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It was the summer of ’69. We’re not talking about Bryan Adams’ song here; we’re talking about the first time surround sound is available at home. It was called quadraphonic sound and gave the impression for the first time on a reel-to-reel tape. Unfortunately, the quadraphonic sound, which provided a discreet sound from 4 speakers placed in every corner of a room, was confusing and short-lived, not thanks to the corporations fighting for the formats (family sound?).
Immersion in a three-dimensional audio sphere, however, should not be abandoned. In 1982, Dolby Laboratories brought Dolby Surround, a generation that superseded an enveloping beep on a stereo source using a procedure called matrix coding. Since then, Dolby, SDR and others have helped improve the state of home surround sound with a variety of iterations. However, with so many options, the generation remains confusing for many. From fundamental 5.1 configurations to Dolby Atmos configurations with multiple aerial speakers, there’s a lot to understand. Our detailed consultant aims to provide some clarity to help you in your immersive sound search.
Surround sound, in its fundamental form, reaches a set of stereo front speakers (left and right) and a set of surround speakers, which are regularly placed on the sides and in a central listening position. The next step is to raise a center channel: a speaker placed between the left and right front speakers that is fundamentally guilty of replicating dialogues in movies. So we have five stakeholders involved. We’ll upload more speakers later (much more, actually), but for now, we can use this fundamental five-speaker configuration as a springboard to enter other formats.
For the purposes of this discussion, “matrix” has nothing to do with Keanu Reeves. In this case, matrix refers to encoding separate sound signals into a stereo source. This technique was the basis of early surround sound formats such as Dolthrough Surround and Dolthrough Pro Logic and motivated the component across the limited area for discrete data in early audio and video media, such as the VHS band.
Using the matrix process, Dolby’s Pro Logic Surround evolved to encode separate signals on the left and right main channels. Dolby allows the home audio devices to decode two additional media sound channels such as VHS tapes, which power the center channel and surround speakers into audio. Due to limited space, the enclosing signals had some limitations. The surround channels in Pro Logic fundamental were non-stereo and had limited bandwidth. This means that all the speakers played the same thing and that the sound did not include much data about bass or treble.
Do you remember LaserDisc? Although the media was first invented in 1978, it was not until 1983, that Pioneer Electronics bought a majority stake in technology, that it enjoyed good fortune in North America. One of the merits of LaserDisc (LD) is that it offers much more garage area than VHS bands. Dolthrough took credit for this and created AC-3, now better known as Dolthrough Digital. This format took a step forward in Pro-Logic in that it allowed stereo surround speakers that can only provide higher bandwidth sound. It also facilitated the addition of a low-frequency effect channel, adding the “.1” in 5.1, which is controlled through a subwoofer. All Dolthrough Digital 5.1 data is discrete for each channel; no maturation is required.
With the release of Clear and Present Danger on LaserDisc, the first Dolthrough Digital surround sound hit theaters. When the DVDs were released in 1997, Dolthrough Digital had the default surround sound format. To this day, Dolthrough Digital 5.1 is thought to be, through many, the popular surround sound, which is still included in the maximum Blu-ray discs.
Image courtesy of Dolby
What is a generation market without a little competition? Dolby has more or less dominated the surround sound landscape for years. Then, in 1993, came DTS (Digital Theater Systems), which offers its own virtual surround sound mixing installations for film production, before being released in theaters with Jurassic Park. The generation eventually resulted in LD and DVD, but was first available on a very limited variety of discs. DTS uses superior binary performance and therefore provides more audio information. Think of it as the difference between listening to a 256 kbps and 320 kbps MP3 record. The difference in quality is noticeable, however, as with so many audio comparisons, not everyone is convinced.
In an effort at surround sound by expanding the “sound stage”, 6.1 added some other sound channel. The sixth speaker was to be placed in the center of the back of a room and was later called the rear envelope or rear envelope. This is where a lot of confusion began to swirl around surround sound.
People were already used to thinking and referring (wrongly) to surround speakers as “rear” because from time to time they were noticed placed behind a living room. However, the recommended location of the speakers has required surround sound speakers to be placed on the sides and just behind the listening position.
