- Any recommendations how to achieve a cathedral-like or concert hall-like height sound effect on a desktop for conventional stereo, i.e., not Dolby Atmos 7.1.4?
- What might be the operative acoustic principles?
- Try this simple experiment with two speakers.
- Cup your hands around your ears.
- Rotate your hands around your ears to realize the sound effects of localization.
- Cup your hands around your ears.
- Try this simple experiment with two speakers.
- The representatives of this kind of system are SRS Audio Sandbox, Spatializer Audio Lab and Qsound Qxpander.[22]
- They use HRTF to simulate the received acoustic signals at the ears from different directions with common binary-channel stereo reproduction. Therefore, they can simulate reflected sound waves and improve subjective sense of space and envelopment.
- Since they are para-virtualization stereo systems, the major goal of them is to simulate stereo sound information.
- Traditional stereo systems use sensors that are quite different from human ears. Although those sensors can receive the acoustic information from different directions, they do not have the same frequency response of human auditory system.
- Therefore, when binary-channel mode is applied, human auditory systems still cannot feel the 3D sound effect field.
- However, the 3D para-virtualization stereo system overcome such disadvantages.
- It uses HRTF principles to glean acoustic information from the original sound field then produce a lively 3D sound field through common earphones or speakers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_localization#Multichannel_stereo_virtual_reproduction
Multichannel stereo virtual reproduction
Since the multichannel stereo systems require many reproduction channels, some researchers adopted the HRTF simulation technologies to reduce the number of reproduction channels.[22] They use only two speakers to simulate multiple speakers in a multichannel system.
- This process is called as virtual reproduction.
- Essentially, such approach uses
- Unfortunately, this kind of approach cannot perfectly substitute the traditional multichannel stereo system,
- such as 5.1/7.1 surround sound system.
- That is because when the listening zone is relatively larger,
- simulation reproduction through HRTFs may cause invert acoustic images at symmetric positions.
- The idea is to stack two columns (2.2) of active speakers in a "line-array-like" fashion.
- Each column contains multiple (two (2.2.2) or three (2.2.3)) speakers to achieve a pronounced sense of spacial height.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-related_transfer_function (Apple Spatial Audio)
- FR of both ears, rather than
- one microphone for
- one speaker
- enclosing multiple drivers,
- possibly ported from rear near a wall.
- What I hear is not what the manufacturer measures.
- A simple model of ears.
- 3D model of biomechanics of ear
-
[*]https://assets.ctfassets.net/4zjnzn...8a62/genelec_the_ones_brochure_2019_web_0.pdf
- Our ears receive vastly more information than we can actually perceive. All senses are filtered this way, and bring conscious awareness of only a tiny fraction of the data registered by the body. Hearing is our most precise sense, timing-wise, involving substantial “pre-processing” in the brainstem and several reflexes ahead of conscious recognition.
The outer ears are sophisticated entry points that are needed to identify the direction from which sounds arrive, but we’re not just carrying around two very personal, directional microphones. Our ears and brain work together in a continuous feedback loop with an abundance of nerve impulses going back and forth to fine-tune reception in the middle and inner ear, over
a range of 60 dB. We also use head movements to reach out for detail, such as discriminating between direct sound and reflections in a room, and the brain’s left/right ear comparisons rely on the most energy-consuming nerve synapses of the body.
Therefore, only a trained listener can perceive the finer nuances of auditory sensation. Musicians and audio professionals learn to attain a heightened awareness of imaging, pitch, spectral balance, transients and other qualities. The acuity of a trained listener cannot be overestimated, and that is the type of user for which THE ONES have been designed.
- Our ears receive vastly more information than we can actually perceive. All senses are filtered this way, and bring conscious awareness of only a tiny fraction of the data registered by the body. Hearing is our most precise sense, timing-wise, involving substantial “pre-processing” in the brainstem and several reflexes ahead of conscious recognition.
- FR of both ears, rather than
- Each column contains multiple (two (2.2.2) or three (2.2.3)) speakers to achieve a pronounced sense of spacial height.
- I am not interested in a Dolby Atoms 7.1.4 configuration reflecting or directing sound off/from the ceiling.
- https://www.dolby.com/siteassets/te...atmos-installation-guidelines-121318_r3.1.pdf
- I suspect the four height channels carry mostly diffuse music information.
- Might carry reverberations?
- MLB broadcasts stadium crowd noise on height channels.
- Thunder is a diffuse overhead sound.
- A babbling brook or car traffic is diffuse lateral sound.
- I listen to
- acoustic music (jazz, classical),
- at conversation volume levels,
- in the near-field (32" distance).
- I am considering six Genelec 8331A speakers, based on the chart at bottom of post.
- Height:11.25", 12" (with stand)
- Width:7.5"
- Depth:8.37"
- The 24" soundbar is connected to L channel of the RME DAC.
- I get a much better sound effect from the ordinary SoundCore soundbar, despite the 3.5 times greater cost of AudioEngine HD3s.
- I get this urge to always face the soundbar.
- Reverberations clearly linger longer and decay more delicately in the soundbar channel.
- Both HD3 speakers are connected to R channel.
- Horizontal vs. vertical acoustic sound dispersion.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_(acoustics)
- The Dolby Atmos Mozart video recording from St. Martin in the Fields certainly sounds very much like the tall recording space (HWL) ratio.
My impression is the 3D sense is expanded in all three dimensions. I can hear -- and feel -- the recording hall wall reflections and reverberations better, for example.
BTW, as an interesting aside about Dolby Atmos capability.
I feel the haptic feedback in the Dolby Atmos recording because my table vibrates from the subwoofer when only a single violin seems to play in the video. I can see the 20Hz frequency bar level on my RME DAC register when only a violin appears to play. This is a deliberate recording trick to exploit Dolby Atmos functionality. I didn't notice a cello, bassoon
or similar instrument. I suspect a single string was plucked.
The height sound effect is sensational!
- The effect is greater than the fantastic Dolby Atmos recording.
- I have listened to this recording more than a dozen times with my AudioEngine HD3 speakers connected in the conventional R and L channel manner.
- Two REL TZero Mark III subwoofers are connected to the HD3 in the normal configuration.
- Only one subwoofer when HD3 connected to R channel.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-related_transfer_function
- FR of both ears, rather than speakers.
- A model of ears.
- Angle the column like Focal Grand Utopia
- Other examples
I evaluate music on triad basis of:
- Power
- Color
- Pitch
- Rhythm
- Melody
- Harmony
-3 Worst
-2 Worse
-1 Bad
0 OK
+1 Good
+2 Better
+3 Best
- https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/jazz-in-spatial-audio/pl.efbd24628ff04ff3b5e416a6e237d753
- https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/classical-in-spatial-audio/pl.ffea4bbea2d141cbb0ec67e32059b278
- https://music.apple.com/us/album/riders-on-the-storm-single/1561035120
- I don't like right channel with loud, aggressive, direct, horizontal dispersion.
- Thunder sounds more natural when higher, more diffuse and gradual decay.
- Especially rain at end. Rain sound emanates from below, not horizontally.
- Jim Morrison does a much better thunder sound effect at beginning of track.
- Thunder sounds more natural when higher, more diffuse and gradual decay.
- I don't like right channel with loud, aggressive, direct, horizontal dispersion.
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