Hi everyone,
I've been lurking for only a day, but Sampo's note gives me the
courage to go ahead and ask the first question I was hoping this
group might help me answer.
I am interested in experimenting with periphonic sound synthesis
using Ambisonics and (likely) Matlab, for research purposes. I've got
a grasp on the software side of things to do this, and already can
pipe multichannel sounds generated in Matlab to a standard 5.1
receiver.
Now I would like to construct a higher-order sound system, ideally
with consumer-level (and consumer-priced) components. I don't need a
big dynamic range, high power, or the best sound fidelity possible, I
just need a working prototype. This is the part I have found very
little information on in my research…
My understanding is that 8 channels is the minimum needed for stable
3-D Ambisonics (rather than planar surround). From my Mac, I can
easily output up to 8 channels of lossless PCM audio over HDMI or
optical Toslink. So it seems like it should be possible, in
principle, to assemble a budget system -- the question is what kind
of affordable receiver/amp would be appropriate?
The home cinema/gaming market offers several 7.1 systems these days,
but I imagine the subwoofer channel would likely be band-limited with
different amplifier circuitry than the other channels. There are
also some 9.2 receivers available. I'm not clear how to input more
than 8 channels to these receivers, given that they all take
HDMI/Toslink inputs, Dolby TrueHD etc are all 7.1, as far as I know,
and they don't normally have discrete analog inputs. So I'm not sure
if an 8-channel digital input would imply one channel is destined for
a subwoofer as expected for a 7.1 system. And, otherwise, if these
systems do funky in-receiver processing to generate 9.2 sound from 8
input channels, then that certainly seems incompatible with
Ambisonics…
Are any of these receivers an option? Any other suggestions? Of
course, I don't care about the video switching capabilities, etc.,
the multiplexed digital input just needs to be decoded and sent to 8+
speakers somehow.
Otherwise, if there's a Firewire or USB solution, I'd be happy to
hear more about those as well.
Thanks in advance!
Sarang
On Jul 29, 2011, at 1:06 AM, Sampo Syreeni wrote:
On 2011-07-28, Carsten Bohn wrote:
I usually don't comment very often cause most threads are "out of
my league knowledge-wise" ;-) [...]
It just came to my mind, I've been seing these kinds of comments
alot on-list. All too many, in fact. On most lists I've been on,
they are a sure sign that the list is less accessible than it could
be. And usually not because of the technical level of discussion,
but because for one reason or another, "it's difficult to get into
the discussion". Because of the perception that there's an
established in-crowd that doesn't really want you, or somesuch
other sociological reason.
So I hope I'm not too much out of line if I say, that's not how it
works around here. Please don't hesitate to participate, even by
just asking about what the hell all that ambisonic high priestess
shit is about. I mean, I at least didn't, and that's pretty much
the only reason I ever got even this far in understanding surround,
or that high priestess shit. If you look a few years back, you'll
see I've made a total ass of myself over and over again, often
without even realizing it, before I finally started to grasp what
this stuff is about. And I've never seen a list more accommodating
of such newbie stuff (or the not-so-newbie) than this one.
Surround sound is a broad and variegated subject, with altogether
too little easily accessed reference material lieing around.
Ambisonic as part of it is doubly so, since it's so poorly known.
That's then precisely why these kinds of lists are there: not only
to discuss esoterica between those already in the know, but also to
keep up the culture. Not least by inducting new folks into it.
So again, and with due reference to the Real Practitioners and the
Tenured Gurus around here, I think people shouldn't apologize
unless they royally fucked up. Instead they should use those two
lines to pose an interesting question. And of course the next half
a decade to become the guru in the guru's place. ;) -- Sampo
Syreeni, aka decoy - de...@iki.fi, http://decoy.iki.fi/front
+358-50-5756111, 025E D175 ABE5 027C 9494 EEB0 E090 8BA9 0509 85C2
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