Center Channel

What Does Center Channel Mean?

The center channel is the channel in a multi-speaker setup that faces the viewer in 5.1 or 7.1 speaker systems. The speaker sits in between the two left and right front speakers. In a home theater, this speaker is positioned to make sound effects appear to be coming from the screen.

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Techopedia Explains Center Channel

A center channel is one component of a surround sound system, either in a movie theater or at home. Both 5.1 and 7.1 surround systems include two left and right front channels, two left and right rear channels and a subwoofer for low-frequency sounds. The center channel is mounted above or below the screen, in between the front left and right channels. The front channel, along with the other speakers, is full-frequency. In movies, the center channel usually carries the dialogue, and lead vocals in the case of music.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…