The goal of the sixth speaker is to give the listener the impression that something is coming or disappears backwards. Calling the sixth speaker “rear envelope” or “rear surround speaker”, although technically an accurate description, ended up being confusing.
To make things even more confusing, the company has proposed other editions of surround 6.1. Dolby Digital and THX collaborated to create an edition called “EX” or “surround EX”. It uses the matrix coding approach shown to integrate the sixth channel into the left and right envelope signals.
SDR, on the other hand, introduced two separate versions 6.1. PAINTs DTS-ES Discrete and DTS-ES Matrix as the call suggests. With ES Discrete, express sound data is programmed on a DVD or Blu-ray disc, while DTS-ES Matrix uses the same strategy as Dolby Digital EX to extrapolate data from surround channels.
Just as other people began to get used to the 6.1 edition, the 7.1 edition came along with HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs as an indispensable new surround format, necessarily replacing its predecessor. Like 6.1, there are several other editions of 7.1, all of which load a rear surround speaker for the time being.
Surround sound effects that were once attributed to a non-married rear surround speaker can now move to two stereo speakers. The data is discrete, which means that the speaker obtains his or her own express data; we can thank Blu-ray’s huge prospective garage for that.
Those who bought a compromised rear surround speaker now found themselves buying a new pair of matching rear surround sound, the same style they had purchased for the left and right envelopes.
Dolby offers two other 7.1 immersive versions. Dolby Digital Plus is the “lossy” version. Instead of maturing, it applies loss compression to all discrete audio channels, allowing you to occupy less area on a Blu-ray disc. Dolby TrueHD, on the other hand, has no losses. Since it’s not compression, Dolby TrueHD is designed to be the same as the master studio.
DTS also has two 7.1 versions, which differ in the same way as Dolby versions. The DTS-HD is a lossless 7.1 compressed surround sound format, while the DTS-Master HD is lossless and designed to be the studio master.
It is vital to note here that 7.1-channel surround sound combinations are not included on Blu-ray discs. Film studios have to decide to combine for 7.1 edition, and that’s not the case. There are also other points in question. The storage area is the main one of them. If multiple extras are placed on a disk, there may not be an area for more immersive information. In many cases, a combination of 5.1 can be prolonged to 7.1 by a matrix procedure on an A/V receiver. This uses those rear surround speakers, even if they don’t get discrete information. However, this is less common, especially when it comes to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, which occasionally help multiple seven-channel combinations.
If you’ve purchased a receiver, you may have noticed that many offer one or more versions of the Pro Logic treatment. In the modern Pro Logic family, we now have Pro Logic II, Pro Logic IIx, and Pro Logic IIz. Let’s take a look at what they’re doing.
Using the same four-channel matrix sound as Pro Logic, Pro Logic II can create a combination of 5.1 surround sound from a stereo source. Pro Logic II also has another trick up its sleeve: you can separate the surround sound signal on the left and right stereo channels from Pro Logic’s dual mono presentation. This processing mode is commonly used when watching non-high-definition TV channels with a stereo-only audio combination.
If your video is presented in 5.1 surround sound and your home theater formula supports more speakers, Pro Logic IIx can take this combination and enlarge it to 6.1 or 7.1. Pro Logic IIx is subdivided into movie, music and game mode.
Pro Logic IIz allows the charging of two “high front” speakers placed on top and between the main stereo speakers. This form of matrix processing aims to load more intensity and area into a soundtrack by emitting sounds from a new logo location in the room. Since the IIz remedy can be connected to a 7.1 soundtrack, the resulting shapeat can simply be called 9.1.
Despite the addition of those channels in height, Pro Logic IIz allows a genuine location of 3D sounds. To do this, you’ll want Dolby Atmos or DTS: X, which we describe below.
