tom_the_LD Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Hi guys, Just had a thought (scary isn't it!). If I have a computer with a 5.1 surround card with outputs for main speakers (green), subwoofer and centre (yellow) and rear (black), then could I take a stereo feed out the rear and main and run them into seperate stereo channels, split the sub and main centre and run those into two mono channels on the mixer (so 2 stereos and 2 monos in total), and route the main L and R to the "main" desk output which goes to two main speakers. Route the sub channel to the sub desk channel put panned all the way to the right along with the centre speaker so it comes out the right (2nd) sub channel and stick a crossover in so the bass comes out the sub and the treble comes out the main centre speaker, and then pan the rear channels all the way left and route to the sub desk channel then take the left (1st) sub channel out to the rear speakers? Also are there going to be any issues RE feeback with having 2 speakers at the back basically pointing at the 2 speakers at the front? I hope that makes sense!!! If not then I will try and re-explain or draw a diagram. Thanks for your time, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Riley Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Typically you might do better if you just chucked it into 5 channels. Sent L/R to L/R, and then sent Centre, rear L, rear R, and sub out through spare auxes or groups. You will need to run with aux or group fed subs if you want to do this though. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biskit Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Technically, yes this will work (ie sound will come out of the right places). I guess what you're asking is whether this is a good idea to create a giant version of the 'surround sound' system people have in their living rooms? I suspect, if set up well and with decent speakers, it would sound awsome if you played a DVD through it with a very large projection screen or something... basically a cinema! I've wondered about doing something similar live myself a few times. Thinking about it, apart from the rear L&R, the rest is a fairly standard live setup... front L&R, centre fill and mono sub. The question is, what do you send to the rear L&R? Mixing for 5.1 is a specialist business, and getting the rear signal isn't simply a matter of duplicating your front L&R, even with phase inversion and/or delay. On the other hand, if you have a particular effect in mind, it may work well (eg. fade a guitar solo front to back as well as the usual left to right). Could you afford to dedicate two speakers for occasional effects like this though? Or would you just end up using them as an extra delay system half way down the room? Ben. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Some implementations of 5.1 had a phase inversion on the rear speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_the_LD Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 The kind of thing I was thinking was having things like a plane flying around fly around the room and gunfire coming out everywhere, but if there was just simple effects like 1 cannon or something just out the front speakers. I asume I would need to calculate delay and stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfrog Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Wouldn't it be alot easier to buy something like an M-Audio Firewire 1814 or something that has dedicated jack outputs per channel and just assign them as follows 1 - Left2 - Right3- Rear Left4- Rear Right5 - Center6 - Subwoofer Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Lewis Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Tom, 5.1 is about the minimum needed to create some semblance of "surround sound". The practical implementation of "live surround" does throw up a significant range of problems, but it can also give some fantastic 'immersive audio' experiences. Two of my colleagues carry out research in this area, and have provided the control software for a live surround system at a dance music festival. You might find some of the papers on this webpage interesting. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Get yer self an old 8 track reel to reel tape recorder,patch it into 8 desk channels and route to suit. Much more fun trying to line up your tracks to get a smooth movement than a computer.Spent many happy hours doing this for a production of christmas carol at a theatre not that far away from you tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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