In reality though, it’s the software that’ll empower you to mix spatial audio. When it comes to recreating realistic acoustical spaces in 3D, I’d personally take a look at THIS article which discusses surround sound recording techniques. Personally, I think it depends on the situation.įor example, I think ambisonic microphones would be great for smaller spaces (vehicle, phone booth, etc…). That being said, it’s still debatable whether or not ambisonic microphones should be used to create 3D audio for VR and other applications using binaural recording techniques. The universal approach is what makes it so appealing. I believe that technologies such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X are providing the groundwork for an endless array of possibilities. However, we’re just scratching the surface if we talk about ambisonics and binaural audio. If this was your introduction to spatial audio, that’s great! I hope that this article cleared up any confusion you might’ve had in regards to ambisonic and binaural audio. However…īinaural audio is not necessarily created using Dolby Atmos and/or DTS:X software. Also, remember that binaural audio is simply surround sound audio that has been rendered for playback on stereo devices like headphones.ĭolby Atmos and DTS:X could be considered binaural. Just keep in mind that binaural recording techniques AREN’T required to achieve binaural results. That’s a discussion for another article though! It’s also why I favour the more universal approach Dolby Atmos and DTS:X has taken. In other words, I don’t think these specialty “binaural microphones” are necessary. Personally though, I still believe that using spaced microphones (not ambisonic microphones) would provide more realistic results. It means that these “binaural microphones” have more than 4-channels, so the software used to decode the image is much more sophisticated. It’s the same software used for ambisonic audio, but it falls under the category of HIGHER-ORDER ambisonics. That’s where we start getting into binaural audio!Īs you could imagine, the creation of software to decode/render these binaural images was necessary. So, the ambisonic renderer/decoder basically “decompresses” the image and allows you to pan and manipulate the sound in a virtual 3D environment. It’s similar to the way anamorphic lenses work. That’s why it’d be different if you had recorded your 3D image using SPACED microphones, but the coincident array of ambisonic microphones isn’t 100% accurate…Īctually, it’s kind of like a “compressed” image of the acoustic space. To mix in surround sound, you’d need exactly 5, 7 or 9 INDIVIDUAL microphones/channels. Think of it as 3D modelling software for audio. The reason you need one of these renderers/decoders is because your DAW only works with 1, 2, 5, 7 and maybe 9 channels. You’re “printing” a 3D image (ambisonic audio) that will be played on a 2D device (headphones). In other words, it’s somewhat like a rendering of surround sound to stereo. If you’ve ever decoded a mid-side array, then you’ll feel right at home with ambisonics.Įssentially, you’ll need to run the 3D audio you recorded using your ambisonic microphone into a piece of software (or plugin) that’ll allow you to mix “surround sound” in stereo. How do you mix Ambisonic (B-Format) audio?
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