Benefits of Surround Sound

Unlike the sound built into the TV monitor, surround sound gives you the full experience of the program by allowing you to feel the sounds in 3-D and beyond. In fact, DVD concerts filmed in 5.1 Surround Sound decode where sounds should come from: instruments out to the sides, voice directed at you, and the audience behind you. It is like seeing something live.

Watch out for low-priced systems because many give you too few benefits. For example, gaming platforms like Xbox and PS3 play games that are meant to be played by 5.1 surround systems, but without an upgraded system, you will miss part of the experience that is supposed to be there. There are many different sound formats to consider (THX, Dolby, DTS, 5.1, 7.1, and so on) when buying your surround sound system. Come to the Experts to get all of your questions answered, even the ones you didn’t know to ask!

On lesser quality systems you will hear the rear channel speakers throughout the show or movie, but with authentic surround sound, the sound comes from where the director shot the movie in order to project the sound. Some people complain about using lower end surround sound solutions when all five speakers are not working at the same time, however on a true surround sound system, only sounds that enhance the viewing are supposed to project—however not all companies do this well.