7.1 Computer Speakers - What Exactly is 7.1?

When you mention computer speakers it is hard to speak without mentioning Dolby in some way shape or form. Dolby labs have their hands well and truly within the audio sector. Dolby has developed some great sound reproduction methods and Dolby 7.1 is one of them. Dolby has come up with the naming scheme of the two numbers separated by a decimal point. The first digit represents the number of speakers, so in this case seven speakers. The second digit represents the one channel for the sub woofer or the bass channel.

Dolby is the brand name for the digital surround sound that is used on entertainment systems, televisions and computers. The point of surround sound is to place the sound where it is supposed to be. 7.1 computer speakers use the seven speakers to place the sounds in the right place. The 7.1 system is sometimes called HD sound because it has appeared with the latest HD devices such as Play station 3 and HD Televisions but Dolby were always going to develop new sound systems regardless of HD technology.

As with other Dolby systems the 7.1 computer speakers work by decoding all seven channels from just the left and right audio channels. The standard 5.1 channels that are the most popular currently will soon be phased out by the 7.1 speakers that offer a much better sound depth.

In order to take the two audio signals, left and right, and turn them into surround sound is quite difficult. Dolby are a clever bunch and they knew that in order for their system to be accepted they needed to integrate the new surround sound into the existing technology and so they developed it to fit with existing two channel systems.

To understand how the system works requires some pretty hefty mathematical technology. The standard left and right channels are extracted as they are, no signal processing required. The center channel is obviously the difference between the left and right. The back speakers are a little more complicated and require the signals to be phase shifted from the front channels by 90 degrees. Does the addition of an extra two speakers mean much better sound? It definitely makes a difference and the sound depth is unbelievable. The sound appears exactly where it is supposed to be.

The accuracy of sound with 7.1 computer speaker systems is unbelievable. Be sure to pick the right speaker system so you are not disappointed. Lots of information is available at the link, just click it!

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