As discussed above, the “.1” in 5.1, 7.1 and all others refers to the LFE (low frequency effects) channel in an enveloping soundtrack, which is controlled through a subwoofer. The addition of “.2” only means that a receiver has two bass box outputs. Both connections emit the same data because, as far as Dolthrough and SDR are concerned, there is only one subwoofer track. Since A/V receiver brands need to seamlessly market the additional output of the bass box, the concept of “.2” has been adopted.
For most people, the presence of a single subwoofer will provide enough low bass and low-end rumblings. However, the addition of an underwater moment can have this effect, especially in giant multimedia rooms. Consult our subwoofer placement advisor to find out why a momentary subwoofer might be right for you.
Audyssey, a company known for its self-calibration software discovered in many existing A/V receivers, has its own immersive solution called Audyssey DSX. DSX also allows more speakers beyond the main 5.1 and 7.1 surround formats, combining 5.1 and 7.1 signals to load more channels. Loaded front width and height channels into a 7.1 system, Audyssey allows 11.1 channels of surround sound.
There’s also Audyssey DSX 2, which adds the combination of stereo signals to surround sound. However, with the advent of 3-d formats in articles such as Dolby Atmos and DTS: X in recent years (see below), Audyssey has experienced a decline.
The newest and largest progression of surround sound is known as “object-based” or “3D” envelope. For viewers, “3D” offers the most productive description of this generation due to its ability to give sounds the impression of moving in space. Obviously, you can hear a helicopter take off in front of you, float over your head and then disappear in the distance.
“Object-Based” is a major call for sound professionals who create those soundtracks in 3-d, as it describes their ability to move an object that produces unmarried sound (like the helicopter) in 3-d space.
This hemisphere of surround sound is made imaginable by adding discrete channels for ceiling-mounted or ceiling-mounted speakers on home A/V receivers.
Since those channels no longer want to extrapolate their audio signals to other speakers as they did with Pro Logic IIz 7.1, they get their own number. A 5.1.2 formula, for example, would have the five classic channels and a subwoofer, but it would also have two more speakers loading stereo height data to the front. A 5.1.4 formula would load 4 additional height channels to 5.1, adding two on the front, two on the back, and so on.
This shouldn’t be a marvel after reading the rest of this article, however, Dolthrough is the existing leader in object-based surround sound technology. In a theater provided with Dolthrough Atmos, up to 128 separate sound elements can be rendered in a given scene, which can be routed to another 64 speakers. In the past, if there was an explosion on the right side of the screen, part of the theater would hear the same sound. With Atmos, the sounds of a movie theater will come from separate locations depending on where they are placed through professional audio mixers.
Atmos became available on A/V receivers in 2015, in a much more limited capacity than the professional format. As discussed above, the maximum non-unusual configurations are 5.1.2 or 5.1.4, which respectively load two and 4 speakers to a classic 5.1 surround sound configuration, Dolby helps much larger configurations. Atmos took off relatively quickly, and now the maximum A/V receivers above the low-end diversity of the spectrum are now helping the format. In fact, all receivers on the list of our favorite A/V receivers help Atmos, even models priced at $500 or less.
In 2015, Yamaha introduced the first Atmos-compatible bar, the YSP-5600, which uses speakers to bounce sound off the ceiling. Since then, soundbar brands have fully adopted Dolthrough Atmos. Some get the Atmos effect through wireless surround speakers engaged with upstream controllers to complement the front speakers of the bar. Others use a strategy known as Virtualized Dolthrough Atmos to convincingly simulate the Atmos effect with fewer speakers.
Some TVs, such as LG’s highly intelligent RANGE of OLED TVs, claim Dolby Atmos through the TV’s built-in speakers. Because Dolby Atmos can be calibrated for only two channels, we assume it’s technically accurate. However, buyers deserve to be aware that the two-channel Atmos will never sound as smart as a discreet or amazing Atmos 5.1.2.
Dolby Atmos soundtrack movies are now not unusual on Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray discs and streaming sites such as Netflix, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney and Apple TV all offer a variety of Atmos videos and shows. Atmos is even starting to appear on some live shows. Recent examples come with the 2018 Winter Olympics, NHRA live drag races and music festivals.
