Understanding Ambiophonics

gndpoints · Joined: Oct 15, 2009 Posts: 3 Location: Indonesia

Hi all, I've been visiting this forum for quite sometimes and I think this is the right place to ask questions regarding ambiophonics Smile

. I'm very interested in the idea of ambiophonics however it seems to me that ambiophonics only works for recordings performed at concert hall or ambiophonically, and not for spot mic-ed recordings + pan-potted mixed type of music.

I've been experimenting with physical barrier and crosstalk cancellation software on non-ambiophonically recorded music material, the impression that I got is that the soundstage indeed widens and some left/right hard-panned instruments sounds like they originate from positions well beyond the speakers position, I found it quite a pleasing effect, however the more centered voice/instruments always lost focus and definition.

Can you guys share your experience using ambiophonics with non-ambiophonically recorded music?

rmiller · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 7:49 am Post subject:

It's taken a bit to reply, but I've been working on the Ambiophonic VST plug-in, just launched. The "lost focus & definition" you describe has plagued prior implementations of Ambiophonic processing, so we developed AmbophonicDSP to correct these problems. (It's available for download at the electro-music store.)

Even pan-pot material (most in the pop genre) work well using AmbiophonicDSP, proven by the Left-Center-Right recording - see http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-27945.html. Astonishing stage-widening is the same as with concert/binaural/HRTF-based recordings, where reproduction equals the original main-microphone recording angle (typically 120deg).

After the Wide-Wow factor listening with AmbiophonicDSP, you notice central sounds - soloists, rhythm sections, interior strings & winds, and movie dialogue. These important sonic images are much less colored (no longer comb-filtered by phantom imaging), not pinna-confused (no longer coming from speakers not actually in front), and not bunched at the speaker boxes. Instead with AmbiophonicDSP all voices are spread smoothly, and have opened the wall of your listening room. Enjoy!

gndpoints · Joined: Oct 15, 2009 Posts: 3 Location: Indonesia

Thanks for the reply and info, I'll give AmbioDSP a try very soon.

gndpoints · Joined: Oct 15, 2009 Posts: 3 Location: Indonesia

Robin, in your paper titled "Key to Ambiophonic Crosstalk Cancellation" you mentioned about PanAmbio setup which adds a second pair of loudspeaker at the back, what signals should feed this rear loudspeaker pair? Is it the same signal as the front pair? Should crosstalk cancellation be applied to this additional pair as well?

mosc · Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:21 pm Post subject:

So you don't have to wait too long for Robin's reply...

You can feed the same signal to LF and LR and rights too. Make the rear ambiopole around 6 to 10 dB weaker. You can also use a second AmbiophonicDSP and change the settings to achieve different effects.

In my experience, I like the added rear ambiopole, not to create a surround effect, but to simply move the sound space of the ambiofield a bit closer.