Professional Knowledge of Audio Channels, What are 2.1 Channels, 5.1 Channels, 7.1 Channels

For modern society, perhaps the living room in the home is the place that best reflects the preferences and tastes of the owner of the house. I don’t know if you still remember that thirty years ago, a plasma TV and a karaoke system constituted all the entertainment facilities in the living room. However, in today’s society, OLED TVs, murals, speaker systems, game consoles, home theaters, etc. have become essential items in people’s living rooms.

When it comes to home theater, this is the standard product of mainstream TVs on the market. After you buy a new TV, there is a high probability that you will buy another set of home theaters or speakers to improve the sound quality of your TV. Performance. At present, the TV products on the market are developing in the direction of thinness and intelligence. The thinning of the TV has obvious advantages. The thin and light TV will not occupy too much space in the home, and it can also be hung on the wall. The viewing effect is further improved. Although the TVs on the market are very thin and beautiful, the TV bodies with ultra-thin and extremely narrow bezels are limited by the size of the body, and the configuration of TV speakers is often reduced by hundreds of millions. The sound quality performance of most TVs can even be described as “small transparency”. Therefore, if you want to experience a cinema-like viewing experience on a 4K or even 8K TV, in addition to a TV, speakers or a home theater system are essential.

However, the problem comes at this time. When we buy speakers or home theaters, we usually see 2.0 channels, 3.1 channels, 5.1 channels, virtual 7.1 channels, etc. written on the product introduction page. , many consumers start to feel dizzy after seeing these numbers. What do all these numbers represent? Does it have the same meaning as the version number of the Android system on the mobile phone? The larger the number, the higher the new version, and the smaller the number, the weaker the old version. This idea is half right. The higher the number, the richer the sound channel and the better the listening experience. If we want to understand the difference between channels, we first need to understand what a channel is. In fact, the channel refers to the independent audio signals collected at different positions when the sound is recorded or played. The number of channels is the number of sound sources during sound recording or the number of corresponding independent speakers during playback. Usually when we buy a home theater or a speaker, we will see a number of what time and a few. For the convenience of reading, we will use letters instead of numbers for the time being. The X.Y.Z channels we see every day show that this system consists of X surround speakers plus Y subwoofers plus Z sky speakers, and this system consists of X+Y+Z sound-generating units.

After understanding the introductory knowledge of what a vocal tract is, we need to have a little advanced knowledge, and we need to understand the classification of vocal tracts. Usually the X.Y.Z channels we see represent a stereo system. But there will also be mono, stereo, surround, and panoramic sound. Different channels can achieve different effects. The better the listening experience, the more expensive it is. For sound, the most basic is mono. Mono refers to the presence of only one channel of sound information. All sounds heard in mono come from one direction, and information such as sound localization cannot be discerned. Next, you need to understand what stereo is. Both 2.0-channel and 2.1-channel can be called stereo. Stereo can hear the sound orientation and change to a certain extent. Compared with the mono system, the sound performance of the stereo system will be better, and it can also be used for The audience brings a certain sense of presence. Compared with the 2.0 channel, the 2.1 channel has an additional subwoofer, the sound of the sound source will be transmitted from the left and right channels of the speaker, and the bass will be separated from the subwoofer separately. Using a stereo channel system can experience a certain sense of surround.

Next, let’s talk about surround sound. Usually, the common surround sound includes 5.1 channels and 7.1 channels. The three-dimensional sense of space brought by the surround sound can provide the audience with a sense of presence in the movie, and the sound transmitted through the speakers It allows the audience to easily perceive the subtle movement of the sound, allowing the audience to have a near-real viewing experience. The 7.1 channel is more powerful than the 5.1 channel system. The 7.1 channel adds two surround channels on the basis of the 5.1 channel, which further increases the surround effect of the sound. But you will find that when you buy a home theater, you will also see some words like 5.1.2 or 7.1.4, so what do the added .2 and .4 represent? This is actually an advanced layer on the basis of 5.1 channels. On the basis of 5.1 channels, two sky channels are added on the ceiling, which can bring you, for example, the plane flying overhead or the The shocking effect of something flying over makes you feel more immersive. Having said that, it can be regarded as a more detailed introduction to various channel systems, and I believe that everyone has a certain understanding of channels. Generally speaking, the more channels, the more immersive listening experience you can get, the more realistic the surround effect of the sound, and the more expensive the sound will be.

In fact, for ordinary home users, a 7.1.2-channel home theater system can bring a qualitative improvement to our movie viewing experience. If you want to say which 7.1.2 channel home theater system is the most recommended, the Philips Fidelio B97 is definitely worth a look. The design of this product is very European-style and simple. The pure black box is matched with dark gold decorative parts, which is very durable. It can be well integrated into the existing decoration design of the home when it is placed at home, and it will not look very obtrusive. The whole speaker is wrapped by the honeycomb-shaped metal mesh material. This design can not only protect the sound-emitting unit of the speaker well, but also will not form sound diffraction, allowing the sound to pass freely. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.