Different acoustic types Recommended use depending on the intended use. So, the most common option for watching movies are 5.1 speakers. The six-channel system allows for maximum high-quality sound, covering the entire frequency range. It is this kit that is recommended to be used when purchasing home theaters and wanting to listen to pure music from different directions. True, the price for such a kit is already significantly higher than for simplified options.
System components 5.1
The configuration of the 5.1 system means that it includes five speakers and one subwoofer. The speakers included are the same, but they are used for different purposes depending on where they will be installed. So, they are divided into:
- frontal (includes two speakers, installed in front so that the sound goes to the viewer);
- side (also include two speakers, which are placed on the sides to enhance the surround sound);
- central (the remaining column is the voice channel, distributing sound waves between the remaining elements of the system).
A subwoofer is a device that converts low frequencies. The human ear is unable to recognize the direction from which the sound is coming from a subwoofer, so it can be installed anywhere in the room. At the same time, it is he who adds color to the special effects due to bass and outgoing vibration.
Examples of quality 5.1 systems
To reproduce high-quality sound, you should give preference to trusted manufacturers and their models. Examples of the best 5.1 speaker systems include:
- Konoos KNS-CS200Fm;
- SVEN HT-200;
- Microlab M1910;
- Edifier C6XD;
- Logitech Z906.
Connecting 5.1 systems
The 5.1 system includes six speakers; as a result, they will require more connectors than a stereo pair or 2.1 system. It will not be possible to combine all the speakers with one cable and connect the entire system to one line output on the sound card.
Connecting a surround sound system to your computer
Both discrete and modern integrated sound cards are capable of splitting sound into multiple channels. A typical analog sound card designed to connect 5.1 speakers will have several outputs with a diameter of 3.5 mm:
- for front speakers;
- for the central speaker and subwoofer;
- for rear speakers.
Paired speakers will be combined by connecting to a common socket. In total, therefore, you will need 3 connectors, each of which will have a corresponding color marking. Additionally, the sound card may have an output for satellites, a microphone jack and a line input, but in this situation you will not need them.
To connect all components in unified system, you will need a set of RCA - mini-jack cables. Connection is carried out in the following order:
- All speakers are connected to the sound control module - all connectors on it are labeled, so it’s almost impossible to get confused. The only important point is that you need to connect to a block of sockets labeled Audio Output.
- Cables from the three colored jacks go to the corresponding connectors on the sound card - front speakers to green, rear speakers to black, subwoofer/center to yellow.
WITH digital sound everything is simpler - after combining the speakers in the control module, only one cable goes to the computer - coaxial or optical S/PDIF.
Connecting 5.1 speakers to your TV
As a rule, connecting such a system to a TV is done in one of three ways:
- an HDMI cable going to the receiver that combines the speakers;
- optical cable;
- coaxial cable;
- via one of the analog interfaces.
In any case, before connecting the speakers to the TV's sound card, they must be combined. To do this, use either an AV receiver or an audio amplifier. On its surface you can find many RCA connectors - thus, an analog signal always goes to the speakers, which is converted from digital using the digital-to-analog converter built into the receiver.
Just like with a computer, you will need a lot of cables. All of them are inserted at one end into the connectors on the speakers, and at the other into the corresponding outputs on the receiver. The digital interface on the receiver is then connected to the corresponding connector on the TV body.
A home theater is purchased with the expectation of high-quality surround sound. It can be issued by a universal 5.1 system, which transmits everything sound effects modern films. Home theater acoustics have several parameters that need to be taken into account when purchasing.
The AC 5.1 complex consists of five speakers and one subwoofer. This is the most common system. Speakers should be placed around the perimeter of the room in accordance with their purpose. Kit includes:
- central sound emitter;
- two frontal (front);
- two rear;
- subwoofer.
7.1 systems, which include additional speakers, are also popular. There are complexes 9.1 and 9.2, however, quantity does not always replace quality. For high-quality sound, five standard acoustic emitters are sufficient.
Criterias of choice
Before purchasing, you need to consider the installation option, housing material, power, frequency range and sensitivity.
