Surround Sound: Is It ACTUALLY Worth It?

A lot of people bring to my attention they aren't happy with the performance of their rear speakers in their sound bars or home theater systems. But I've noticed some people have a misconception on what surround sound speakers actually do! Let's talk about it!

[JavonDGreen]

Hardware, specifically the av receiver or processor also matters. More than most people think. I setup a 7.1 system for a buddy of mine not too long ago. The one thing he didn’t want to change was his onkyo receiver. He felt no need to and I didn’t blame him. I played the same content that I use for demos in my dedicated home theater with processor and amps and heard nothing come from side surrounds or rear surrounds. Signal was there, however I had to place my ears directly over the tweeter to hear anything. The same demo in my home sounded like objects in the room and all speakers were exceptionally active. It’s not a cheap hobby. Unfortunately people can afford what they can afford. Their personal experiences are their testimony and reality. If I didn’t have direct comparisons and experiences, I’d most likely think that that is the way it’s supposed to be as well. It’s not. Surround sound is a real thing and it can sound incredible. Yes some content is better than others. However equipment plays a huge role. Thanks for the video my friend.

[THEBADGUY]

U are absolutely correct about this, but if you have a receiver that has Auro-3D, U will hear the rear surround speakers. That's why I luv Auro-3D.

[gtoutdoors]

My $300 Dolby Atmos Soundbar definitely worth it and the 2 Rear speakers are nice. Onkyo THX Atmos receiver $300 Awesome and $285 OSD Trevoce 12s are Bombastic!!

[MichaelLHill-fdkw]

Good example of how the system works. Good job.

[walter]

I have the samsung Q950-A soundbar system, and if you watch youtube tv thats just pretty limited to compressed stereo or something else. Of course you wont hear surround sound. But when you plug in a 4k or bluray player directly into the sound bar you will get great sound. And if you have an older tv just plug in your streaming device directly into it and you will get the best sound. Even ARC is limited to 5.1 dolby true HD in my 2020 sony bravia. Once i plugged in my 4k player directly into the bar, i got 7.1 dolby true HD sound.Just have to play around with it. Thanks for reminding about the hdmi input settings. I always have mine set to enhanced so i can get the best video and sound.

[ramon]

Great video and explanation of why surround speakers might not play audio. To answer the title of the the videos question, absolutely yes in my opinion surround sound is worth it 💯 ive always told people who asked why i like to listen to everything on stereo... "audio makes the movie" (or tv show or video game or sports match). Almost everything nowadays on reg tv or streaming service has atleast a 5.1 audio source (almost everything). so i say its worth it, even commercials sound better in surround sound and the way the creator of the commercial intended it to be 🙌

[Kelbywithdat]

It could also depend on the soundbar itself or the AVR. I have an Apple TV and set the audio to Auto.
Anytime there is a movie or tv show that is 5.1 or Atmos then surround works fine for me.
When there is a PCM signal usually during sports or tv shows then I’ll change it to Multi Stereo on my AVR and all the speakers have full volume. For my LG soundbar I change the sound mode from Movie to Standard and that creates the Multi Stereo signal. Keep in mind the “surround sound” has to be ON in the settings. That helps when I’m watching UFC fights or other sports like football and baseball. Unless they broadcast it in 5.1 but that’s usually on the tv tuner channels and not streaming.

[BobGeogeo]

I put in a few $hundred and 10-15 hours into wiring 5+1 2008ish. Sources are mostly even with DVDs and BDs. I'd only notice surround for about 10 minutes of a movie - after that it's just in the background. Surround is there but not a big addition and sometimes it's a distraction. The main benefit seems to be widening of the sweet spot for listening.

[gralen]

Also make sure the movie is mix in surround sound. Some studios mix in stereo. Most Netflex, Disney Plus, and HULU is in surround. Alot of movies on Prime are mixed in mono or stereo. The lesser studios are mixed in stereo. And also some of the movies have 3 or 4 scenes have small parts that is surround. Great video though.

[thelonestranger]

One other soundbar tip is to check what the audio format stream is. Had an issue where the default was PCM and I couldn't get dolby atmos to work with certain apps consistently. I believe I changed it to passthrough or bitstream and finally got it to work with everything.
Settings play a huge role in the AV space. Nothing worse than having a fancy home theater and having things like HDR turned off or the sound mode set to stereo only. It's like having a 165hz monitor and accidentally having it set to a default 60hz the whole time.

[Adam]

I've definitely found that with a better treated room, the surround affects are way more prominent.

[herefordian]

I bought am entry level Samsung Soundbar a year or so ago and got the wireless rears to go with it and would recommend anyone who has that option does so. In numbers terms it's now a 5.1.4 sound bar system. Atmos and DTS-x content sounds superb albeit the low wattage lacks the oomph of a proper separates system. I use a sound mode for other surround content and gaming and the difference to that is great too.

[crazyfingers_kc]

This is why i got out of surround sound honestly. It was annoying when i streamed movies because it was always iffy whether or not id get full surround sound. The only time i got to fully experience the system was when i watched a bluray which i have very few of. I went to 2 channel and invest all my time and energy making it as good as possible for both music and movies.

[thinkIndependent]

Dude that was good !! I like my friends with the price of GAS I would rather them watch this video .

Then go by and check !!!

[cmizeur]

Some tech 101 but did you answer the title question? Felt like a bait and switch.

[antariusb]

I notice that rear surround speakers play like back ground effects

[zxmazterxzofficial]

What you think about Marantz sr6011 receiver is it enough to run 2 18 inch rythmik I also have tonewinner 5 channel and running 7.2

[ericspalacio]

I think what’s happening here is a miscommunication of understanding why they’re not hearing it because of past experiences from people who may have had a 5.1 surround system or sound bar that did 5.1 or Atmos, maybe they heard their surround speakers active at the time when they were at someone else’s house or hanging out with a friend yada yada yada. Most likely a lot of people when listening to stereo content will have it on a simulated surround, 5.1 7.1 even Atmos can be simulated with two tracks, and most of the time certain people that own systems like this have it on that simulated, surround format, They may have it on a DTS neural 7.1 or Dolby true HD 7.1 simulated surround, thereby giving the surround speakers a synthetic interpretation of what might be there if it was a true signal of surroundsound. I think that’s where maybe they’re not understanding why they’re not hearing surround in their speakers, also with sound bars like that and certain surround systems, you usually should have your surround speakers 32 3 1/2 TV louder than your main left right and center as most of the time surround channels are mastered at a lower level. 6:04

[johnvore]

Good video for beginners. I do have to say I think every single thing I watch is 5.1 or better. And sometimes if I do watch two channel audio it's probably being up converted with Dolby Surround anyway. And yes surround sound is 100% and definitely worth it. Make sure on YouTube TV you have surround sound enabled.