplifying home theater installations and avoiding long speaker wire runs is to use wireless surround sound products or wireless speakers. A wireless solution will typically include a transmitter component that connects to the TV or source and in addition wireless amplifiers that will be connected to the remote speakers. The transmitter will normally have amplified speaker inputs in addition to line-level inputs and come with a volume control to adjust it to the source audio level.
Whilst some wireless speaker devices come with a wireless amplifier that connects to two speakers, other devices offer separate wireless amplifiers for every loudspeaker. The most basic wireless products utilize FM transmission. FM transmission is susceptible to noise and audio degradation. More sophisticated products make use of digital audio transmission to completely preserve the original audio. In multi-channel audio kits, it is vital to pick a wireless option with a latency of only a few milliseconds. This will ensure that the sound of all speakers is in perfect sync. If the latency is larger than 10 ms then there will be an echo effect which will deteriorate the surround sound. Wireless kits frequently utilize the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. Some products also use the 5.8 GHz band. These devices have less competition from other wireless gadgets than products using the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
Another method, which is often called sound bars uses side-reflecting loudspeakers. The audio that would normally be broadcast by the remote speakers is instead broadcast 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 coming from besides or behind the viewer. This method works best in a square room with minimal 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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