What does the .1 in a 2.1 or 5.1 channel speaker system stand for?

It signifies the subwoofer (i.e. LFE).

H a p p y

H o m e

T h e a t e r i n g !

____ ____ ____

___ ___ ___

__ __ __

_ _ _

_ _

_ the .1 is the subwoofer .1= subwoofer What they said All the numbers refer to the number of speakers. The number befor the period tells you how many speakers there are sournding. The number after the period tells you how many bass drivers (subwoofers) there are.

2.1=

Two sournding speakers

One subwoofer

2.2=

Two sournding speakers

Two subwoofers

5.1=

Five sournding speakers

One subwoofer

7.3=

Seven sournding speakers

Three subwoofers the subwoofer The 5.1, 6.1 etc. designations refer to the number of discrete audio channels that can be decoded, regardless of how many speakers are being used. The ".1" channel is the "LFE" (low frequency effects) channel. It is given the fractional designation because it is a limited bandwidth channel, whereas the other channels are full bandwidth.

The LFE channel USUALLY is played through one (or more) separate amplifiers and speakers, most often in the form of one (or more) powered subwoofers. It is possible to play the LFE channel through the front left & right speaker channels by adjusting the bass mangement system in the surround decoder (usually built into the receiver) to tell it there is no subwoofer and setting the front speakers to "large". The digital surround decoder still decodes the LFE channel, the bass management system just handles where the resulting signal is to be sent for amplification and reproduction.