Design
Columns can be floor-mounted or mounted, which can be placed on shelves. With the floor-standing version, the sound is deeper.
Material
The box must be strong and rigid enough to allow sound to be reproduced without distortion. The material can be tree, metal And plastic.
For emitters with wooden case best performance. Metal and plastic cases They are also durable, but they may vibrate when playing sound at high volumes.
Power
The higher this indicator, the less distortion there will be during sound transmission. More powerful speakers are better at reproducing peripheral and subtle sounds.
Rated power expressed in RMS value, which shows the total power of all acoustic emitters. This is the real value at which the system will operate for a long period.
There is also peak power rating PMPO, which operates the speaker for about one second at its highest volume. This is the maximum value that the speakers can withstand. It is several times higher than the rated power and is not considered an objective indicator.
The power of the speakers must be selected based on the size of the room. The larger the area of the room, the higher this indicator should be.
For rooms with an area of 20-30 square meters, you will need acoustics with a power of about 100 W. From 30 to 40 - approximately 150 W. In a small room of 15-17 square meters, 70 W is enough.
frequency range
A person perceives and distinguishes sounds that range from 20 to 20,000 Hz. It is in this range that the frequency of conventional emitters should be. And the subwoofer can reproduce low-frequency sound of about 2-250 Hz.
Sensitivity
This indicator is measured in decibels. Most acoustic systems have sensitivity 80-100 dB. This value is directly proportional to the volume of the sound signal.
Speaker placement
The speaker system must be positioned correctly. Only in this case will there be a surround sound effect. When arranging all the elements, you need to adhere to general rules that can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Central emitter placed opposite the place where the viewer will sit. As a rule, it is located under the TV. Two front speakers should be located to the right and left of the TV at a short distance. They are rotated so that they are located at an angle of approximately 30 degrees.
Rear acoustic elements installed in the opposite part of the room on both sides of the user. They should be slightly behind him if possible. The speakers are rotated so that the speakers face the center of the room.
Subwoofer installed on the right or left side of the room at some distance from the center. It should be approximately in line with the center column or slightly ahead of it.
Model overview
To choose the right acoustics for your home theater, look at the review of popular 5.1 systems. This is a selection of floor and wall-mounted systems from well-known manufacturers.
A powerful, multi-functional system that creates massive multi-channel audio. The rated power indicator is 275 W.
Compact speakers can be placed on shelves or hung on the wall. Only the subwoofer with a 130 mm speaker has large dimensions. All speakers are built into a durable closed housing.
- the system produces clear and deep sound;
- powerful bass.
- in reviews, buyers indicate a high price of about 60 thousand rubles;
- expensive hanging brackets.
The acoustic complex has good power and clear surround sound. The cases are made of wood, painted black.
Two tall front speakers are installed on the floor. The rear sound emitters are small and can be placed on shelves. And the subwoofer is large and has an impressive speaker. This model costs about 33 thousand rubles.
Advantages:
- deep transparent sound;
- high-quality assembly.
Among the shortcomings, users highlight low sensitivity, but it is precisely due to this that the sound is clear.
This brand makes budget equipment. The system is well suited for a small apartment. It can also be connected to a computer. Total power - 80 W. The speakers produce good clear sound and smooth, rich bass. The emitter housings are made of durable wood.
Another inexpensive system designed for a small apartment. The total power is 75 W, which is quite enough for a room of 20 square meters.
The small speakers have a streamlined shape and durable plastic housings. The rear and front sound emitters are the same size; they are conveniently placed on small shelves. You can buy it for an average of 7.5 thousand rubles.
- the acoustics give decent sound at medium volume;
- thick long wires;
- quality materials.
- bass is not deep enough;
- There is sometimes a little noise coming from the subwoofer.
Choose speakers based on the size of the room in which the home theater will be installed. If the area is small, it will be enough budget system with average power. If the room size is more than 30 square meters, it is worth considering more expensive floor complexes.
