Adventures in 3D Sound: Bach and Binaural Recording
Friday, April 29, 2011 - 06:00 AM
Edgar Choueiri and Fritz
(Frank Wojciechowski)
Edgar Choueiri's digital audio filter can take almost any recording and turn it into 3D — stereo tracks take on new depth and sound amazingly realistic after a quick pass through his algorithm.
But the only way to experience perfectly realistic 3D audio is by listening to a binaurally recorded track. Binaural recording follows the same principle as a 3D camera, which simultaneously captures a scene from two slightly different vantage points — one from the perspective of each of your eyes. Instead of two camera lenses, binaural recording uses two microphones inside the ear canals of a dummy head. At Princeton University's 3D Audio and Applied Acoustics Lab, Choueiri has two dummy heads: one from the German company Neumann (famous for its high-quality microphones) which he calls Fritz, and another from Denmark named Lars.
A binaural recording captures sound exactly as you would hear it live, through just two channels. When Kurt Andersen visited Choueiri's lab, he made a binaural recording using Fritz, which was later processed for perfect 3D realism by Choueiri's filter.
Video: A First Listen to 3D Sound
Choueiri has also applied his algorithm to existing stereo recordings. You can experience Bach's Mass in B minor in full 3D glory below — plus, to hear exactly how the algorithm changes the sound, we've posted a section in which Choueiri's filter switches on and off.
Audio: Mass in B minor, Cum Sancto Spiritu, Johann Sebastian Bach (3D for speakers)
Audio: Mass in B minor, Cum Sancto Spiritu, Johann Sebastian Bach (3D filter on/off)
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Comments [9]
Thanks for sharing. There is a great article about Choueiri's work and other aspects of listening to music in the January 28, 2013 New Yorker Magazine.
IT sounds like this is meant to represent the feeling of live music specifically. What about processed music, or digitally created sound art like <a href="http://cleanstudio.blogspot.com/2013/01/untitled.html">9 Beet Stretch</a>, which is Beethoven's 9th Symphony stretched to last a full 24 hours. This music takes place in time, but not really in space.
hey! This is simply BRILLIANT! I engineer and produce music for a living and what this could possibly do for modern music, mixing songs for this depth of sound and realism has amazing potential.
Do you think we could hear some rocknroll with the filter on it? Pink Floyd, or Zep maybe
@Wayne: The website underwent some maintenance last night, and it seems the retooling may have inadvertently dropped some of the audio. Everything should be back up now!
It seems (at least for me) that the links are now missing for all the audio clip examples for 3D audio.
I thought the sound was amazing, I do not generally enjoy listening to such deep, warm music on my sounds systems, but, if you close your eyes, this could let you image being in the best seat in the hall!
I prefer the quality without processing. there is an audible loss of clarity using the 3D filter.
Spatial clues, timbre etc is eliminated. Also very Ping Pong! May be suitable for general consumption but I think this degrades quality far too much for me to be enthusiastic plus the economic reality of Feature production with just one binaural mic set up would be a commercial nightmare!
Hi Fredrik,
Edgar has the ability to tweak his 3D filter for a variety of listening environments. In this case, he used a fairly universal filter suited for a wide range of speaker positions. The upshot is a bigger sweet spot with a slightly less precise 3D sound stage. Thanks for listening!
This sounds very impressive. How sensitive is the listening position relative the speakers?
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