Front rendered surround sound is not a gimmick
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted July 22nd 2010 11:59AM
posted July 22nd 2010 11:59AM
A perspective
Psychoacoustics have fascinated us since the first time we listened to a great two channel HiFi system, we closed our eyes and could almost picture the vocals coming from the center of the room, a spot where there were no speakers to be found. So when we first heard the idea of front rendered surround sound, we might've been a little more open to the idea than others. A simple way to explain front rendered surround sound is you take multi-channel audio and process it for two speakers in a way that tricks the brain into thinking there are more than two speakers. It's kind of like a ventriloquist who can throw their voice to make it appear as if it was coming from a dummy, rather than their own mouth. So no tricking the brain in this way is not new, but applying it in the home theater is much more recent. And besides, if you think about it, all surround sound is simulated and works by tricking the brain -- you didn't think there were actually bullets flying around your room did you?
The application
We wanted to try this technology in as many ways as we could, but what we learned was that SRS's version is only featured in sound bars and TVs -- other manufacturers do have their own flavors though. And since one speaker in our test theater is more expensive than most sound bars, and bigger than many HDTVs, it wasn't an easy thing to test comparatively. So what we did was to instead compare it to just the speakers built into TVs and sound bars, without the feature enabled. No, we don't think TV speakers or sound bars are the best way to add audio to your home theater system, but we do recognize that most people don't have the means, room, or even the desire for a big surround sound system (or they do and don't use it because of the added complexity of needing more than one remote, etc.)
An HDTV featuring SRS TheaterSound
The first test we did was with a new Samsung UN40C7000 LED back-lit LCD TV. This is a very stylish HDTV which means the speakers are so small you can't find 'em. The problem of course is that small speakers have almost no bass, but enabling TheaterSound seemingly extends the reach of the little speakers beyond the sides of the TV. So instead of all the audio coming from one place, it does make the sound appear as if the speakers were off to the sides. The sound does not wrap around you and to be honest doesn't really live up to the "theater sound" that the name implies. To top it off there is a very specific sweet spot of about 4-6 feet directly in front of the TV, and the volume has to be turned 3/4th of the way up to really get appreciate the affect; which pushes the speakers beyond where we'd like. Now to be fair there is only so much you can do with small TV speakers and while this might be ok for a bedroom -- you know, if the TV was at the foot of the bed -- it really wouldn't satisfy anyone who considers themselves a home theater enthusiasts. All that being said, we do prefer the sound with TheaterSound on because it sounds noticeably better. This particular TV also features modes for watching at night or for the hearing impaired and we actually found these features very useful in the bedroom setting as well.
Vizio VSB210 with TruSurround HD
If you haven't figured it out already, sound bars are the latest rage and for good reason; there simply isn't an easier way to get decent sound out of a simple system than adding a sound bar (what can be easier than just placing a speaker in front of a TV?) The Vizio VSB210 really gives you a better idea of what SRS technology can do. There is no mistaking this sound bar for the speakers in an HDTV and enabling TruSurround HD brings a noticeable improvement. We needed a little help with this one so we took it to our guinea pig's house since they're a big movie fan who is accustomed to watching content with TV speakers. This is a more typical scenario than most home theater fans would admit since there are plenty of reasons why people can't install a proper surround sound system. The improvement the Vizio sound bar provided over the 50-inch plasmas' internal speakers was substantial and while like the Samsung TV, you never felt like any sound was coming from behind you, your initial impression is that enabling TruSurround HD gives the sound more "depth." We did a few blind tests where we paused the movie and enabled or disabled TruSurround and were able to identify if it was enabled accurately every single time. So after watching a few of our favorite well mixed movie scenes via Blu-ray, we asked our guinea pig how much more he'd pay for the feature and answered "nothing." Not a glowing endorsement, but then we asked, "if there were two sound bars at the same price and one featured TruSurround and one didn't, which would you choose?" The quick reply was "the one with."