When choosing computer acoustics, you need to immediately understand its palliative properties; the main goal when designing it is maximum ease of connection to a computer; the sound quality here can be noticeably inferior to Hi-Fi and especially Hi-End systems. However, this is not always a minus for a computer or laptop: if the built-in sound card acts as a sound source, then connecting a highly sensitive discrete amplifier to it will make it possible to enjoy the entire spectrum of interference instead of music (it happens that you can even clearly hear movement wireless mouse). The rough built-in amplifier of computer acoustics simply will not notice this interference.
If you are interested in sound quality, then in this case you can choose a fairly high-quality kit, unless, of course, there is a desire or opportunity to assemble a “DAC + amplifier + passive speaker system” kit.
Recommendations for choosing speakers for a computer will be largely traditional: first of all, you should take into account the size and quality of the speaker cones; small-sized acoustics will not only not provide high-quality bass, but will also wear out more. At least 125 mm midrange drivers in durable MDF housings will be quite sufficient for a 2.0 system, but for the quality of the “bottom” a subwoofer will never be superfluous.
Computer acoustics have their own characteristic nuance with ease of control: almost always the amplifier is placed in one of the speakers, and the controls are also located there. Many manufacturers hide the controls on the back wall, apparently believing that the user will be able to adjust tone and volume from the sound card control panel. However, the most convenient are the kits where the controls are located “on the face” of the speaker closest to the right hand, so as not to overpay for remote controls.
Many connoisseurs of music and high-quality sound prefer to listen to songs and watch movies High Quality use a 5.1 speaker system. This kind of acoustics essentially consists of six channels to which their own speakers are connected - a subwoofer (low-frequency speaker), two front speakers (left and right), a central front speaker and a pair of rear speakers (also left and right). We'll talk about how to connect 5.1 speakers to a computer below.
Assembly and installation of a 5.1 speaker system
The subwoofer is traditionally installed on the floor and houses an amplifier with a power supply, to which all other components of the system are connected. But there are exceptions when the receiver is made separately, and all the acoustics are connected to it. The terminals for connecting each speaker are marked. The symbols used to identify the front speakers are FR (Front Right) and FL (Front Left), CEN (Center), RR (Rear Right) and RL (Rear Left). If the subwoofer is passive, that is, it does not include an amplifier, then it is also connected to the receiver itself, which has the corresponding SW marking. According to this marking, the first step is to connect all the speakers and place them in the appropriate order in the room.
Connecting speakers to a computer
To connect speaker system 5.1 connection to your computer, you must have a sound card installed on it that allows you to reproduce sound in 5.1. This can be either a sound card integrated into the motherboard or a sound card installed separately in the PCI slot.
The 5.1 system is connected by three pairs of cables, which have a mini-jack on one side for connecting directly to a computer, and on the other side “tulips” (stereo RCA) for connecting to the receiver’s inputs (Audio Input). Here you should pay attention to the fact that to connect speakers to the receiver (subwoofer), “tulip” type connectors with the designation Audio Output and speaker markings (FR, FL, etc.) are also used. You cannot plug computer cables into these connectors!
Correctly connecting the computer's audio outputs to the correct inputs of the receiver will allow you to quickly set up the system and enjoy high-quality sound. So, the front channel (front speakers) should be connected to the green jack, the rear channel (rear speakers) should usually be connected to the black jack, and the subwoofer and center speaker channel to the orange jack. To ensure that everything is completed without errors, you should first carefully study the manual for your motherboard or a sound card, where it should be indicated which of the sockets is responsible for which channel.
Setting up 5.1 sound in Windows 7/10
After all the cables are connected, you should proceed to setting up 5.1 acoustics in the operating room itself Windows system 7 or 10. Open the “Control Panel” and go to the “Sound” section. Here, go to the “Playback” tab, where select “Speakers” from the list.
Next, click the “Customize” button at the bottom of the window and select “5.1 surround sound” in the window that opens. On at this stage You can check that the speakers are connected correctly by clicking on one or another speaker and checking that the speakers match the diagram. If necessary, check that the speakers and audio outputs from the computer are connected correctly. Complete the 5.1 audio setup by following the steps to the end.
