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TRUSURROUND
TM
With the addition of TruSurround
TM
and SRS
TM
, licensed technology from SRS Labs, the A6600 replicates a natu-
ral sounding environment using only two speakers from the same multi-channel audio source normally associated
with six speaker systems. For the first time, the task of bringing the aural experience of movie-going to every
room throughout the home without expensive equipment, is possible.
To fully appreciate the A6600 incorporating TruSurround
TM
, it is useful to examine its ancestry, since many com-
mon traits still prevail.
Traditionally, home audio technology has always lagged behind that used in the cinemas, leaving consumers long-
ing for that same cinematic experience at home. The first attempt to meet this need was with the introduction of
home stereo phonographs in 1958.
LP records were a two-channel format. They had a recording area that was split into two sides, called tracks.
There was a left track and a right track, which when played back and directed toward speakers positioned on the
left and right side of the listener, were able to reproduce a stereo sound environment. It sounded great for the
time, but two-channel audio was no match for cinematic stereo, which was using anywhere from four to seven
channels of audio. Home theater sound was sorely lacking.
During the 1970's, equipment manufacturers offered the quadraphonic stereo format in hopes of closing the gap.
This format used four channels of audio, but required the users to purchase additional speakers and amplifiers to
implement it. Few people were willing to make the investment, and even those who did, failed to perceive any
real advantage. The problem was that even though the cinemas had standardized on four-channel sound, it was
not simply a matter of sending the same audio to four different speakers. Cinema sound used a method of record-
ing that directed specific ambient sounds toward specific speakers and locations about the listener. The result was
a greatly enhanced sound field and listening environment that could not be matched.
As time continued Surround Sound emerged, giving the ability to totally submerge the viewer inside the sound
field and creating the sensation of actually being a part of the scene. Cinema stereo sound incorporated surround
sound and standardized on a 5.1 multi-channel format.
The 5.1 multi-channel format uses five full channels of audio information together with part of a sixth channel,
hence the “.1” in 5.1. This channel was used to reproduce low frequency sounds that viewers could actually feel,
heightening the listening experience. This channel can also carry additional sound effects added to enhance such
things as explosions or animation. The other channels consisted of a center for dialogue, a left and right, as
before, and now two additional channels positioned at the rear carrying ambient affects. These were encoded and
decoded so that the sound field could be made to wrap around an audience, creating the name Surround Sound.
This time how ever, the home consumer was not left behind. By 1992, through the pioneering efforts of Dolby
Laboratories, Dolby Digital, the exact multi-channel technology used in the cinema, was fully achievable in the
home!
(continued)
Summary of Contents for Aria A6600
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