Honest 836 Report post Posted November 19, 2010 Why Surround Sound is Good For You Because two speakers are too few Surround sound is a technology that isn't new to any of us. We have all experienced it while watching movies in a cinema hall. However, surround sound at home is still something many people are missing out on. There are three reasons for that. First is that many people don't see the point of having a surround sound set up at home. Second reason is that even if they want to have surround sound they hate having wires running around their house. And the third reason is the price. Surround sound speaker systems are an expensive luxury that few can afford. So today we will try to address all three issues. A lot of people don't see the point of having surround sound setup. For them it doesn't matter whether the audio is coming from around them or in front of them, whether it is multi-channel, stereo or even mono. As long as they can hear it, it is good enough. The quality does not matter. Some people cannot be convinced no matter what you do; they will never see your point. However, there are others who are in need of education as to how surround sound can improve their audio experience and a good old-fashioned demo. Here, we will take care of the latter. Here are three typical scenarios in your house where you would require audio and where surround sound can actually improve the experience. Watching Movies This one is a no-brainer. All the movies that we watch today have multi-channel audio and can only be properly experienced if you have a surround sound speaker system. Movie directors spend hours to get the right audio in a movie and positioning different sounds at different places in the audio field. By listening to that audio through just two speakers or even worse, through the speakers of a television set without a subwoofer is a criminal offense. If you are a movie buff then it is imperative that you must have a surround sound system. Surround sound for movies is something that should not be optional, it is the way to watch movies. Any other way is just a compromise. Music Almost all the music that is produced is in stereo and stereo fans would argue that two channels are more than enough to listen to music and that multichannel music is just a gimmick. However, having heard music in multichannel we can vouch for the fact that mutichannel music is no gimmick. While it is true that unlike movies, music does not always sound better in surround sound, certain tracks benefit immensely from the extra four speakers. It allows the composer to place certain instruments at certain points in the soundstage and thanks to the multiple speakers the soundstage is wider and more believable, and the feeling of 'being there' is much more pronounced. This feeling is especially heightened when listening to a recording of live music being played on a stage in front of an audience where the sound of the instruments comes from the front two speakers, the singers voice from the centre channel and the sound of the audience from the rear speakers. It's the closest you can come to actually being one of the audience in terms of experience. And the best part about surround sound speakers is that you can also listen to them in stereo, but you cannot do them the other way around. Gaming This is another area where surround sound can make a big difference. Most games these days rely heavily on positional audio. Knowing where your enemy is coming from is a matter of life and death. Simple two channel audio just cannot deliver proper positional audio and in gaming the more speakers you have the better the experience would be. Unlike movies and music where surround elevates the experience of listening to the audio, surround sound in gaming actually improves your performance by giving you better idea of the positions of your teammates and enemies. Gaming is another area where surround sound is a must have. TV Viewing Most of the audio we hear on our television sets today is monophonic, at least in India. However, companies like Dolby are working towards bringing surround sound to your regular TV shows as well. While at first this might seem like an overkill, just think about the possibilities. You are watching a cricket or football match and you have the sound of the crowd coming from all around you. Or you are watching a race and you can hear the sound of the cars around the room as the camera changes. Even if you are the kind of person who just watches news or soap operas on your TV, the audio quality will still be superior compared to what you would get from the TV speakers. As you can see, having a surround sound system can be beneficial in almost every scenario. In some cases it can greatly enhance your listening experience and in some cases it should be the only way you hear audio. So then why aren't people taking to surround sound the way they did to flat screen TVs? Like I mentioned before, one of the reasons why people don't want to have a surround sound system is because it adds to the clutter in the room. You have multiple speakers and their wiring to take care of. It is true that we are yet to have a truly wireless surround sound speaker systems, however, the wiring is a one time expense and after that you only have the benefits of the surround sound system to enjoy. You can also opt for the wireless systems that are available today, which aren't completely wireless, but have lesser wiring. As for the speakers, they can be fairly small and many are well-designed to go with the decor of any room. The last problem that we mentioned above is the price. A lot of people consider surround sound systems to be expensive. However, you will see the same people springing for expensive FullHD LCD TVs, regardless of the fact that they may just be watching cable TV on them. There is also a myth that only the expensive speaker systems sound good. While expensive systems would sound better that does not mean that you cannot get good audio with the cheaper systems. For example we recently reviewed two speaker systems from Logitech and Sony, which are priced around Rs. 5,000, and yet deliver very good audio quality. For someone on a budget these systems provide surprisingly good performance without putting a big hole in your pocket. As you can see, there are very few reasons why one should not consider a surround sound system for their home. The advantages of such a setup far outnumber the disadvantages. There is plenty of content available right now that has surround sound in it and there is plenty more to come. Trust us, you don't want to be stuck with just two speakers. The audio experience with surround sounds systems is vastly superior and this is coming from someone who has spent considerable amount of time with such setups. So do yourself a favor and invest in a good surround sound setup, especially if you are a movie buff or gamer. You will realize what you have been missing so far. Courtesy : Techtree Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anupe 14 Report post Posted November 19, 2010 Regarding music, the surround sound aspect will be beneficial only if you have audio tracks that have been mastered in DTS format, which is not very often seen in the market. I've only seen 2 Indian titles mastered in DTS released in all these years, both Tamil OSTs and they sounded mind blowing, but then again, only those DTS cds actually benefit having a well calibrated surround sound system. For the usual audio cds that are prevalent in the market, a good system (or audiophile quality if that's how you want to go about it as well) is what will give you the best aural expereince, as the title would have been mastered in stereo, and no surround sound circuitry is going to upscale that to a discernible quality on any low or high end surround system. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tanveer 59 Report post Posted November 19, 2010 If and when I have enough money, I will have two different Setups one stereo and another 7.1. Most experts however would always suggest you a stereo setup if your priority is music. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rajanmehta 4,056 Report post Posted November 19, 2010 Have seen most of the people playing downloaded 320 kbps mp3 on their home theater whether stereo or 5.1 surround. Hardly 2-3% buy original music cd containing may be one good song for rs 160 It makes no difference to them whether sound is better in Stereo or 5.1.!! Same thing for Original 5.1 DVD. Not many buyers and almost none for English movies ( Rs 500 upwards) Most people use downloaded files or DVD from Roadside vendors. Again 5.1 makes no difference to them. Still the same type of people will go ahead and buy good no. of costly home theaters in India. What a paradox!! Though situation is somewhat better now with large scale DVD Libraries like Big Flix. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
csmart 472 Report post Posted November 20, 2010 @rajanmehta in india, price always carries 99.99% weightage while quality 0.1... for us, anything is cheap will do. everybody wants big LCD and good music system, but at cost of peanut. and as a result settle for sub standard products. the cost of audio and DVD reduced only after Mosear baer come out with down to earth pricing.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
::Hitesh:: 1,763 Report post Posted November 20, 2010 For most of indian customers look for one time cost every one wants cheap options for repeating cost Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkdeep 6 Report post Posted November 21, 2010 Have seen most of the people playing downloaded 320 kbps mp3 on their home theater whether stereo or 5.1 surround. Hardly 2-3% buy original music cd containing may be one good song for160 It makes no difference to them whether sound is better in Stereo or 5.1.!! Same thing for Original 5.1 DVD. Not many buyers and almost none for English movies (500 upwards) Most people use downloaded files or DVD from Roadside vendors. Again 5.1 makes no difference to them. Still the same type of people will go ahead and buy good no. of costly home theaters in India. What a paradox!! Though situation is somewhat better now with large scale DVD Libraries like Big Flix. A very good article on the same topic. The Good Enough Revolution Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