As a rule, no further action is required from you; the only thing you should pay attention to is the system operating mode switch on the receiver (subwoofer). On many models, in addition to 5.1, there are other operating modes, such as stereo and, if there is a digital input, SPDIF. When connecting using the above method, the switch must be set to position 5.1. If your sound card does not support five-channel sound, then you can play regular stereo sound on a 5.1 system by simply moving the corresponding switch to the desired position. Of course, in this case you will not be able to enjoy truly five-channel sound. The same applies to the audio files themselves, which are recorded as stereo. Even when using sound card 5.1 they will sound like stereo, only on 5 pairs of speakers.
The 5.1 acoustic format is most often used for home theaters. Everyone knows this very well. Also everyone knows that 5.1 systems use one large subwoofer and 5 satellites. But, still, what is 5.1 acoustics? Not every user knows how audio equipment in this category works.
The implementation scheme for such acoustic installations is in many ways similar to the 2.1 format systems that are popular all over the world. The only difference is that they use more additional speakers, each equipped with a midrange speaker and tweeter. The role of satellites can be performed by small speakers of equal power. There are also combined options: the main sound stream located opposite the viewer, a pair of front floor-standing speakers, and three bookshelf speakers acting as rear satellites.
It all works on the same principle: it is responsible for reproducing low frequencies in the range of up to 300 Hertz.
Scheme correct placement Speakers in a 5.1 home theater
So, 5 columns. What are their functions? Two of them are called frontal. As the name implies, they are placed in front, mainly in front of the home theater screen. Rear-type speakers are installed at equal distances behind the user. The general picture looks like this: speakers are placed in the corners of the room, which, when playback starts, create a full-fledged presence effect. An important point in connecting 5.1 format is not to confuse the speakers. Each must stand in its place, otherwise the musical picture will be disrupted. This, perhaps, is one of the main differences from the 2.1 format.
Acoustics 5.1. How to choose?
To avoid making a mistake, be prepared to spend a lot of money. No, no one says that there are no cheap 5.1 systems, but, as practice shows, most budget models inferior in sound reproduction quality to average two-channel speakers.
Once you have decided on your budget, you should pay attention to the power of the options offered. Not because this parameter is the main one, but because you need to correlate the acoustics capabilities with the area of the room. Based on the proportion of 100 watts per 10-12 m2.
Ideal placement of acoustics according to the 5.1 scheme
Once you have an approximate value for the required power, you can discard those models that fall far outside the acceptable range. Having narrowed the range of options, look at the frequency response indicator sensitivity and, of course, the frequency range. The amplitude-frequency response should be smooth and the frequency range should be wide. The name of the manufacturer plays not the least role in this matter. First of all, we recommend that you look at products from leading brands: , Monitor Audio, and so on. Based on this, you can make the right decision.
Acoustics 5.1 How to connect?
There are only two in this case important points:
* First - correct connection columns There is a label on the back of each speaker indicating where it should be placed. When connecting wires, also be careful. Each cord leads to a corresponding speaker.
* The second is the location of the subwoofer. A loudspeaker that emits low frequencies should be installed where the sound quality will be optimal.
To identify a suitable point in the room, play loud music with powerful bass and move the subwoofer and listen to the timbre of the sound. Through trial and error, you will soon be able to decide on the best option.
CINEMA 510
IN Lately consumers are paying more and more attention to the innovative Cinema 510 model from trademark JBL. This acoustic installation pleases the ears of users with bright musical shades, softness of playback and variety of sound. The total power of the system is 310 Watts, which is quite enough for a room of 20 m2. Subwoofer - 60 Watt, and 5 speakers of 50 Watt each. frequency range systems extend from 150 Hz to 20 kHz. At this interval, all colors and tones are revealed. Cinema 510 creates a distinct musical image in the room, enhanced by soft highs and powerful low notes.
With a system of this level, watching movies turns into pure pleasure. The effect of presence completely envelops the viewer and takes him into the thick of the events of the film.
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