2.1, 5.1, 7.1, 9.2….don’t understand? That’s ok, nobody does at first either. And then again once you think you know what it all means there’s another curve ball in there. What are we talking about? Speaker setup of course! Easily explained the first number is the exact number of speakers and the second is the number of subwoofers in the room. 2.1 is two speakers and one subwoofer, 5.1 are five speakers and one subwoofer…etc.
A 2.1 setup is mildly acceptable in a small living room. However, for any professional setup we recommend that you never settle for this common “stereo” front speaker setup. 5.1 is definitely more acceptable and the most common setup as well. Most movies are completely setup for 5.1 surround sound. This is perfect for small to medium sized home theaters with a Front Right, Center, Front Left, Surround Right and Surround Left Speaker (plus subwoofer). A proper center channel will have any speech audio in your home theater. This allows for clear and distinct audio that won’t get muddied up in all the background noise. Your Front Right and Left speakers should blend together in audio quality creating a really nice “front stage” while your Rear Right and Left speakers will create that 3D projector effect in your audio. Proper placement of the rear speakers will be left to a little rear of the seating position to create that perfect effect.
A 7.1 setup similar to the 5.1 setup but adds an additional 2 speakers in the far rear. It used to be that a 7.1 setup was a fake. What do I mean by that? A 7.1 setup, until about 2 years ago was really a 6.1 audio signal that was sent to your stereo, which would then be split and duplicated to the two far rear speakers. However, with the creation of BluRay and newer technology movies are now being mastered in 7.1 and very soon a much anticipated 9.2 master.
A 9.2 system with Center, Front Right, Front Left, Surround Right, Surround Left, Rear Left, Rear Right, Upper Front Left and Upper Front Right is supposed to create a more seamless audio experience. The new speakers are “discreetly” placed above the two front speakers to create a much larger, more enveloping front stage. While this setup may make the audiophile drool, until a properly created 9.2 master is readily available to the public it’s best to just prewire for the future and wait.
We’ll cover subwoofers in the next article. They do much more than just add “boom”.
