On 05/02/2011 11:20 AM, Richard Dobson wrote: > On 02/05/2011 05:59, Jörn Nettingsmeier wrote: >> On 05/02/2011 12:09 AM, Richard Dobson wrote: > ... >> >> what is all this talk about "smallest acceptable"? > > Well, if I put together a proposal for an eight-speaker cube, which is > ostensibly limited to first-order peri, would that be received with > nodding of heads or derision?
my head would be nodding if you're after the warm, fuzzy feeling of envelopment, and shaking vigorously if you're after precise localisation. > It may yet prove to be totally impractical to run a mobile > with-height rig to take into schools or arts centres (at least without a > large team of assistants and hours to rig and de-rig), but one has to ask. depends on the number of people. twelve speakers (three-six-three) could be a very nice thing. at normal room height, you could fit maybe 6-10 people inside (standing). stacked rings might be easier to set up. if you can live with slightly reduced horizontal precision, try two rings of six at, say, -30" and +30° elevation. has the big advantage that you don't need to fly the top speakers, or that their stands don't stick into the listening area. > It may be worth making the point that I am not aiming to use this to > play back refined B-format recordings of orchestras etc; but purely > synthetic material representing collision events in the LHC, where the > general direction of something reveals information about the physics, > and where the mandated goal is to inspire kids with the science of the > thing. If it inspires them to get interested in periphonic surround, > that would be a bonus. It is primarily a science project, and would be > funded most probably from a science outreach budget. i'd say try to go at least second order, otherwise the ambiguities will wreck the intent - since this is really about precise localisation, because, as you say, the meaning is in the direction. > So all my questions are in relation not to a plain horizontal rig but to > the simplest viable affordable way to set up a with-height one. I would > happily settle for a whopping 20 degrees of separation. But > unfortunately, for the physics increasing distance from the interaction > point is equally important (we currently represent distance by time - a > "scan" of the detector). That could be tricky, to say the least. May be > impossible (though I will aim to include some form of hrtf decoding > VEP-style over headphones as well). Something a bit like fireworks. It > would be nice if a plain cube would be "good enough to give an idea of > it". But if that really is totally unrealistic, I am better off not > trying for with-height at all, as setting up a really large array is > physically impractical as well as prohibitively expensive; I will leave > that to the Allosphere people (at least until the Science Museum can be > persuaded to build it). I would like something sufficient to work as > "proof of concept", while clearly acknowledging that a bigger budget etc > is needed to "do it full justice". since sound quality is not that much of an issue (with all synthetic sounds, tweak it until it's nice on what you have, and no-one will be able to tell it's low-fi), maybe get two or three dirt-cheap 5.1 computer gaming sets. or even four, which would give you four subwoofers for a nice first-order horizontal sub decode - whoopee! >> what people want is to feel like single speakers are shouting abuse at >> them, and our way to world domination is to deliver that first, and then >> gently show them why their current frame of reference is defined by the >> shortcomings of the system leading the market, not by any actual >> necessity or aesthetic choice. >> > > Hmm, well, I am not at all sure I do want to feel that, but I am open to > being persuaded when the opportunity arises! talk to industry professionals, cry, and then join me for a pint to forget our woes. -- Jörn Nettingsmeier Lortzingstr. 11, 45128 Essen, Tel. +49 177 7937487 Meister für Veranstaltungstechnik (Bühne/Studio) Tonmeister (VDT) http://stackingdwarves.net _______________________________________________ Sursound mailing list Sursound@music.vt.edu https://mail.music.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/sursound
