Rear Speakers Matter
When home theater began the goal was to elevate sound beyond standard left & right channel stereo. To get clear dialog a center channel was added. To get low frequency bass a subwoofer was added. To simulate sound coming from all around you rear speakers were added. With the addition of extra speakers and some sophisticated audio processing 5.1 surround sound was born.
The importance of rear speakers can not be overstated. Professional content creators who design sound for a living realize the importance of creating an immersive experience. They realize it is important that the soundscape surrounds the listener. While it’s true that surround sound was invented for the cinema it has really come a long way and is being used with great success in music creation as well as sporting events like football and even video games.
Are NFL games broadcast in surround sound?
Thanks to a contract between Fox and Dolby Laboratories, all the NFL games that Fox broadcasts will be encoded in Dolby Surround. According to one Reddit user: “Well, for the true home theater enthusiast audio is just as important as video. HD sports with out proper DD 5.1 just doesn’t cut it.” We totally agree.
Do video games support 5.1 surround sound?
Most games from years ago support surround sound. Of course it depends on the games you’re going to be playing. Fortunately, almost all current commercial video game titles support 5.1 surround sound.
What about surround sound for music?
Music streaming services now offer the option of listening in surround sound. Many classic albums were remixed in 5.1 surround sound beginning in the late 1990s. Now Apple Music, Amazon Music HD, Tidal, and others have recently introduced the ability to stream music in Dolby Atmos, a new format of surround sound that’s used in movie theaters to create an immersive listening experience. If you have the right equipment, sound will be sent toward you and above you, bouncing off your ceiling to create a more realistic 360-degree effect.
Beyond 5.1
Nowadays 5.1 speaker systems are considered the bare minimum for surround sound. Even better results can be achieved using more speakers and enhanced audio processing. 7.1 is becoming increasingly common as are 9.1 channel and 11.1 channel surround systems. Emerging audio formats like Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Auro-3D are also bringing immersive height effects into the home, creating more channels that extend to 5.1.2, 7.2.4, 11.4.6 and beyond.
Regardless of the number of speakers in a home audio system, the final goal is the same – precise localization of special effects, a spacious sound stage, seamless panning across all channels and three-dimensional imaging. This only occurs if the speaker channels are properly placed.
Speaker placement
In a 5-channel system, the side surround speakers should be located 90-110 degrees off-axis. For the best sense of spaciousness, the tweeter height should be about 2 feet above ear level.
In a 7.1 system, dedicated rear surround speakers are placed behind the primary seating position for enhanced rear panning effects. Place the rear surround speakers at 135-150 degrees off-axis, relative to the primary seating position. As with the side surround speakers, position the rear surround tweeters at least 2 feet above head level when seated.
Prewiring is key
As you can imagine, it’s harder to run speaker wires to surround sound locations once the walls are closed up. It can be done and the resulting sound experience is worth a little patch & paint hassle. High quality speaker wire is always recommended. For this installation we pulled Audioquest’s Rocket 33 solid core wire. According to Audioquest: “This Double Star-Quad Geometry “Rocket” cable does not look normal on the outside, and it is not at all normal on the inside. A sophisticated combination of extraordinary materials and extremely refined design allows the Rocket 33 cable to honor all types of music equally.”
Ready for an upgrade?
If the time has come to upgrade your speaker system, give Haas Entertainment a call: 310-641-4700
Above, a pair of James QX630 in-wall loudspeakers are shown being mounted into a custom-built wedge enclosure. The four, offset tweeters combined with precise directional placement provides exceptional, room-filling, sound. The loudspeaker’s high power handling and low distortion promises to deliver audiophile-quality.
To experience these speakers for yourself contact
Haas Entertainment Systems. 310-641-4700
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