Society & Culture & Entertainment Music

What is Surround Sound?

Surround sound audio is, simply put, sound that completely encompasses you. This means a speaker in virtually every place of the room, projecting high-quality digital audio for a person from virtually all angles just as though you had been in the theatre.

Oh, but there's much more. It also would mean sound diversity, with the help of deep, thunderous bass rumbling the floorboards just as one explosion occurs on screen, not to mention subtle sound effects of skittering and tapping lurking behind you in an exceedingly exciting scene. For music, it's genuine envelopment inside the music you're listening to.

When it comes to nuts and bolts, it means a couple of speakers, typically 5 with the all-important "center speaker," and a subwoofer for robust bass sounds. Here is where the idea of "5.1" stems from -- five speakers along with a subwoofer. Here are explanations of the numerous portions of a surround audio system, in addition to meanings of the various systems them selves.

Elements of a Surround Audio Speaker System

• Subwoofer

A subwoofer is often a substantial, powered speaker specifically designed to produce bass tones as well as other low-frequency notes. A subwoofer uses air pressure to create a full, rumbling audio in order to fill up a room with bass noises. Subwoofers are generally placed on the ground in a corner of an area or auditorium for max effect throughout the entire venue. Any time you're inside a room or theatre with loud bass which makes the ground rumble amazingly beneath your toes, that's the actual subwoofer you're sensing. Over a PC surround audio system, a subwoofer helps create great bass tones if trying to play audio or possibly a especially interesting film.

• Center Speaker

The middle speaker inside a surround sound system is without a doubt generally regarded as the main speaker of all the speakers in the surround audio system. In most cases bigger, a lot more adaptable, and also containing more individual speaker cones than the several other satellite speakers, most of the "important sound" is actually routed by way of this speaker. In films, as an example, this simply means dialog as well as other crucial audio effects. High quality surround audio systems will show a center speaker that's not the same as the right and left satellites.

• Satellite Speakers

A satellite speaker is really a common term used for virtually any of the speakers intended to be placed on the right or left sides in the space. Within a normal 5.1 system, this means right and left front speakers and right and left rear speakers. That's an overall total of 4 speakers plus the center speaker, making five, and therefore the ".1" represents the subwoofer, that is the way the phrase "5.1" developed. So, 6.1 surround sound signifies six speakers along with still just one single subwoofer.

• Equilizer or Mixer

Normally, the equalizer or mixer will only be part of your personal computer (or audio receiver, for home theaters). Most computer systems have got built-in equalizers or mixers in their audio card output specifications, and most audio software, such as iTunes, also comes with its own mixer. On truly high-end systems, or even on systems which need a lots of electrical power, you may need a different equalizer as part of a powered amplification system.


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