Home Theater FAQ - Tutorial

What are the differences between typical stereo speakers and home theater
speakers?
Speakers perform best when the listener's head is directly in front of the speaker and at the
same height as the drivers. The sound response where the driver is pointing directly at the
listener is called the on-axis response. When move to off-axis (to either side or a different
height), the speaker will not sound as loud.
Normally, stereo speakers have a better off-axis response than home theater speakers.
The sound that the listener hears is a mixture of the left and right channels, combined with
the reflections of the both channels off the walls, floor, and ceiling. Stereo speakers sound
best when the listening area is centered and in front of the two speakers, but they also
sound good from either side of the room. For a well recorded soundtrack, both the left and
right signals might contain the same music, but they will not be at the same volume levels.
Different instruments will be at different levels in the different speakers. If directly in
front of one of the speakers, should still be able to hear some parts of the music coming
from the other speaker.
The front speakers in a home theater system are designed to have just the opposite effect.
They have a very short vertical off-axis response that limits the dispersion of the sound in
the room. This is done to prevent the reflection of the sound off the floor and the ceiling. The
reason for this is simple. In a home theater system, there are 2 rear speakers to provide the
sound from the back. The reflection from the front speakers will only interfere with the job of
rear speakers. When mixing the sound for a movie, the editors want to feel like in the movie.
If the actors are in a large room, then the echoes should appear to be deeper and take
longer to arrive back at the listener. This is impossible if can hear the reflection of front
speakers off the back wall of living room. Ideally, the only reflection should hear is the false
reflection provided by rear speakers.
What about the rear speakers?
The rear speakers in a home theater system have a greater diffusion than stereo speakers.
Sometimes, rear speakers have drivers firing in multiple directions. This causes a lot of
reflection against the walls and makes the rear echoes sound like they are coming from a
wide area.
What about the center channel?
The center channel is the most important speaker in a home theater system. It produces all
of the voices that come from actors on the screen. Without a center channel, the voices
would be coming from the corners of room.
Many home theater speaker systems use two center channels instead of one. It is
debatable on whether more than one center channel is necessary. It probably depends most
on the size of television.
What about the subwoofer?
Years ago, the word subwoofer meant a speaker that produced sounds deeper than a
regular woofer. A subwoofer driver would have to be at least 12" wide to produce these
frequencies. Now, the term has come to mean the largest driver in a system, regardless of
whether the system has a woofer or not. In some small speaker systems, especially
computer multimedia systems, a subwoofer can be 6" or smaller. A subwoofer of this type is
completely useless in a good home theater system.
Get extra bass from a subwoofer through good box design. On average, a ported subwoofer
box can achieve an extra 3db, and a Bandpass box can produce an extra 5db or more. Many
people like this extra bass but there are disadvantages. Ported boxes will usually be slightly

larger that a sealed box using the same driver and a Bandpass box can be twice as large.
Also, it is difficult to determine when a Bandpass sub is being pushed too hard. These subs
can self-destruct before any distortion is audible. Finally, ported and Bandpass boxes are
only louder at certain frequencies. A sealed box may not be as loud but it will have a flatter
response curve and a smoother roll off on the bass end.
Usually, people place the subwoofer in the corner of their room. The placement of a sub
isn't critical because the bass is so deep that the listener shouldn't be able to determine
what direction it is coming from. This is why it is necessary to get a good deep bass
subwoofer. Although the corner of the room works fine in most cases, a sub can be placed
anywhere in the room. Let ears be the judge.
Is a subwoofer really necessary?
Depending on how to look at it, subwoofers can radically increase or decrease the cost of a
home theater system. A 5 channel system without a subwoofer can produce the same, or
more, bass than a system with a subwoofer. Having 4 speakers each with a 15" woofer will
produce a lot more bass than a single subwoofer. The problem is that these speakers would
be very expensive and a very large multi-channel amplifier would be necessary to drive
them. Having 4 smaller speakers with a smaller amp, and a powered sub would be a cheaper
option. Of course, using 4 smaller speakers and no subwoofer is the cheapest option, but
this
system
would
not
provide
a
lot
of
bass.
If already have 2 stereo speakers, have to still buy a whole home theater system?
No. Home theater systems are expensive. If have a good pair of front speakers then save
money or get a better set of center and rear speakers. It can always upgrade and replace
the front speakers in the future. Also, it will have good sound when playing music.
Is it important to get a set of home theater speakers from the same manufacturer
that
is
designed
to
work
together?
Some people believe that it must have the same exact speakers for front and rear
channels, with a center channel using shielded versions of the same drivers minus the
woofer. Although this is an ideal situation, it is expensive when the speakers are full range.
When using smaller speakers for the fronts with a powered subwoofer, it might be a good
idea to get 4 of the same speakers. If not, it will still want to get all of speakers, with the
exception of the subwoofer, from the same manufacturer. Make sure that are designed to
work together as a home theater set. Usually, this means they use the same drivers for the
mids and highs. This gives the speakers the same sensitivity and sound quality.
What are the differences between Dolby Surround, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Digital,
and DTS?
Dolby Surround and Pro Logic use 4 and 5 speakers respectively. Surround Sound adds rear
speakers to the main front pair, and Pro Logic adds an additional center channel. Although
these systems use 4 or 5 speakers, the original input signal is still 2 channels: left and right.
The 5 channels of sound are encoded into these 2 channels, stored on disc or tape, and then
decoded by the home users Dolby decoder. This encoding is done to maintain backward
compatibility with older 2 channel systems. A Dolby encoded source will still play correctly
when using only 2 speakers without a decoder. The rear and center channels in a surround
or pro logic system are not full range. The standard bandwidth for rear speakers is 70Hz to 8
KHz, although some soundtracks will contain information as low as 50Hz.
Dolby Digital 5.1, also know as AC-3 because it is Dolby's 3rd audio code, uses 5 separate
channels for encoding the 5 speakers, plus 1 separate channel for a subwoofer. The .1
subwoofer channel is for LFE (Low-Frequency-Effects), and is basically a deep bass channel.
The 5 main channels will all have a full range signal. Most Dolby Digital processors will have
a function that allows the bass from the 5 main channels to be redirected to the subwoofer if
desired. This allows for having bass in a system even when using small surround speakers.
Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding is used primarily in DVDs. There are other mediums that use a 2

