what does it mean by 2.1 and 4.1 system

[rina]

i read this article online ragarding pc speaker.and since i wanna have a gd sound sytem on my computer so i can play my guitar with it,i need some explaination
the article wrote-"Despite the ever increasing presence of surround sound and 4.1 systems in the computer sound market, 2.1 sounds remain as a strong category of their own"

what does it mean by 2.1 and 4.1 system...can any1 help

 

[audio]

2.1 consists of 1 front left and 1 front right speakers and one subwoofer. Subwoofer is for more dynamic bass sound. Produce only low frequency sound for extra punch for ur audio experience.

4.1 same like 2.1 but additional 1 rear left and 1 rear right speakers for surround sound experience. its like u r in the game/movie and u can hear/feel as if somebody is realli approaching behind u..

there are also 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 systems available for more channels of audio..means more audio details and more accurate..and more channels does not mean gd sound system..even a 2.1 can outshine 7.1 depending on your intended use.

take note of the basics..do compare the rated power of the systems..the more the better if u wanna rock ur room..u dont wana have a low power system in a big spacious room. total power 140 watts; 70 watts each left and right would be average for a classroom of 30..if u add additional subwoofer would definitely be better and the total power should be around 200+watts..more than good enuf for a room..
SNR(signal to noise ratio..the higher the better..for clarity and pure sound production..usually somewhere around 99db)
and there are also more to look out for such as other features, tweeters, the drivers..connectivity

for guitar, i guess u juz need 2.1 or 2.0 (no subwoofer) for easy monitoring..although its not like Mackie monitors but as a pc speaker it does the job well enuf..the best is logitech ZS-2300 for 2.1 system....

 

[exxtreme]

Re: plz help

what does it mean by 2.1 and 4.1 system...can any1 help

All it means is that stereo system is here to stay despite the grow of surround systems.

 

[mikemann]

Haha..... we only got 2 ears at best, one left, one right. The main receptory.

The rest of the sensory experience, like sound positioning (surround sound), subsonic and what not. Plays a very small part in the general enjoyment of music & sound.

So the basic stereo fufills almost all of the sound requirement already.

2.1 just means an addition of a subwoofer in the .1 part, mainly because PC speakers are small (poor response in bass or low freq) and barely cover the needs of today's sound, thus the subwoofer tries to fill that part.

A good stereo system with a pair of good full range speakers (eg. 12 or 15" woofer + mid range + tweeter) could sound better (balanced) than most satellite + sub system.

So if you have an expensive USA JBL full range hifi, and plug from the line out of your soundcard. You could have an enviable PC sound experience, once you eq the sound properly.

 

[soft]

actually, the surround speakers is to reproduce space positioning. although we only have 1 pair of ears, we can identify is the sound is coming from front, back, top, bottom, left, right ... in fact, any position in space.

the normal 2 speaker system can only reproduce positioning from left to right.

but the source that you are listening to must be mixed and encoded for surround playback lah. or else it will sound like the 'virtual surround' you will experience from my lousy tv set! ha..ha..haa..