Whether or not you are an audio amateur or an experienced technophile, this draft is for you. Let’s take a minute or two to study the basics of surround sound, and the guidelines behind it. If you’re new to surround sound, this is going to help you to comprehend the idea. It’ll also refresh the memory of those already in the know. These are the fundamentals of sound.
Monophonic Sound
Monophonic sound is single channel and omnidirectional. Fundamentally, this implies that your audio is all filtered down into a flat single channel. All parts of the recording are mixed down into one source, thereby appearing to come from the same source regardless of where you are standing in the room. This is first available audio technology.
Stereophonic Sound
Stereophonic sound is reproduced through two channels and is considered to be significantly better than monophonic sound. You can distinguish stereophonic sound, because different sounds come from either speaker. This sort of sound gives one the sense of being there during the actual recording. The best example of this is listening to a recording of the symphony, where different band members are found in different parts of the room. The strings are over here, and the horns are over there.
Dolby Surround Sound
Surround sound was first pioneered by Dolby in the early 1970’s, and first used in flicks like Tommy and Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. The Dolby process encapsulates 4 channels of audio ; left, right, rear, and phantom center. The explanation for why it is called phantom center is because it is basically a mix of the left and right front channels. This gives the listener the impression of being surrounded by sound, hence the name surround sound.
Dolby surround sound has evolved considerably in recent years. Dolby 5.1 is by far the most common. Dolby 5.1 is similar to standard surround sound, nonetheless it is further broken down and processed into more distinct channels. Dolby 5.1 increases the range of sound by adding stereo rear sound as well as a dedicated subwoofer channel. This causes a far superior surround sound experience. You not only hear surround sound, but you feel it, too!
Technology is ever-changing, and the marketplace offers several options for surround sound products. This article isn’t complete by any means, and only is a primer on the basics. Check out your local electronics megastore for the newest technology.