channel Dolby Digital format, such as CDs, TV satellite, digital cable, video games, and older
laser discs. Although it is Dolby Digital, it is not the 5.1 encoding. The 2 digital signals are
decoded into a 4 channel surround sound signal. This is used by companies that use a digital
signal to save bandwidth or increase quality, but have not yet upgraded to the full Dolby
Digital 5.1 system. Dolby Digital does not necessarily mean 5.1 encoding.
DTS (Digital Theatre Systems) is similar to Dolby Digital except that the signal quality is
higher. To save space on a DVD, both Dolby Digital and DTS signals are compressed. The
compression on Dolby Digital signals is higher than that of DTS, so a DTS signal retains more
of the original signal and therefore is of higher quality. While Dolby Digital is standard on
almost every DVD, many still do not use DTS.
Both Dolby Digital and DTS continue to add channels to their format. Now it can get 6.1
(adds a rear center), 7.1 (uses 2 side channels), and 8.1.

Should all 5 speakers be driven with the same amplifier power?

When Dolby Surround and Pro Logic came out, the typical home theater receiver had less
power for the center and rear channels than it did for the fronts. Since the rear speakers
were not full range speakers, this wasn't much of a problem. With Dolby Digital, all 5
speakers have their own full range channel. Many recordings are now designed for systems
that have the same power for all 5 speakers. It is suggested that get an amplifier with equal
power to all channels.
The subwoofer in a Dolby Digital system usually has its own amplifier built into the sub.
Since a single 15" or 18" sub can require 400 watts of power, it makes sense for a sub to
have its own amp. Although powered subs come with many features like built in crossovers
and polarity switches, a regular sub with a dedicated amplifier can work just as well.
What are dipolar and bipolar speakers?
The terms bipolar and dipolar both refer to speakers with drivers that are fired in two
different directions. With dipolar speakers, the two sets of drivers are on the sides of the
speaker aimed in opposite directions and are in reverse phase causing a cancellation of
sound waves in front of the speaker. This is usually done in rear speakers that are mounted
on the wall, where the front of the speaker is aimed at the listening area. This causes all of
the sound to bounce off the walls before it is heard. This makes it almost impossible to
determine where the speaker is, causing a true surround sound effect.
With bipolar speakers, the drivers are fired in opposite directions, but are in phase causing
an increase in bass output. In this case, the drivers are in the front and back of the speaker.
Sometimes bipolar speakers have side firing woofers, technically making it a tripolar speaker
because it has drivers on three sides. These types of speakers are still referred to as bipolar.
There are also speakers that can be used as bipolar or dipolar. In these speakers a switch is
used to change from one mode to the other. Another type of surround sound bipolar speaker
is where the side drivers fire at an angle of 90 degrees or less from off the main drivers. This
allows the speakers to be mounted in the corner of the room. The side drivers do not need to
be identical to the front speakers in this case.
Are horn drivers better for home theater?
Horns originally became popular because of their high sensitivity. A horn driver can play
much louder that a dome speaker using the same amplifier power. Since amplifiers have
gotten cheaper horns have become less necessary. The big problem with horns is that they
are too efficient. There are no horn woofers, and don't want treble 5 times louder than bass.
This problem could be avoided by using different amplifiers for the treble and bass drivers.
The other benefit to horns is that their output can be easily directed. Remember that the
front speakers in a home theater system are more directed than typical stereo speakers.

