Surround sound is a technique used by incorporating multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener in order to emphasize width and depth, designed to immerse you in audio from all angles. In 1940, Walt Disney along with his engineering team came up with the idea for audio in a film to surround the listener. Fantasia, an animated picture from the Disney studio, was the first known use of surround sound. The opera Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov served as Walt Disney’s inspiration for including a bumblebee in his musical Fantasia and making it sound like it was flying throughout the theater. As a result, ‘Fantasound’ was created, the very first application of surround sound in the commercial world. However, it was way too costly and complicated to be widely used. Ultimately, Fantasound only required the 54 speakers to be installed in the Broadway Theater in New York and the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles.
It wasn’t until 1954 when it reached recording studios, specifically beginning in Europe. Engineers would experiment with the standard 4-track tapes, having all 4 tracks being recorded simultaneously in order to create a mix that could be reproduced by four separate speakers, providing the listener with the impression of being in a room full of sound. In 1967, Pink Floyd became the first artist to implement the surround sound system at a live concert, comprised of 4 individual channels being placed in the 4 corners of London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Many companies tried to replicate Dolby Stereo’s four channel quadraphonic sound in a home setting in the early 1970s. None of these systems ended up being successful in the market, despite the fact that a few of them were released commercially. They were viewed as being just too pricey and complex, much like Fantasound.
The impact of surround sound is felt not only in the music industry, but in the film industry, operating in several cinemas and theaters, as well as recording studios.
A brief history of surround sound (2021) KEF US. Available at: https://us.kef.com/blogs/news/a-brief-history-of-surround-sound (Accessed: 22 May 2025).
Shop (no date) Official Fluance Blog. Available at: https://blog.fluance.com/history-surround-sound/ (Accessed: 22 May 2025).