Conclusion
In the end we're disappointed we couldn't try the technology on our main pair of front home theater speakers, but we did come away with an appreciation of what it can do. We don't think our sample equipment compares to what we're used to and at no time during any of our tests did we feel like sound was coming from behind us. But all that being said, we do believe both version of SRS' front rendered surround sound technologies achieve what they set out to. So while we appreciate the technology and believe it has a place in the audio industry, we don't think it has a place in our home theater and we remain open to trying the technology on a higher caliber two-channel system.
I bought the Bose 3-2-1 Series II speaker set a few years ago and I can honestly say it made me believe in 2 speaker surround. It isn't as good as having 5.1 obviously because the surround effect is not coming from a physical speaker behind you but it feels very immersive. Like a theatre in the sense that you feel saturated in sound and with the quality of the audio in Bose equipment it is that much better.
I would consider the 3-2-1 at least on par with most sub $500 for surround experience, and way ahead in quality of the audio. The day I bought it the first thing I watched was Transformers and it was as good as the day I saw it in theatre.
@Halfyada
The fact that you compare a Bose favorably with surround systems costing ~$500 shows that you can't appreciate good audio. Bose (anything) is far more gimmicky than any soundbar can ever aspire to be.
@spamfree
I don't think Bose is bad sounding by any means.
For their size and for factor they are good... and they can do
some interesting things with those small speakers.
But any person educated in speaker design wouldn't pay even half the retail price for a Bose system... considering how cheap the components are in the systems.
When I worked in retail at CompUSA, one of my Co Workers got a Bose Lifestyle system for about $500....
That's not a bad price to pay.... compared to the 2k+ that Bose wants.
@spamfree
Have you been in a position to hear many of these front rendered setups before?
The 3-2-1 is better than any sound bar or any other 2/2.1 "surround" option I've seen so far.
Obviously, a descent 5.1 setup correctly will give a better surround experience (tv/movies) than 2.1 is what I was saying (the 3-2-1 beats it hands down for music).
I agree that Bose is steep on the prices, but they do make good speakers. Of all the clubs I've been to, one has Bose speakers and the sound is great and the speakers are a quarter the size you would expect for the setup.
For the record, I got mine clearance because the Series III was about to launch.
"at no time during any of our tests did we feel like sound was coming from behind us"
So this isn't a gimmick how?
Excellent movie. R.I.P Heath Ledger
Perhaps this article points out that there could one day be a budget alternative to having 5.1 or 7.1 speakers, but I can't get past the grammar genocide that was this post.
@ultimate issue I hear you. Reading stream of consciousness is not enjoyable.
Surround sound is a gimmick.
WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL MEEEHH!
After listening to the last podcast, I'm a lot more open to the idea of SRS surround.
The guy from SRS made a lot of really strong points about how sound works and he seemed to know a lot about what he was talking about. He wasn't just there to put some PR spin and claim it was magic.
I've also always been an advocate in investing in a good pair of stereo speakers over a cheap 5.1 HTIB if your money is tight, too.
Anyways, great article.
@asgiov I've never liked SRS' technologies. Every time I've tried them, they've made everything sound... well, weird. Maybe it's just me, but I've never found it to make any improvement in sound. One of my DirecTV receivers (an old one) has SRS TrueSurround built-in, but it makes everything sound quieter, so I end up having to turn the volume up much higher. And don't get me started on the SRS "WOW" effect in Windows Media Player. In the end, I'd stick with Dolby Pro Logic II for two-speaker virtual-surround rendering.
@aschettler
SRS sounds like someone put noise cancelation into the mix and sucked out a large portion of the midrange. Vocals get this hollow sound and I feel like I need to pop my ears.
@aschettler
I agree with you. All of my past experience with SRS Lab stuff hasn't been good.
But after hearing the podcast, I decided to try the SRS Circle Surround with my car stereo... which I never turned on. Personally, I thought it had a pretty good effect. It didn't 'muff' the sound in any way that I noticed.
I've been using it for music for the past week... I'm not sure if I'll stick with it... but for now I'm trying it out and enjoying it. I am usually a purest through and through...
