And for anyone that has played with the “Right-Left” toggle on their car stereo, you know the ears don’t appreciate unbalanced sound. If they don’t work in sync, the whole system will be out of balance. The easiest way to do this is to use the same products across the front.
You want to match the tone between the center channel and the surround speakers by matching the size and output of the drivers between the left, center, and right speakers. Neglecting the center-channel speaker can have a real effect on dialogue and lyric quality. The modern center-channel speaker is a key component to a real surround experience. Just like any consumer technology product, surround sound speakers improve drastically every few years in terms of reproduction of a cinematic experience. Some home theater systems are pieced together Frankenstein-style, with older technologies mixing with modern components. While it won’t work with every recording, using available processing technology is an easy way to get the most out of your music. Dolby and other processing technologies can pull out hidden ambient sounds from recordings are able to recreate a live session experience by sending them to your side or rear speakers. Logic7 is for owners of Harman/Kardon receivers or Lexicon preamps.Īlgorithms such as Dolby ProLogic IIx can take stereo, Dolby Surround, and other source materials and improve it to 7.1 channel surround sound. So how do you get that sound? A simple action can be to look at your AV receiver and choose one of the decoding algorithms, such as Dolby ProLogic IIx, dts Neo:6, or Logic7. However, music recordings deserve to be heard as they were intended, in rich sound that can uncover the many layers. Many listeners only associate true surround sound with the latest blockbuster. However, your setup is literally stereo, with two close together speakers. You say you love music and want that “in the concert hall” feeling. Switching to quadpolar surround can be an effective way to get that crisp ambient sound to all areas of the room. Doing so will increase the depth of the sound, and make the ears and mind feel they are truly “surrounded.”įor bigger rooms with a 7.1-channel setup, you can always get another pair of speakers for the rear wall. Are the surround speakers in your 5.1-channel system clustered back there? Consider moving speakers to the side walls, ideally above ear level by about two feet. Surround Sound Speakers Are Movable for a Reason Subwoofers are the foundation of any serious surround sound system. If you don’t have a subwoofer, you need to get one.
Modern DSP-powered subwoofers can produce deeper and deeper tones, which means a more engaging cinema sound experience. It’s important to not skimp on subwoofer quality. Generating the perfect sound takes a little effort now for big payoffs in enjoyment. Don’t have a preconceived notion of where the sub should go in a room for aesthetics or “that’s where everyone puts it” reasons. Unless you are looking to remodel, it’s easier to simply try different locations for the subwoofer. Bass notes are created by waves that peak in some areas of too much bass, and there are also nulls where sound cancels out and you can’t feel that thundering bass. Let the Subwoofer Out of the Corner – It’s Not in “Time Out”ĭon’t treat your subwoofer like a misbehaving 4-year-old and put it in the corner. Let’s look at 4 ways to enhance your sound experience: Take away desires to have the biggest brands and the perfect matching equipment set, close your eyes and actually listen to the sound. Proper equipment setup and tuning can go a long way in enhancing audio quality.
With advances in technology from Blu-ray to Dolby and DTS, and now Dolby Atmos and Auro 3D, consumers are increasingly able to reproduce a cinema-level experience without paying $12 movie ticket prices.Īs with many of high-tech components, surround sound speakers and audio systems aren’t necessarily about how much you spend. Duplicating the cinematic or concert sound experience at home is the pursuit of all buyers of home theater equipment, especially when it comes to the latest surround sound speakers.