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TEN MONSTER HOME THEATER “SECRETS”
What You May Need to Know About Setting Up a Home Theater Music
System for Dramatic, Thrilling Audio
SECRET NO. 1: Understanding the Difference Between a Home Theater for Movies
and a Home Theater for Movies
and Music
Movies
– Traditionally, most home theaters featured surround channel speakers that produced sound
both ambient and enveloping. Surround speakers were designed to be non-localized dipoles, producing
an enveloping sound as required by the THX certification standard.
Music
– For home theaters that can play multi-channel music (SACD & DVD-Audio titles), surround
speakers are traditionally identical to the front speakers for greater precision. Because of the way
producers and engineers mix multi-channel surround sound disks, musical instruments, voices
and percussion may be placed anywhere on the 360° soundstage.
If a surround sound system is set up in the traditional manner for movies only, the multi-channel
music suffers, because the correct speakers aren’t used. Even today, many movies are produced
with the capability of discrete point-specific audio in all channels.
SECRET NO. 2: Why Choosing Matched, Full-Range Speakers for All Channels
Ensures the Best Possible Performance
Movies
– If you’ve ever watched a movie on VHS tape or even an older DVD title, you may have noticed
that some popular movie formats don’t require high performance sound reproduction from the surround
speakers. Audio that required full-frequency range was mixed to the front. Ambient, less demanding audio
was mixed to the rear.
Today, many movies feature full-frequency sound for all channels—both ambient and discrete audio
is distributed to the rear channels. DVD technology has allowed for advanced movie audio techniques
where full-range, discrete audio is mixed to the rear channels. This advancement makes it necessary
to have matched speakers, front and rear, for full-range high performance home theater.
Music
– Traditionally, multi-channel music demanded very little from surround speakers. Most music was
mixed from the perspective of a listener seated in front of the stage at a music venue (e.g., a concert hall
or club), with only reflected ambient sound behind the listener. Producers and engineers now mix music
with discrete audio from all directions, placing the listener in the middle of a studio or concert stage.
Instruments are now placed all around you, with surround sound coming at you from all directions.
These fantastic audio possibilities require full-range speakers for all channels.
SECRET NO. 3: The Center Channel is Not Just for Dialogue Anymore
Movies
– Traditionally, the center channel speaker was often used solely for dialogue with the
understanding that dialogue reproduction required a limited frequency range. However, when directors
started to use complex sound effects that panned from side to side, the pitch change going through center
channel that was not matched to the full-range left and right channels was distracting. Using a full-range
center channel speaker will deliver the reference quality audio now available across the front soundstage.
Music
– Traditionally, music producers and engineers often did not use a center channel—music was
mixed so the listener would perceive a “phantom” center. Today, many producers mix to a discrete center
channel with dramatic results. Some Dolby
®
music modes will force a center channel with a mix of left
and right information. This is why the center channel for music also requires a matched, full-range speaker.
TEN MONSTER HOME THEATER “SECRETS”
Summary of Contents for THX Select SL-STAND 100
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