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3.1 Speakers?

Z

zerga

n00b
Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
31
Hello all,
With bookshleves being all the rave these days, I was wondering why there aren't many 3.1 options? I understand that bookshelves are vastly superior, but as I was looking for a nice set, I couldn't find any big name 3.1 sets.

Is there a reason for this? Does the center speaker not provide any additional depth or value?

Personally, I really like the center speaker and think it definitely adds. I currently run a 3.1 setup.
 
5.1 computer speakers are cheap. Just don't use the rear speakers.
 
Because it isn't a standard used by anything. I mean sure you can make a 3.1 setup, and you can have something like Pro Logic spread sound to it, or have a receiver mix down a 5.1 signal to it but there is no 3.1 standard anything is designed for.
 
Two moderate or higher quality bookshelf speakers will simulate the center channel just fine in most computer setups.
 
I wonder about this too, mainly because I have a reasonably nice center channel speaker I'm not using, bought on its own. My current setup has no real place for the back pair. It's not a silly question.
 
a center channel only really makes sense in a home theater environment

a) it isnt necessary if you sit exactly between the two front speakers and you position them correctly. this is very easy to achieve at a computer desk. very difficult in a living room, and impossible if you want to have more than one person enjoy.

b) another reason for a fund allocation.. you can put most of your cost in the center channel and go cheap on the rest if you want.

c) the center track in movies is used for mostly dialog while effects and music come from the other 4. for games/music, not really as important, and/or the effects are more important.

you may be asking, so why 5.1 sets exist then instead of 4.1 sets? well, back in the day, they did have 4.1 sets. only after dvd roms hit the market did they really come out in full swing and start to replace 4.1 sets. speaker makers wanted to advertise a home theater experience on a pc. thats why you see 5.1.
 
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There also never was a 4.1 spec, there is 4.0, quadrophonic, but it was very rare to see anything that used it. Theaters went with a 5.1 spec, the center channel being rather necessary for dialogue localization in a large setting like that, and a separate LFE channel to allow for not only more directed and intense effects, but also louder. THX specs 105dB for main channels, 115dB for LFE.

That's also another reason for 5.1 in the home is that your receiver will turn on a non-defeatable dynamic range compression if any channel is missing per the Dolby spec. The reason is otherwise you could risk exceeding reference levels and blowing a speaker. Now most systems don't handle reference levels anyhow, but it is part of the spec.
 
Sycraft said:
There also never was a 4.1 spec, there is 4.0, quadrophonic, but it was very rare to see anything that used it. Theaters went with a 5.1 spec, the center channel being rather necessary for dialogue localization in a large setting like that, and a separate LFE channel to allow for not only more directed and intense effects, but also louder. THX specs 105dB for main channels, 115dB for LFE.
Click to expand...

we're talking about computer audio here, i dont know why your mentioning theaters, the OP has not. and there definitely were 4.1 sets around 10-15 years ago, and sound cards started coming with 4 ch channel capability before 5.1.

and 4.1 is mentioned in the same vein as 2.1. yes there is no discrete sub woofer channel, its created by the sound processor or crossover of the system. do you go around correcting people who say 2.1, saying there is no dolby 2.1 only dolby 2.0 ?

That's also another reason for 5.1 in the home is that your receiver will turn on a non-defeatable dynamic range compression if any channel is missing per the Dolby spec. The reason is otherwise you could risk exceeding reference levels and blowing a speaker. Now most systems don't handle reference levels anyhow, but it is part of the spec.
Click to expand...

while that is correct, the way you word it makes it sound like circular reasoning. a more parsimonious answer might be, films are mixed with a center channel, and dolby labs spec includes dynamic compression for phantom centers.

then you might want to include relevant information for a computer user such as
a) games wont be in Dolby, and for movies and videos, you can use a quality playback program with high quality folders.
b) you can choose a DTS track if you wish; dts is taking over for blu ray anyway...the only time i see dolby anymore is on dvds and 'obtained' blu ray rips. (i rip into dts)
c) you can stream LPCM to your reciever if you have that capability, or if your using a computer speaker set go with A)

the only time you'd really have a problem at the PC is if you were using spidf and didnt have a dts connect sound card. in every other situation there is a perfectly acceptable work around.

dont get me wrong, a center is absolutely crucial in a living room, but not so much at a desk, and there are workarounds when you have a computer anyway. thats all.
 
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The compression is something receivers engage when they are missing a channel, regardless of input. It is just a part of the feature set. It is a Dolby spec in origin, but it is universal to their operation (at least all the ones I've tested and asked about).

In terms of computers, 4.1 is actually more problematic. Windows doesn't support 4.1, only 4.0. So it won't handle any bass redirection/LFE output. So you either need a soundcard that will deal with that for you, or you have to do bass redirection yourself, and it would take additional hardware to handle it from 4 channels to a sub. A reliever would do the trick, of course but then with the compression aspect.

I agree a center isn't needed and indeed I didn't want one. I have speakers with superb channel balance and a center actually makes imaging worse since it is elevated (to clear the monitor). However after much research, I discovered there was no good way around it. I could do 4.0 (which is what I was doing) or 5.1, but 4.1 there wasn't a very good solution for. So 5.1 it is.

I could, I suppose, set Windows to do quadrophonic sound and then just have the center sit inactive. That'd work fine for games. However it would cause issues with actual 5.1 sources like DVD Audio. So I just leave it all enabled.
 
Hmm..I see. Judging from all the respones, I suppose I won't be missing out too much from downgrading from my 3.1set to a 2.1 system.

I definitely like how certain channels are played through the center speaker, but I presume an upgrade in speaker quality will help me forget :)
 
If you're at a desk or properly seated between the two main speakers, they'll create the illusion of a center channel (or of sound coming from between them) very very well... Provided the speakers are decent anyway. Positioning is key tho, how you place your speakers is important, having them sitting right on the desk with no angling is one of the worst things.
 
3.1 setup is gonna be hard to find and a bit pointless as as 5.1 will be output mostly to LR speakers.
 
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