Re: New loop tool, sort of..stereo

[Todd Pafford <calenlas@gmail.com>]

Good points Max.

Lately I've been listening to a lot of music in headphones while out &
about.  Often I'll shuffle up tracks and what I find really jarring is
suddenly coming upon a track mixed thirty years ago with a lot of hard
panning.  You know the sort...lead guitar in right channel, vocals in
left, drums & bass in both.  Whoever thought this was a good idea
should be tied up in patch cables and beaten with a pair of
headphones.  Suddenly it sounds like my left ear has shorted out 'cuz
there's no guitar there.  Ugh.  It's an exagerated, but perfect
example of how we don't hear in stereo.

I read an interesting article a couple of years back in Scientific
American about a guy who was working on analyzing and modelling the
way our ears locate sound.  I recall there being a good description
about the way in which the asymetrical shapes of our ears allow us to
place sound in 360 degrees based on minute differences in timing,
timbre, phase, etc between the sounds reaching each ear.  Taking this
information, some fancy math, and fast computers he was able to
deliver a 360 degree sound field from just two speakers.  Or he was
trying at any rate.  If I recall correctly, the system was real touchy
regarding speaker and listener positioning.  Can't help but wonder
whether he ever succeeded.  I'll see if I can't dig up more info on
the article in case anyone is interested.

Todd


On 11/22/05, max valentino <ekstasis1@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> If memory serves (and I am certain there is someone on this list who will
> illustrate to me just where memory does not serve), our hearing is not
> stereo, but rather binaural.  The diffrence being more than merely 
>semantic
> as binaural does not "limit" things to merely a R/L mix, rather
> encompassing, like our own hearing, a full 360o sound field....