One thing to stay in your head with Dolby Atmos: it’s a whimsical beast. To hear Dolby Atmos sound, each and every component of your home theater system formula, from source to speakers, has to do so. Here’s our entire advisor to get exceptional Dolby Atmos sound.
Although still in its infancy, Dolby Labs has worked with major record labels and broadcasts to expand the use of the Dolby Atmos generation for music production. The concept is simple: Dolby Atmos Music uses all the same object-oriented audio equipment in 3-d as the soundtrack edition of the Dolby Atmos film, but puts them in the hands of professional music producers.
The result is immersive music that goes far beyond what can achieve classic two-channel stereo sound or even framer. Unfortunately, Dolthrough Atmos Music is very limited right now. The only way to pay attention to a home theater supplied through Atmos is to buy one of the few Blu-ray discs that contain a mix of Dolthrough Atmos Music, such as the recently remastered and reissued Kick through INXS.
Amazon Music HD has recently become the first music streaming service to offer Dolby Atmos Music tracks, but the only way to listen to them is Amazon’s wise Echo Studio 3-d speaker.
In determined clubs, Dolthrough Atmos Music is used through DJs and other artists to produce an immersive musical environment for the dance floors.
Let’s hope Dolby opens the floodgates soon in Dolby Atmos Music and discovers more tactics for others to revel in.
It should be noted that Sony also offers an immersive 3-d music format known as Sony 360 Reality Audio that rivals Dolby Atmos Music. It can also be discovered on some streaming services, but as with Atmos Music, the devices needed to listen to it are limited to some features at this time.
As with other types of surround sound, DTS has its own object-based audio editing, DTS: X, introduced in 2015. While Dolby Atmos limits the elements to 128 according to the scene in theaters, DTS: X does not impose such limits (but it is doubtful that movie mixers reach the limits of Atmos). DTS: X also claims to be more flexible and available than Atmos, pre-existing speaker designs in theaters and support up to 32 more speaker configurations at home.
While DTS:X was incorporated in the past to Atmos-enabled A/V receiver updates, it is now available with the new A/V receivers from the outset. Companies like Lionsgate and Paramount will offer internal versions in DTS: X, however, their lack of widespread adoption on disk media, and their zero adoption among streaming facilities, is their biggest restriction given that almost all A/V receivers have it now.
DTS also recognizes that not all viewers have the space or time to create an object-based audio system. Research collected through SDR has shown that less than 30% of consumers connect speakers to their systems, and less than 48% even worry about connecting surround speakers.
To this end, the company has developed DTS Virtual: X, which uses digital signal processing (DSP) to supply the same spatial signals as a classic DTS formula: X can provide, but on a smaller number of speakers, even if I only have two. This generation was first implemented in the soundbars, which makes sense because they come with only a separate subwoofer and maybe a couple of satellite speakers. Since then, corporations like Denon and Marantz have added help for DTS Virtual: X to their receivers, while Sony has its own virtual surround soundbar that reads DTS mixes: X and Atmos.
Technically speaking, Dolby Atmos “virtualized” and DTS Virtual: X are very similar, however, Dolby prefers not to distinguish between dolby Atmos implementations. As for Dolby, Atmos is Atmos, whether virtualized in two, 3 or five channels, or fully prepared in a discrete or impressive 5.1.2 speaker system.
It may not be as well known as Atmos or DTS: X, but Auro-3D has been around for much longer than either. The generation was first announced in 2006 and has been used in theaters since then, it has only recently begun to reach home theater systems with corporations like Marantz and Denon providing it as a firmware update, regularly a paid update.
Although similar to Dolby Atmos in some respects, Auro-3D uses 3 sound “layers” to achieve its immersive effect. These layers regularly require more speakers, up to 11 in an ideal configuration, which can make Auro-3D more expensive to take effect at home. Because Auro-3D uses an unmarried air channel, its speaker settings are not optimal when used with Dolby Atmos sound.
So far, Auro-3D has not been very often in American households, the company claims to enjoy significant popularity in Europe and Japan.