The surround sound processor with a multi-channel amplifier and its more compact relative, the surround sound receiver, is the heart of any home theater.
Modern surround sound systems, whether they are comprised of separates or receivers, use multi-channel audio and complex digital steering to enrich, expand and deepen the sound reproduction of a recorded source and create a three dimensional soundfield by sending different and discreet sound information to five or seven speakers plus one or more subwoofers strategically placed around the home theater audience.
The goal of surround sound is obviously to create the most realistic representation of an audio experience whether it is from film or a live concert. There are a plethora of different sound modalities on the market today some of which operate using five speakers and a subwoofer (5.1 channel surround) and some of which employ seven speakers and a subwoofer (7.1 channel surround).
