Dolby Atmos Phantom Center Speaker

Prior to purchasing a Dolby Atmos phantom center speaker, it is crucial to take into account its restrictions and potential drawbacks. This article will explore the capabilities of the phantom center speaker, along with its prerequisites. Furthermore, it will assist you in determining if the speaker is a suitable option for your home theater setup.

5.1 Channel System

The Dolby Atmos Phantom Center 5.1-channel system allows you to experience sounds in a three-dimensional space. Its object-based rendering process sends signals to the appropriate channels to create a phantom center, representing the speakers’ location. This immersive soundfield minimizes the distance between the speakers, improving localisation.

The phantom center is a unique way to hear sound. It creates the center channel at ear level without needing an acoustically transparent screen. It offers the same quality and soundstage as the left and right speakers, and is a cost-effective way to hear more detail. However, the higher-end left and right towers are more expensive than matching centers.

The Phantom Center 5.1-channel system is also compatible with Airplay2. You can use the Phantom Dione to reproduce stereo sound or disable spatialization. The Dione integrates with Phantom multi-room configurations. It also offers Airplay2 compatibility, so you can use it with any Airplay2-enabled speaker.

Center Channel Speaker

The Dolby Atmos Phantom Center channel speaker has several advantages over traditional center channel speakers. Its unique design provides a soundstage that’s much closer to the listener’s ear than a traditional center speaker. The center speaker can be adjusted independently of the left and right front speakers, allowing the listener to change the volume without disrupting the rest of the system. It also makes it easier to hear vocals, especially in high-volume movies.

This speaker offers a three-way driver design with a midrange, bass woofer, and tweeter. This allows for a wider horizontal sound field, with reduced lobing and comb filtering. It can also produce higher-quality vocal reproduction.

Side effects of a phantom center speaker

A phantom center is a problem that can occur in surround sound audio systems. A listener should be at least equidistant between the Left and Right speakers to hear the entire picture. However, there are some ways to counteract the effects of a phantom center. For example, a 5.1 setup can use a dedicated speaker to translate the center speaker’s sounds into the Left and Right channels.

Because the sound field in cinemas is location-dependent, a phantom center speaker can’t produce an accurate representation of the dialogue from the characters on screen. It also works only when the listener is in the center of the cinema, and will cause the sound to be distorted if he is on the outer edges. This is due to physics, which dictates that sound should travel at a constant distance from the speaker.

Requirements for A Center Channel Speaker

To be eligible for Dolby Atmos, your center speakers need to meet certain requirements. Firstly, you should be able to hear the movie’s audio from a distance of three meters. Second, you must have at least seven speakers, including a subwoofer. Third, the speaker must have localisation capability and phantom centre technology.

A center speaker’s job is to reproduce the dialogue and midrange range of the frequency spectrum. The male voice reaches frequencies around 100 to 125 Hz, while female voices range between 200 and 250 Hz. Film music, however, requires higher frequencies. That’s why a good centre speaker will have a two-way system consisting of a midrange driver and tweeter. Some also have separate drivers for bass and treble.

For a stereo system to be compatible with Dolby Atmos, your centre speakers must support the phantom center feature. Unlike traditional stereo setups, phantom center is not suitable for all types of theaters. Because you will be sitting close to one of the speakers, you won’t hear the signal from the other speaker. This will skew the soundstage.

Cost of A Center Channel Speaker

Dolby Atmos technology is a new way to enjoy sound in a surround-sound system. It uses virtual sound sources rather than physical speakers to generate a more realistic sound experience. With this technology, sounds can be placed anywhere in the surround-sound field. This makes the distance between the speakers less noticeable and helps localization.

This system is not suitable for all environments. It is best for use in a single-user room that is acoustically suitable. If you want to save on equipment costs, installing one speaker per room may be a good idea. However, using the same speaker model throughout the system is best. If this is not possible, you can use a speaker calibration system to ensure that all speakers are matched properly.