Stereo is a term we all have been familiar with since the ‘60’s.  It produces 2 independent channels of audio through left and right speakers.  At the time, it was a huge advance in high-fidelity sound and it continues to be the primary reproduction system for the music industry – be it radio, compact disc or iPod.     

In the late ‘80’s, we were introduced to the term, surround sound.  As now, movies along with the consumer adoption of videotape drove this revolution. Dolby Laboratories produced encoding that took a stereo signal and created 3 channels – left, right and rear.  Using 5 speakers, it sent a summed stereo signal to the center speaker and it’s decoding sent the third channel to both rear speakers. 

Today, the evolution continues in the form of Dolby Digital and DTS.  However, they now provide 6 independent channels of audio commonly referred to as 5.1.  Using the same 5 speakers from your surround sound system with the addition of a Low Frequency Effects subwoofer (L.F.E. otherwise known as the .1 in 5.1), the listener/viewer is immersed in surround sound.  Since these 6 channels contain completely independent content, known as discreet, they can create a sense of realism through the precise placement of sound.  While videotape gave us the illusion of surround sound, Dolby Digital and DTS accurately reproduce an experience only equaled at the movies...or real life.