| | Getting the Most from Surround Sound So you're all hooked up for gaming. The question is: What to do about sound? You can always listen to your games and DVD movies through your TV or stereo system. But for the best, most realistically convincing sound, we recommend listening in 5.1-channel surround sound using optional home theater equipment. You can go with an all-in-one home theater (sometimes referred to as a "home theater in a box," or HTIB) or with a multichannel speaker system—both of which are perfect for delivering enveloping sound under tight space or budget constraints. You can also assemble something more complex with stand-alone amplification and larger, fuller-sounding speakers than you'll get in an all-in-one speaker or theater system. The information below will help you choose or refine a satisfying listening system. Setting yourself up to enjoy surround sound requires a few things besides your Xbox 360™ console and a TV or monitor. At a minimum, you'll also need: - An audio surround receiver: typically both the brains and the brawn of an audio system, a surround receiver processes and amplifies the analog or digital audio from your console and channels sound into two or more speakers, depending on your system components and configuration.
When choosing a surround receiver to go with Xbox 360, select one that offers appropriate inputs and format compatibility: specifically, at least one Toslink optical digital-audio input and audio processing for Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Also useful would be the ability to process Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS surround sound (for DVD movies). For format details, see Surround Sound Formats.Note If you'll be using a stand-alone powered speaker system, you may not need a surround receiver. If you forego the receiver, make sure your speaker system has the appropriate digital-audio input and surround-processing ability. - Toslink optical digital-audio cable: This type of cable, sold separately, is required to pass multichannel surround signals from the Xbox 360 console to your surround receiver. For connection tips, see Connect to Digital Audio.
 - Multichannel speaker system: A 5.1-channel surround speaker setup includes six individual speakers: front left, center, and right; rear left/right, and a dedicated subwoofer to handle the ".1" low-frequency effects (LFE) signal—the deep bass. For more information, see Speaker Types.
Some speaker systems are self amplifying and also perform basic surround processing, freeing you from needing a separate audio surround receiver. These tend not to sound as good as systems built around "separates" (separate amplification, surround processing, and speakers). But for general compactness and ease of setup, powered speaker systems can't be beat.
Xbox 360 games use Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, while DVD movies that offer surround sound may use Dolby Digital and/or DTS (Digital Theater Systems), depending on the disc. DTS soundtracks use a higher audio bitrate than Dolby Digital and will usually sound a little better. Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround formats consist of five discrete, full-bandwidth audio channels: front left, center, and right; rear left/right, and a discrete low-frequency effects (LFE) channel intended for reproduction by a subwoofer. So the "5" in "5.1" is for the five main audio signals, while the ".1" represents the limited-bandwidth bass signal. Each signal corresponds to an individual speaker in a multichannel speaker system. Some games offer Dolby Pro Logic II instead of Dolby Digital. This format relies on a surround receiver's ability to extract sonic cues encoded in a game's two-channel (stereo) sound in order to produce 5-channel surround sound (everything but the LFE signal) from either an analog or a digital output from your Xbox 360 console. While a Dolby Pro Logic II soundtrack does not have the same degree of channel separation found in a discrete Dolby Digital soundtrack, a Dolby Pro Logic II soundtrack is backward compatible with any stereo or Dolby Pro Logic receiver, with no required changes in game setup.  For more information about Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic II, see Dolby Technologies in Games.
Properly configured, a 5.1-channel surround speaker system includes the following speakers: - Front left/right speakers: These speakers can be large or small, depending on your taste and available space. Many all-in-one speaker packages use very small, limited-bandwidth front (and center and surround) speakers augmented by a subwoofer. Generally, though, you'll want your main left/right speakers to be as large and full-bodied in sound as possible—especially if you won't be using a subwoofer.
A standard stereo pair of speakers can be pressed into service in a surround system, but the system may suffer from inconsistent sound, speaker to speaker, if the front pair doesn't match the center and surround speakers (as when they're made by a different manufacturer or use different components). - Center-channel speaker: Typically used for dialogue and important sound effects in both movies and games. Here again, a small speaker is convenient but won't sound as natural or full-bodied as a large-cabinet speaker with one or more 5- or 6-inch cone drivers.
