Audio 2.0 / 5.1

[Lorcan]

Hello, everyone,

 

I apologize for the trivial question, but I am just starting to understand the main differences between 2.0/2.1 and 5.1 audio systems. 

 

However, I do not understand why when I change the settings on netflix/dvd from 2.0 to 5.1 it seems to me that the 5.1 has a higher quality. I only use a laptop or TV, without external speakers!

 

Thank you!

[rcmaehl]

2.0 - Two speakers (Left, Right)

2.1 - Two speakers (Left, Right), 1 subwoofer

5.1 - Five Speakers (Front Left, Front Center, Front Right, Back Left, Back Right), 1 subwoofer

7.1 - Seven Speakers (Front Left, Front Center, Front Right, Center Left, Center Right, Back Left, Back Right), 1 subwoofer

[Dedayog]

16 minutes ago, Lorcan said:

Hello, everyone,

 

I apologize for the trivial question, but I am just starting to understand the main differences between 2.0/2.1 and 5.1 audio systems. 

 

However, I do not understand why when I change the settings on netflix/dvd from 2.0 to 5.1 it seems to me that the 5.1 has a higher quality. I only use a laptop or TV, without external speakers!

 

Thank you!

Like many things, such as Gold or Plantinum ratings on PSU's, 2 channel or 5.1 channel audio has nothing to do with quality.  You may get a change in sound quality to your ears as the other channels are not being used.  If you force a 5.1 sound thru a TV, you'll only hear the channels the TV is capable of producing.  You won't hear the rear or subwoofer channels for example.  This may seem to give more clarity as the TV's shit speakers are producing less complex sound, now that the other sounds are separated out.

 

Ie.  The 2 speakers in a TV (assuming it has 2) now gets only the front 2 channels instead of the entire sound spectrum that 2.0 stereo would cause.

 

Think of it kind of like taking a pile of rocks and splitting it into 5 smaller piles, then only having to carry 2 of those piles in your hands.  Now take that same original pile and split it into only 2 piles and try to carry that.  First scenario is easier/lighter.  Kind of like for the speakers.  TV/laptop speakers are terrible usually and can sound bad when trying to play a full range of home theatre or music.  But give them a lot less to produce, they can do a little better hence seemingly clearer/better sound.

Edit: I probably explained it badly, hopefully someone with more audio knowledge can clarify for you.

[Lorcan]

1 hour ago, jstudrawa said:

Like many things, such as Gold or Plantinum ratings on PSU's, 2 channel or 5.1 channel audio has nothing to do with quality.  You may get a change in sound quality to your ears as the other channels are not being used.  If you force a 5.1 sound thru a TV, you'll only hear the channels the TV is capable of producing.  You won't hear the rear or subwoofer channels for example.  This may seem to give more clarity as the TV's shit speakers are producing less complex sound, now that the other sounds are separated out.

 

Ie.  The 2 speakers in a TV (assuming it has 2) now gets only the front 2 channels instead of the entire sound spectrum that 2.0 stereo would cause.

 

Think of it kind of like taking a pile of rocks and splitting it into 5 smaller piles, then only having to carry 2 of those piles in your hands.  Now take that same original pile and split it into only 2 piles and try to carry that.  First scenario is easier/lighter.  Kind of like for the speakers.  TV/laptop speakers are terrible usually and can sound bad when trying to play a full range of home theatre or music.  But give them a lot less to produce, they can do a little better hence seemingly clearer/better sound.

Edit: I probably explained it badly, hopefully someone with more audio knowledge can clarify for you.

 

Thank you! It was actually very clear!

 

So when I use the 5.1 on my laptop I am basically "lose" some channel, thus I hear more clearly the others?

[Dedayog]

Just now, Lorcan said:

 

Thank you! It was actually very clear!

 

So when I use the 5.1 on my laptop I am basically "lose" some channel, thus I hear more clearly the others?

Yes, basically, due to the quality of the speakers in the laptop.

[Derkoli]

2 hours ago, Lorcan said:

Hello, everyone,

 

I apologize for the trivial question, but I am just starting to understand the main differences between 2.0/2.1 and 5.1 audio systems. 

 

However, I do not understand why when I change the settings on netflix/dvd from 2.0 to 5.1 it seems to me that the 5.1 has a higher quality. I only use a laptop or TV, without external speakers!

 

Thank you!

The 5.1 will seem to have higher quality as all the effects that are usually on the front channels in a 2.0 get sent to the rear channels, but seen as it is just a 2.0 setup you only hear the front two channels, it basically removes the effects from the front two channels so it lets the drivers react to other sounds/noises much better, this is why a surround system generally always has a subwoofer, as the surround channels do not have to play low bass frequencies (the speakers generally dont play below about 80hz with a sub in the system)

[an actual squirrel]

I think there is no meaningful difference between the two in your case. The 5.1 will be converted to 2.0 by the operating system or the audio driver or the player. Usually this ultimately decreases the overall volume, but sometimes the software throws caution to the wind and increases the volume. People tend to always like the louder one.

[Lorcan]

Thank you to everyone!

 

[SaerXZ]

Actually it depends. Sometimes you do have "better" sound with 5.1 tracks, even if you're using a stereo setup.

 

If a source have two formats, let's say 2.0 and 5.1 in this case, the creators have two ways to do it.

1. Make the 5.1 tracks first, and downmix them into 2.0 tracks. In this case, the rear channels channels are mixed into the front channels.
2. Make the 5.1 tracks first, and make the 2.0 tracks seperately.

Obviously, the first way will sound different (but is it better? depends on yourself) than the second way. But you won't know which way will be chosen by them.

 

When your computer plays 5.1 track in a stereo setup, actually you can also choose these two ways in your player's settings. I'm not sure which way does these streaming websites' player do, but I guess the reason you feel the "better" sound is because that you're watching a content made in the 2nd way, and when you choose 5.1 tracks, your computer can only choose the 1st way instead, so now you can hear a different sound.

 

BTW, if you use the 2 front channels from 5.1 tracks directly as stereo output, you won't hear any conversations from your content, since all the vocal are in the center channel. Also since the low frequency sounds are extracted into the .1 track (LFE Low-Frequency Effects channel, for subwoofer), so you'll lose these sounds, depends on how much bass did the creator of contents seperated from other channels.

 

For local videos, you can install a PotPlayer in your PC, and there are a lot of options about the way it can handle these tracks. Switch these options and hear the difference might be really interesting.