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What is surround sound? how do you get it in your home cinema system?

Surround sound: In this article we briefly explain what surround sound is exactly and how you can equip your own home cinema system with it.
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A term that we often use in our news reports and articles with tips and advice is ‘surround sound’, but it is not clear to everyone what exactly is meant by this. In this article we briefly explain what surround sound is exactly and how you can equip your own home cinema system with it.

What is surround sound?

It is an English term that refers to sound that surrounds the user / viewer. Depending on the source material, the sound comes from all directions through speakers placed in the user’s room. As a listener and viewer you are, as it were, placed in the middle of a wide sound field and you get the feeling that you are in the middle of the action. The sound surrounds you.

What is surround sound and how do you get it in your home cinema system?

Surround formats

As indicated above, surround sound depends on the speakers you have in the room and the source material. The source material can be a DVD, Blu-ray disc or digital file and must be equipped with an audio track that contains multiple channels for multiple speakers to reproduce surround sound. The most famous surround audio formats are Dolby and DTS. The latest variants, which we often find on Blu-ray discs, are called Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio .

Receiver

To convert the surround sound from, for example, a Blu-ray disc to a signal that can be used by the connected speakers, a receiver / amplifier is required. This can be a stand-alone receiver, but also an all-in-one home cinema system can convert the audio tracks to a signal for the connected speakers. Read more about what an AV receiver is exactly and whether it is best to go for a 5.1-channel or a 7.1-channel receiver .

What is surround sound and how do you get it in your home cinema system?

Loudspeaker setup

In order to enjoy surround sound, you obviously need speakers that can reproduce this. These speakers are placed in different places in the room around the user, depending on the number of speakers used in the surround setup. The most common systems have five speakers and a subwoofer (5.1). Two speakers are placed in the front of the room for the stereo effect, one speaker is placed in the center in front of the TV for dialogue, and two speakers are placed in the back of the room for the surround effects. Combine these speakers and you have a surround sound experience. The image below shows a 7.1-channel system.

What is surround sound and how do you get it in your home cinema system?

These speakers can, as indicated above, be connected to a stand-alone receiver or are part of an all-in-one home cinema system. Read more about surround sound speaker setups and how to best place the speakers .