Surround Sound 101

Just Another Sales Pitch
Like many things in life, it is easy for us to dismiss surround sound as just another way for people to get more money out of us. While this train of thought is not completely unwarranted, it would be sad if surround sound was yet another offering we just stuff in that category and never look back.It actually all started in the 1940's with the Disney movie Fantasia. They wanted to make a bumblebee sound like it was flying through the theater. They weren't very successful at the time, but it birthed a new era of sound reproduction.
Just think about it for a moment. Have you ever been on a trip or experienced something extraordinary and wanted to share that experience with someone else? Have you ever tried to explain it to them and get them to be as excited about it as you are, but you seem to fall very short? They end up saying something like, "..Guess you had to have been there." Well, don't take it too personally. Sometimes we underestimate how important of a role our eyes and ears play when we experience things.
They're Everywhere!


What's With All the Numbers?
There are several flavors of surround sound. There is 2.1,3.1,5.1,6.2,7.1, etc. There's also several different surround sound technologies - Dolby Digital, DTS-HD™,THX Surround EX™, etc., but we won't get into them here. Basically, the fist number is how many full-range speakers you have, and the ".1" or ".2" indicates how many subwoofers (LFE's) you have (or need) on the system.What Should I Get?
Most newer DVD's are optimized for 5.1 surround sound. Many BluRay discs are also in 5.1, but the number of 7.1 movies are growing. A 7.1 optimized home theater system can play 5.1 movies with no problem, but you will not be able to take advantage of 7.1 surround sound unless your system is set up for that. If you are able to, go with 7.1. If you're on a budget, 5.1 will still sound nice. Remember, anything is better than trying to experience life-like sound from your TV's built-in speakers!We would love to help! Let us design a great system just for you!