I can't imagine SRS Lab stuff will be great in every situation, but in a controlled situation... I think it could be good stuff...
And it also sounds like they are constantly working on improving it. Which will keep me looking out to see what they do... even if it's out of pure interest.
The one real problem with 5.1 is being able to tell which speaker the sound is coming from (di-pole speakers can help with this) which can be distracting. From what I've read with the right room good soundbars can give you the rear sound without the directionality of 5.1 systems. I'm going to try one, I'm thinking of going with a Sony for the wealth of inputs, to see just how good they are.
I feel the same way about SRS and other simulated surround systems that I feel about Dolby Pro Logic II, IIz, DTS Neo 6 and all the other DSP modes on modern receivers: sometimes they sound pretty good, but more often than not they just screw everything up. I love technology but ultimately I want a person to be in charge of making decisions about my sound mix, not a chip.
My father in law has that exact Vizio soundbar/sub combo and it is what it is. Nobody would ever confuse it with a real surround sound system though. No matter how great the technology for surround sound simulation gets these systems will always be burdened with nonstandard room configurations. If I couldn't run wires to the rear speakers I'd almost rather have a good 2.1 system than a sound bar
Ok, I try my best to let little mistakes go, I really do. However, when I can't get through a paragraph without three or four grammatical and spelling errors, it significantly lowers my overall sense of quality.
I won't go into every error, but this article is full of them, and it is disappointing.
Is it too much to ask for a little more quality control? I would bet you could even farm out some proofreading to your loyal readers, so they could help out.
I have it and I don't understand it. Do I need to be receiving a Surround signal for it work? The only thing I noticed was that my TV is louder when SRS is off.
I've never been able to make up my mind about the rationale for surround sound.
-We've only got 2 ears, so logically 2 sound sources ought to theoretically be able to reproduce what our ears and brain process as 3-dimensional sound.
But would the speakers absolutely need to be next to each ear?
Would the recording microphones have tohave been in the same position?
I do know though that I like to watch movies better with 7.1 surround sound from 7 speakers (well, more than that actually with tweeters and woofers, etc.) and a pair of subwoofers, whether that has anything to do with accuracy or not.
@GuyOnline
We only have 2 ears but sound in the real world doesn't just come from two sources in front of us. Sound emanates from multiple sources all around us.
An array of speakers arranged around our bodies is a whole lot better at reproducing this effect than a bar of tiny drivers under our TV and some DSP trickery. Simulated surround always sound like someone just turned on some reverb to me and played with the EQ.
@GuyOnline
Your ears themselves assist your ear drums to detect sounds from any direction. There have been tests with blind folded people and someone walks around them with a drum and the subject is asked to point to the where the drum came from. The results are astounding, the subjects can almost always point to the drummer no matter where they were standing despite not being able to see them.
I think we can all agree the gimmick here is the silly man dressed up as a bat.
but if what would naturally be received by each ear is reproduced accurately by one speaker at each ear shouldn't that be as close to what you would actually hear in reality as you can get?
... with some subwoofer thrown in for what you feel in addtion to what you hear with your ears.
With movies, especially the special-effects/action type, the artificial reality composed by the audio team makes it more fun than "accurate" would be. I mean, who is ever going to hear light-sabers anyway, and you certainly couldn't hear/feel the passage of a deathstar in airless space. >;^>
In this case, accuracy is hearing what the composer meant you to hear.
Interesting you guys pick the Vizio SRS Bar, I was thinking of grabbing it at Costco the other day (while making my routine flat of powerade run)
@maythetechbewithyou
My room mate actually has this sound bar and while it doesn't mimic surround sound the added "umph" is really good. The highs are crisp and mid range sounds full, low end is of course handled by a sub which you supply or you can buy the bundle (i think its a wireless sub, not sure). The only bad thing is that the remote sucks.
IMAX uses sound bars, about 40 of em!
the built-in speakers on my 320xvt still surprise to this day
Does anyone else feel that was a very poorly written lead in. I'm interested in the technology and I didn't really want to read passed the fold.
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