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Surround Sound Speakers

Surround sound speakers are really no different than standard speakers except that they will be connected to a receiver that incorporates a surround sound decoder. The surround sound decoder will accept a signal from your input device (things like DVD players, televisions, etc.) and decode it into a number of different signals for output to various strategically positioned speakers. Some of your surround sound speakers will be positioned up front, some behind, some to the left, and some to the right. In this way you're able to get a full media experience; you'll hear that Tyrannosaurus rex coming from behind, hear planes zooming towards and past you, etc. Surround sound is also great with video game consoles, which today do support this auditory extravaganza. I was playing Call of Duty 3 the other day (I know there's new CoD out, but there's just something nostalgically satisfying about killing Nazis...) and when suddenly Jerry jumped up from behind, I swear I screamed and flew out of my seat.

What to Know About Speakers

* The most important thing to know about speakers is that they are rated according to their maximum power output expressed in Watts (W). * Surround speakers range from small 30 W setups all the way up to earinfuriating 300 W setups. * Most commonly, a setup involving speakers in the 70 W to 120 W range is used in home theater surround systems. ** In order to realize your speakers' full potential you'll need to have a receiver capable of outputting enough power (expressed in Watts (W) ) to keep all your speakers operating near the top end of their range. ** So, if you have 5 speakers rated for 100 W each, you'll want at least a 500 W receiver, and probably a 600 W to allow for a bit of overflow. Subwoofers are another important, but optional, component of surround systems. * Subwoofers reproduce very low frequency sounds (such as the rumble of explosions) with greater fidelity than most speakers. * Tweeters are another optional component, most common in ceiling speaker setups. Tweeters reproduce very high frequency sounds (such as the whine of an airplane engine) with greater fidelity than most speakers.

Surround Sound Setups

There are, essentially, three types of surround sound setups used in home theater systems today. First, a word about how to read the technical aspects: * Surround systems are designated with two numbers separated by a period, of the format X.Y ** In this case the X represents the total number of speakers used in the setup. For X = 5 you'll have 5 speakers. ** Y will always be either 1 or 0 and represents the subwoofer output. *** Systems with Y = 1 incorporate a subwoofer output *** Systems with Y = 0 do not incorporate a subwoofer output *** The truth is, a subwoofer is not strictly necessary because the low frequency sounds are actually output to every speaker in the system and any speaker capable of reproducing that sound does so. *** A .1 system's only advantage is to have a dedicated subwoofer channel. *** In theory, a .0 system with great speakers can sound just as good as a .1 system with a good subwoofer. * 2.1 Surround Sound ** 2.1 is not a true surround system. ** It incorporates only two front (left and right) speakers and a subwoofer. * 5.1 Surround Sound ** Remember what you learned above? A 5.1 system incorporates three front speakers (center, left, right) and two back speakers (left and right), as well as a subwoofer. * 7.1 Surround Sound ** Incorporates all the elements of a 5.1 system, but also includes two more speakers: Left and Right Surround which are placed to the left and right sides of the listening position. * Commonly surround sound systems are sold as packaged wholes. You might buy a 5.1 system, that includes 5 speakers and a subwoofer, rather than individually purchase each speaker and the subwoofer.

Top Sellers

Here are some of the top selling surround sound speakers and speaker setups on the market today:

Related Guides

Here are some other wikis related to surround speakers: * Home Theater * Audio and Video Accessories Speaker Parts and Components * Audio Shelf Systems * AV Receivers * Digital Music Systems By User:LPNalini @timeAndDate(1273187391)

ShopWiki Search Links

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