When deciding on whether to purchase a system with horns, let ears be the judge. There
are a lot of high-end systems that still use horns. Also, remember that movie soundtracks
are designed for movie theaters, which usually use horn drivers.
How far away should the listening area be from the rear speakers?
Ideally, the listening area should be in the center of the room at equal distances from all
speakers. If this is not possible, then there are ways to improve the situation. If the listening
area is near the back wall, then put the surround speakers high on the side walls facing each
other. If dipole speakers are used, then they can be mounted further forward in the listening
area and lower on the wall, as long as the front of the speaker is aimed toward the listening
area.
Should play music using only the front speakers?
This is up to the individual's tastes. Most likely, there will be some music that sounds
better in a surround mode, and other music that sounds outright horrible. When
experimenting with playing music on a Dolby Digital system, try it with and without the
center channel.

Home Theater tips

Not all of us have the perfect room available for Home Theater. Doorways, windows, and
fireplaces can all mean compromises in where equipment can be placed. Here are a few
ideas that don't cost the earth...
The room...

Rear speaker type and placement

This room is wider than it is long, meaning that the seating position is up against the back
wall, and the surround speakers will be to the left and right of the seating position.
Being so close to the back wall, bipole speakers would tend to have echo problems with the
rear
firing
driver.
Up firing speakers work well in this situation but the Hallway and window is in the way.
The solution was to use conventional speakers mounted on the roof, initially aimed at the
seating position

DIY Diffuser Panels

Try and de-localize the sound coming from the surrounds.

By turning the speaker around and bouncing the sound off the panels, been able to generate
a more ambient sound. It works particularly well for background sounds such as rain and
crowds, and will tide over till build some proper diffusers. If had to come up with a corny
name for these, call 'em Sound Waves
Reflected sound treatment
The wall behind the seating area is a hard surface, so some absorber is worth having. Foam
is mounted behind the seating area to cut down on reflected sound from the main and
centre speakers. This makes no difference to the subwoofer

Instead of Acoustic foam, use Eggshell foam which is around 90% as effective. (For high
frequencies anyway...)
The new plan...
The screen and chair have been swapped. The absorbers are done. Getting closer to building
some QRD diffusers...

Absorbers are 3 layers of 50mm CSR Bradford Ultratel - At 48kg/m^3.

50mm * 1200mm * 2400mm per sheet for the un-faced variant from Insulation Industries. It
took 3 sheets to do the absorbers shown here.
More advanced acoustic treatment
For more advanced treatment of room acoustics, such as the construction of bass traps, see
the following external links:
Building a better bass trap
Modex commercial bass trap
Bob Gold's Coefficients
Measuring acoustic absorption
Treatment of room nodes (pdf)
It can analyze the room using the free Room EQ Wizard software written by John Mulcahy. It
will have to become a member at Home Theater Shack to access the software. They also
have a well supported set of discussion forums. The software will even upload the new
settings into the BFD via the MIDI port on computer.
Bias lighting
Bias lighting is the technique of placing a light behind TV screen. This will provide
background light via the wall behind the TV and done correctly, will increase contrast and
reduce eye fatigue by moderating changes in brightness in the room.
Ideally, the spectral output of the light should be of a certain composition, which can be
achieved if order the light from Cinema quest who are the experts in this field.
Quoting from their more detailed presentation.
Providing a small amount of light behind the set biases the iris (reducing the
range of motion in the iris muscle), resulting in more relaxed viewing...

Glare and reflections are then dramatically reduced, by eliminating any light
source
from
striking
the
front
of
the
set...
Colors appear richer and blacks are darker...
Contrast and brightness controls can be turned down. Doing this will prevent
over-saturation of the phosphors, thereby preserving maximum sharpness and
detail...
The recommended brightness is 10% of the peak white level of the TV.
Being on a limited budget and not wanting to import stuff from the other side of the planet,
a cheap light dimmer was mounted in a box with a lead and an outlet socket. A lamp with
one of the "bendy" necks was used to illuminate the curtains behind the TV and the results
were great.