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New Accessories Make Setting Up Multi-Channel Audio Products A Breeze

By: Gunter Fellbaum

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Multi-channel audio has become mainstream and manufacturers have created many types of basic and more advanced technologies like wireless surround speakers, virtual surround sound to simplify the setup of home theater kits. I will look at several of the most recent technologies which were developed to make installing home theater systems a breeze. I will illustrate what to look out for when making your buying decision.

Many of today’s TVs will be installed as a multi-channel audio system. Whereas traditionally TVs would come with built-in stereo speakers, these days a number of external speakers are used to allow the viewer experience surround sound. In case of 5.1 surround, 6 speakers are utilized: center, left and right front, left and right rear and a subwoofer. More recent 7.1 systems require a total amount of 8 loudspeakers by adding 2 additional side speakers.

Consequently the installation of home theater products has become a relatively difficult process. A lot of houses are not pre-wired for surround sound. Also, long speaker wires are often unattractive. Component manufacturers have designed various technologies to simplify the installation.

The first option is named virtual surround sound. This solution will take the audio components which would ordinarily be sent by the remote speakers. It then uses signal processing to those components and inserts special cues and phase delays. Next these components are mixed with the front speaker sound. The signal processing is engineered based on how the human hearing determines the location of a sound. The sound signal is then broadcast through the front speakers. Due to the signal processing, the viewer is tricked into assuming the sound is coming from virtual remote surround speakers.

The advantage of this technology is that only a few loudspeakers are required and no long speaker cable has to be run all through the viewing environment. The drawback however is that each person will process audio differently as a result of the different shape of every human ear. Since the signal processing is based on a standard human ear model, virtual surround will not function equally well for everyone dependant upon how much the viewer differs from the standard model.

Another method for simplifying home theater installations and eliminating long speaker cable runs is to use wireless surround sound products or wireless speakers. A wireless solution will usually include a transmitter component that connects to the TV or source and wireless amplifiers that will be connected to the remote speakers. The transmitter will normally have amplified speaker inputs and line-level inputs and have a volume control to adjust it to the source audio level.

A number of wireless speaker products are designed to connect 2 loudspeakers per wireless amplifier. A better option would provide a wireless amplifier for every remote speaker to avoid the cable runs between each of the 2 remote loudspeakers. The most advanced wireless devices employ digital transmission to avoid signal degradation. In multi-channel audio kits, it is essential to select a wireless solution with a latency of merely several milliseconds. This will ensure that the audio of all speakers is in perfect sync. A high latency would lead to an echo effect. This effect would degrade the surround effect. Wireless kits frequently utilize the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. A number of products also use the 5.8 GHz band. These devices have less competition from other wireless products than products using the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.

Another method, which is often referred to as sound bars utilizes side-reflecting loudspeakers. The audio that would ordinarily be sent by the remote loudspeakers is instead sent by loudspeakers at the front. These front loudspeakers broadcast 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 option works best in a square room with minimum interior design and obstacles. It will not function well in many real-world scenarios with diverse room shapes though.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

You can get additional details regarding wireless speaker kit products at Amphony's website.

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