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Consider Virtual Surround Sound Systems For Smaller Rooms

08.10.2009 · Posted in Arts and Entertainment Article

It seems like everyone is looking to create a home theater setup nowadays. The marriage of the visual components (TV and DVD), as well as the audio components (stereo), attracts many people to the entertainment possibilities of a home theater. As with most things in the United States, bigger is better for many people so they naturally gravitate to larger televisions and louder stereos. But, all too often the financial issues creep up and they then must consider their limitations on what they can afford. For this reason alone, virutal surround sound systems are a boon.nnBesides the financial considerations, you will need to consider the home in which the speakers and the rest of the home theater will be placed. If you are placing the home theater into a small room, you may not want to go with an extremely loud system or large television. You may not even have room for the standard speaker setup for a home theater system. The standard setup is five speakers, but with a small space, you just might not have the room.nnIf your space is limited, all is not lost. Technology has advanced to the point where speakers are not only smaller but can be used wirelessly.nnAnother technological advance is one of virtual surround sound. This technology simulates the sound characteristics of true surround sound systems. Virtual surround sound systems basically come in two flavors that are not too different from each other. These two are the 2.1 surround system and the digital sound projection system.nnTypical surround sound systems accomplish their objective by literally surrounding the audience with speakers. Five speakers are arranged in a circle around the audience starting with a center speaker that is placed directly in front of the audience. When looking to buy surround sound speakers, the traditional speakers of this variety are labeled as 5.1 or 7.1. With virtual surround sound systems, the goal is obtained but without actually surroundign your guests. The 2.1 variety uses two speakers in front of the audience along with a subwoofer placed anywhere in the room. The digital sound projector system uses a bunch of small speakers placed in a line in front of your guests.nnThe virtual surround system is designed to take advantage of our knowledge of how humans process auditory stimuli. When the human ear is processing the sound waves internally, these new systems fool the auditory process into thinking that more speakers are in use than actually are. nnVirtual surround sound systems are a boon to those people who live in large metropolitan cities worldwide. With the smaller apartments that are offered to live, up until now you couldn’t enjoy surround sound. Now that virtual surround systems are here, the surburbanites aren’t the only ones who can enjoy it.

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