Center speakers are video shielded (or "magnetically shielded") to permit placement atop or under standard CRT TVs and monitors with no risk of image distortion. Flat-panel screens such as LCD and plasma TVs are impervious to interference from a speaker's magnets. - Rear left/right speakers: These provide ambience and positional sound effects to help reinforce the illusion of complete immersion in a game's or a movie's simulated environment.
For surrounds, small bookshelf or satellite speakers will usually suffice, but be aware that timbral matching with your other speakers is essential to the most convincing effects. As with the center-channel speaker, it's best if the surround speakers are part of a complete system or a unified line of speakers from a given manufacturer. - Subwoofer: True subwoofers are designed to handle tones so low you don't hear so much as feel them, providing visceral impact for games and action movies or musical presentations. Most subwoofers, however—especially those made for PC and game use—simply fill in audible bass frequencies that bookshelf or satellite speakers are too small to deliver.
As a rule, the larger the subwoofer, the lower the frequencies it's capable of delivering. Subwoofers with a driver (or speaker cone) in the 8- to 12-inch range should give you deep, strong bass. A surround system usually uses one subwoofer.
There are two kinds of subwoofer: powered and passive. Powered subs house their own amplifiers; passive subwoofers rely on external amplifiers (either a surround receiver or an integrated stereo amplifier), just like standard speakers. Passive subs are rare, but some all-in-one theater systems use them. If you're using a surround receiver, you'll want a powered subwoofer. If you're buying a speaker system, find out whether the whole system is self-amplified or if it requires a surround receiver.
Most audio surround receivers will accommodate setups with fewer than six speakers, evenly mixing the sound from, say, the center channel and the subwoofer into the front left/right speakers if you only have four speakers total (front and rear left/right). All-in-one speaker and home theater packages tend to include the requisite cabling for each speaker, but speakers sold individually or in pairs will generally not come with cable. If you're buying speakers, check with your retailer to determine whether you need to buy cables separately. The importance of speaker placement to the enjoyment of both stereo and surround listening cannot be overestimated. - Front left/right speakers: The front left and right speakers supply your stereo sound for music and other programming; place these on either side of your TV. Position them such that the front left/right speakers and your listening area form the three vertices of a roughly equilateral triangle. This is a guideline; feel free to vary the positioning to find the arrangement that sounds best to you. After all, it's your system!
If you have a standard CRT TV or monitor and the front speakers will sit within a foot of it, make sure you're using video-shielded speakers so that their magnets won't distort the TV's picture. If your front speakers are bookshelf or satellite models, consider placing them on dedicated speaker stands for the greatest positioning flexibility. - Center-channel speaker: Set or mount the center-channel speaker on or directly below your TV or monitor. Ideally, each of the three front speakers (left, center, right) will be the same distance from your primary listening position.
The center speaker should be as close to your TV as possible so that dialogue and other important sound will appear to come directly from the screen. - Rear left/right speakers: Position the surround speakers to either side of or behind your listening position. They can be at or above ear level (ceiling mounting might permit optimal placement), but wherever they go they should be off the floor and their output should be unobstructed by furniture or other objects.
- Subwoofer: Because bass frequencies are harder for human ears to localize than treble frequencies—that is, it's harder for us to discern exactly where low sounds are coming from—the placement of your subwoofer is not as critical as the placement of your other speakers. Placing the subwoofer too far to one side can prove distracting, however, especially if the sub is producing sound above 100 Hz or so—a common scenario in subwoofer-satellite systems where the satellites are very small and have very limited bass output.
In general, placing any speaker near a wall or in the corner of the room will reinforce its bass output. To configure your console's audio settings, go to the System area of the Xbox Dashboard and select Console Settings, Audio. Here you can change the audio output settings for games. For more information, see Console Settings. For more information, search online for articles and resources about Surround Sound or Home Theater. |
