.Speakers - What do the Channels mean?.
There’s 5.1, and 7.1, and 11.2, and 5.1.2 and so on. What’s that all about?
If you think of channels as speakers, the first number (the 7 in a 7.1 system for example) = the number of speakers, or seven speakers in this example. The .1 refers to whether the system has a subwoofer or not, so the .1 in a 7.1 system = one subwoofer. The last number, for example the .2 in a 5.1.2 system = how many Dolby Atmos speakers are in the set-up. So a 5.1.2 home theater means 5 speakers, 1 subwoofer, and 2 Dolby Atmos speakers.
Like we said above: think of channels as speakers. And though most music formats only require two channels (left and right), the sky’s the limit for true home theater surround sound. In a nutshell: The more channels you have, the more more speakers you can add. And the more speakers you add, the better and more immersive the sound.
At a very minimum, you’re going to want 5 channels… but we highly, highly (that’s two highlys) recommend getting at least 7. With 7 channels, you will experience – at home – the same thing you do in today’s state-of-the-art digital cinemas: big, thrilling, hang-on-tight, theater sound.
Let’s break down benefits by channels:
• A good old stereo system is now referred to as 2.0 (Two channels, two speakers).
• Add a subwoofer for impactful bass, and now you have 2.1. The "2" refers to the two front speakers, and the subwoofer is the ".1".
• Add a center channel speaker, so the dialog always seems to come from the center of the screen (especially important if you sit a little to the side) and we have "3.1".
• Add two more speakers near the back of the room for wrap-around surround sound, and we’re at "5.1". (5.1 was the surround sound standard up until a few years ago, when things started getting crazy good.) Looking for some inspiration? We've curated some of our best surround sound systems and speakers here.
• Larger rooms, especially where your sofa is a distance from the back wall, may call for side and rear surround speakers, which takes us to "7.1".
• The coup de grâce, and the latest thing: Dolby Atmos, where we place 2 or more speakers in the ceiling. Now we’re talking actual 3D sound, where any sound can hover at any point in space. To recap: a "7.2.1" system has three speakers in front, two on the sides, two in the rear of the room, and a pair in the ceiling. Plus the subwoofer, which is typically in the back, but can go anywhere.
