Home Theater

Newest Technologies Make Installing Home Theater Kits A Breeze

The process of installing multi-channel audio speakers in home theater products is relatively tedious and vendors have invented new products and technologies like wireless surround sound speakers or surround sound wireless headphones recently to help simplify the setup. I am going to take a look at a number of of the latest technologies which were designed to make setting up home theater systems a snap. I will highlight what to look out for when making your buying decision.

Most of latest TVs will be set up as a multi-channel audio system. While historically TVs would have built-in stereo speakers, these days a number of external loudspeakers are used to let the viewer experience surround sound. The most commonly used 5.1 surround sound format requires installing a total of 6 speakers. These are one center speaker, two front side speakers, two rear speakers and a subwoofer. The newer 7.1 standard raises this number to 8 by adding two additional side speakers.

As a result, home theater setups have become fairly complex. Running cables to remote speakers also is often undesirable because of aesthetic reasons. Several technologies have emerged to simplify this process.

One approach is minimizing the number of loudspeakers by making virtual speakers. This technique applies signal processing to the audio and adds phase shifts and cues to the sound that would usually be sent through the remote loudspeaker. The audio is next broadcast by the front speakers along with the front speaker sound components. The signal processing is modeled after the human hearing. It utilizes the knowledge about how the human ear can determine the origin of sound. Because of the signal processing, the viewer is tricked into assuming the audio is originating from virtual remote surround loudspeakers.

Virtual surround avoids the remote speakers and simplifies the installation and also avoids long speaker cord runs. On the other hand, it also has a downside. The shape of each human’s ear is slightly different. Therefore everybody processes sound differently. Because the signal processing is based on a standard human ear model, virtual surround will not work equally well for each person dependant upon how much the viewer differs from the standard model.

Wireless surround sound devices are one more approach for simplifying home speaker setups and usually have a transmitter module which connects to the source in addition to wireless amplifiers which will connect to the remote loudspeakers. This transmitter will typically provide line-level along with amplified speaker inputs. Ideally it should come with a volume control to adjust it to the audio source.

Some wireless speaker kits are designed to connect 2 speakers per wireless amplifier. A superior solution would have a wireless amplifier for every remote speaker to avoid the cable runs between each of the 2 remote speakers. The most advanced wireless devices employ digital transmission to avoid signal degradation. In multi-channel audio systems, it is important to choose a wireless option with a latency of merely a few milliseconds. This will make certain that the sound of all speakers is in perfect sync. A high latency would lead to an echo effect. This effect would deteriorate the surround effect. Some wireless systems operate at 5.8 GHz which offers the advantage of less competition from other wireless devices than products utilizing the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band.

A different method, which is often called sound bars utilizes side-reflecting loudspeakers. In this case the audio for the remote loudspeakers will be sent by individual loudspeakers located at the front at an angle and reflected by walls as to appear to be originating from besides or behind the viewer. The effect heavily depends on the interior, in particular the shape of the room and the decoration. It will work well for square rooms with no obstacles and sound reflecting walls. Then again, realistic scenarios frequently will vary from this ideal and reduce the result of this approach.

Sennheiser RS 170 Digital Wireless Headphones

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VIZIO Active Noise Canceling HD Home Theater Headphones with Wireless Dock $249.99

NEW VIZIO HOME THEATER HEADPHONES WIRELESS IPOD DOCK XVTHP200 NOISE CANCELING $189.99

New Vizio Home Theater Wireless Headphones w ipod dock $185.00

Sony MDR-RF970RK wireless headphones, super comfortable for home theater use! $65.00

Hercules 2.0 USB 35 Stereo Speaker Kit Master Volume Control Knob Headphone Jack Carrying Case $35.93 Headphone jack and microphone input on the front of the control speaker. Master volume control knob on the front of the control speaker. Black piano-like finish on front of speakers. Satellite dimensions: 19cm (height) x 6.2cm (width) x 7.3cm (depth). Includes a protective carrying case. Product meets RoHS standards….

Defender Security 1 X 2 Distribution Amplifier Dual Power 12VDC/24VAC With 12VDC Power Supply $63.34 1 x 2 Distribution Amplifier….

TV Ears Home Theater System – Wireless Headphones $449.95 The Home Theatre System comes with two headsets, all the accessories and features of the Professional, covers up to 3000 sq ft. , is hearing aid compatible and comes with a 1 yr warranty and a 30 day money back guarantee. The TV Ears Home Theater system features our proprietary Voice Enhancement Technology which clarifies television dialog like no other wireless headset; Automatic Commercial Cont…

TV Ears Home Theater System, Most Powerful TV Ear System $449.95 MAKE TV VOLUME AS LOUD AS YOU NEED IT WITHOUT DISTURBING OTHERS. Clearly hear your TV without turning up the volume. The TV Ears Home Theatre system is configured so the transmitter and headset charger are separated. The thin design of the Power Stacker Transmitter can be discreetly attached to a wall mounted flat screen TV or built in TV while the headset charging cradle can be placed near the se…

Panasonic RP-HT21 Lightweight Headphones with XBS Port $5.95 Take your music on the run with Panasonic’s lightweight, low-cost RP-HT21 over-ear headphones. Their large, 30 mm diaphragms offer full-bodied sound free of the harshness and discomfort that usually accompany earbud-style earphones. The headphones’ open-air design minimizes adverse resonances, and Panasonic’s XBS acoustic ports naturally emphasize bass frequencies for rich sound from nearly any so…