what is the meaning of 5.1 in terms of wattage?

Question

i had my old (but still useful component set hooked up to the dvd layer. The quaility if sound was exceelent but I decided to get something less bulker. I sort of like the system i brought but i would like more total sound level. I keep hearing about 5.1 but my question is what speaker system will imatate the sound i recieved from my 600 watt component sytem? I know an amp wil be invloved. I am trying not rebuy bulky speakers or even have twenty thousand of them flolating around my living room. ( sorry small children play area included with my living room). So when answering please treat me as if you are talking to a person that kinows nothing becasue i don't.

Answer 1

The 5.1 designation has nothing to do with overall power. It's a designation to tell you how many channels the amplifier powers. For example, a 5.1 amplifier/receiver has 5 channels (front right, front center, front left, rear left, rear right) and an additional output for a powered subwoofer. A 6.1 amplifier/receiver has all the channels a 5.1 ampllifier has, but adds a rear center channel. A 7.1 amplifier/receiver has the same configuration as the 6.1, but you now get a separate powered channel for the subwoofer. So if you're looking for something that has a power level that compares to the 600-watt system you have, you'd need a 5.1 amplifier receiver that's rated for 120 watts per channel, or if you get a 6.1 amplifier/receiver, it would have to be rated for 100 watts per channel. You might be able to get away with a 7.1 amplifier/receiver rated for 80 watts per channel, but you should never go below 100 watts per channel regardless of what type of receiver you get IMHO.

Answer 2

As others have commented, 5.1 has nothing to do with wattage, it is the number of speakers. Once again, as others have noted, you have a left front and right front, which is what you have now for your stereo. 5.1 adds a center speaker which is designed for movies. When you playback movies, most the the sound comes from this center speaker. The left front and right front speakers add width to the experience, such as a car passing by from left to right. In addition, there is a right surround and left surround, this add more depth to the experience, thus the term surround sound. A properly set up system can place you inside the sound. The .1 represents the subwoofer. There are now 7.1 systems, which add left and right rear surrounds,and some even have a center rear surrround. All of these speakers sound impressive, however, there is very little media available that frequently uses all of the speakers in a 5.1 setup, so a 7.1 is just silly. In general, most 5.1 systems have an output of 100 watts per channel. The trick is to find a system that has the 100 watt output for the entire audible range, 20 hz to 20,000 hz. Many system only have 100 watts of output at 1000 hz, so the power output drops significantly for low bass or high frequencies. This spec can be hard to find. It will not be on the box, and is not even in the owners manual sometimes.

Usually, the subwoofer has its own amplifier, anywhere from 100 watts to 2 or 3 thousand watts. Your system, which you indicated is 600 watts, is probable really only 50 or 100 watts per channel. If you read the back of the unit, and saw a number that said 600 watts, this most likely refers to the maximum amount of power the unit will consume to operate. In general, over half of the power required to run an amplifier is lost to the dissapation of heat. A 300 watt per channel receiver is very rare. If one exists at all, it is probably very expensive. The Bose system recommended in another answer does sound nice and is very un obtrusive, but it is expensive, and all Bose systems have a certain bass signature. Some people like it and some don't. If you don;t like it, you will not like the system. You will feel that the midrange signal has been left out completely. If you do like it, you will think it is great. Keep this in mind, Bose has one of the largest advertising campaings in the hifi world, and you are paying for that. That silly litte Bose Wave Radio might sound really nice, but $500 for a clock radio with a CD player is a bit steep. They probably manufacturer it for about $50, spend another $150 on advertising, and multiply that by 2.5 to sell it.

Answer 3

top song skill Output (PMPO) (also top temporary performance output) The time period PMPO has never been defined in any standard besides the undeniable fact that it has a tendency fairly regularly to be the top skill of each amplifier in a device further at the same time. top skill is two times the sine wave skill, so, for instance, a 5 channel device utilizing 10 watt amplifiers may be certain as '100 watts PMPO'. from time to time, an more effective aspect is utilized to get an excellent higher confirm. The time period PMPO is very much despised with the help of audio experts; it truly is considered deceptive and without purpose. maximum platforms can't keep up their PMPO for more effective than some seconds, loudspeakers being extremely susceptible. The voice coil may burn out, or the speaker would actual capture on fireplace, from the voice coil turning out to be warm adequate to ignite the speaker cone. In different circumstances, the crossover contained in the speaker cupboard would fail, which contains (yet no longer restricted to) burnt-out choke coils, exploded electrolytic capacitors, burnt-out resistors, or blown fuses. there have been actual tries to degree 'top song skill', as defined decrease than, yet mostly the time period is under no circumstances functional.

Answer 4

5.1 refers to the number of speakers not to watts. any yamaha or sony receiver will work. You can add as many speakers as you like. you can get a good 750 watt 5.1 surround sound system for around $250 - $300. At best Buy or something like that. I do believe that they even make wireless speakers now. I personally have a 2.1 surround sound system and that works for me

Answer 5

5.1 means that there are five speakers used for surround sound, the .1 is for the subwoofer. Far as wattage that the depends on the receiver or amp you are using. Five speakers means that you need five amps for each speaker instead of the old normal of two.

Answer 6

5.1 is a term used to describe how many speakers are in your surrounding acoustic environment.

5 speakers (front-right, front-left, center, rear-right, rear-left) plus a subwoofer means your have a 5.1 surround sound speaker setup.

Your wattage could be anything.... You have a 5.1 speaker setup which can consume upto 20 watts, or 2000 watts.

Answer 7

Go to the nearest BOSE store and they will set you up with the right system. It will be expensive, but a great investment. You will not regret it. Bonus: BOSE is designed to be heard, not seen. The gear is small, sleek, elegant, unobtrusive, soooo user friendly. If you are not close to a BOSE store, go online and search for the nearest AUTHORIZED dealer in your zip code. BOSE systems come with speaker wire that is mostly adequate, but you'ss still need interconnect cables for your tv to the BOSE system, and don't forget to pick up some brackets to mount speakers out of kids' reach......

Answer 8

good luck, usually an A/V system would never give the saem sound quality as a stereo amp.
power is dyanmics but with different speakers the volume is going to appear different for the same amount of power.

Answer 9

5.1 means
5 tutors(one central, n four for 3D sounds or dolby sounds)
and 1 sub woofer!!

gud luck!!

Answer 10

Dolby 5.1 is a decoding protocol... it has nothing to do with power.