Spatial Audio - Surround Sound
Surround sound expands listening beyond the left and right boundaries of traditional stereo, placing audio around the listener to create a more immersive spatial experience. This guide introduces the core concepts, formats, and speaker configurations behind surround sound, along with the creative and technical considerations involved in working with multichannel audio. It serves as a starting point for understanding how sound can be positioned, shaped, and experienced in three-dimensional space.
Spatial Audio Navigation
Surround Sound Basics
Surround Sound (Wikipedia)
Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener (surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters.
Existing Forms of Spatial Audio (Mach1 Research)
The breakdown of this page is to list some common components of spatial audio. Currently the major categories include: codecs & containers, formats & configurations and lastly standards & other components or tools.
Basic Surround Sound Mixing in Adobe Audition
Surround Speaker Placement
Dolby Atmos Speaker Configurations (Dolby corporation)
Official speaker setup guide for Dolby Atmos from the Dolby corporation.
Dolby Atmos Best Speaker Setup Practices In the Home (Audioholics.com)
The inner workings of Dolby Atmos and how best to set up your home theater with the right number of speakers for a successful Atmos experience, common mistakes and misconceptions are all revealed.
Speaker Placement for Home Theatre (Crutchfield.com)
5.1, 7.1 and other surround sound setups.
Surround Channels (Wikipedia)
Surround channels are audio channels in surround sound multichannel audio. They primarily serve to deliver ambience and diffuse sounds in a film or music soundtrack.
Spatial Audio Comparisons
What is Spatial Audio? (Dolby.com)
Spatial audio refers to the process of placing different sounds in different locations around the room. This differs from surround sound where sound still feels like it comes from directional speakers. With spatial audio, filmmakers, sound designers, and music creatives can precisely place individual sounds anywhere around the room to create an immersive soundscape.