What is the difference between stereo and surround sound?
In: Technology
Stereo = 2 channels (usually Left & Right). There are two separate audio tracks, one comes from the left speaker, one from the right.
Surround sound = more than 2…typically 5 or 7. If it’s 5 it’s the four corners plus a front-center (“Center channel”). 7 adds the sides. The .1 (5.1 or 7.1) is a subwoofer. By having more channels and more speakers, you can better control the perception of where the sound is coming from and get a more immersive experience.
There are sophisticated techniques to provide surround-like audio through 2 channels, this is often used with headphones and sometimes on computers. They’re not true surround but they sound better than stereo.
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