The new Zenph Studios (amazing new music software technology BTW) of Cary, NC, is also producing binaural recordings in conjunction with the Sony label.Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Nimbus recording label produced binaural recordings almost exclusively, primarily of orchestras and some acoustical jazz. And, it’s compatible with standard stereo playback systems, no additional gear required. Binaural is a truly amazing, yet simple, surround-sound technique that captures a hemispherical sound field, ie, left-right, front-back, up-down. I’ve done some fun stuff, such as sticking my head in a toilet while flushing, or putting on a shower cap in the shower (to protect the microphone, of course) and turning the water on it. My most amazing recordings are those of nature (eg, bee swarms around you), but also have some really great stuff of live concerts (audience behind, musicians in front) and a couple I engineered for CDs. I have been doing binaural recording since the early 1980s. Sennheiser MKE-2002 is an example of an excellent binaural microphone that can be used with your own ears, but also is supplied with a dummy head for those situations where that is impractical the dummy head has standard mike stand threading/adapters.Īlthough binaural recordings provide good soundstage reproduction when played back over loudspeaker stereo systems, it is only possible to get the binaural surround sound effect when listenting to playback on headphones. So, manufacturers of binaural microphones typically also supply “dummy heads” that have artificial ear pinna that approximates the typical shape of ear pinna (the differences between manufacturers’ dummy heads have marketing claims of superiority in their pinna design). Of course, that makes it tough to share binaural recordings with others if you have atypical ear pinna. This is because your brain has “learned” the unique shape of your ear pinna. The very “best”, ie most realistic, binaural recordings must be done using the same ear pinna for both recording and playback…your own. The reason why this works for humans (and other animals) is principally because of ear pinna, which reflect received sound within them in a physical mix that introduces phasing/timing/frequency differences that the brain interprets as spacial/directional info. Whereas other surround sound technologies typically rely on more than 2 channels of audio, in the “real world” humans only need 2 channels of audio, ie 2 ears feeding signals to the brain. “Binaural” is an industry term that means a specifc type of surround sound that utilizes human ear pinna, which are the external flaps of your ears. You will get stereo (left-right), and depending on the microphone arrangement and other factors you may capture some soundstage “depth” (in front only). It is not possible to capture the binaural effect with your contemplated microphone setup. If I put both on separate mic stands, with both a couple feet from, with both panned left and right, of course.Ĭould I achieve a binaural effect with this, or just stereo? I’ve always wanted to use this with music, so could someone add a suggestion if this isn’t what I thought it was? I’m thinking of buying an MXL 990 condenser mic, to add to my other mic of the same type. I have a 2-mic mixer, yes, as well as a preamp, and I already have studio foam up, but I don’t get what you mean by “mounting one above another”. Then you can walk completely around the setup and the stereo image should be OK, but you have all the problems of cardioid microphones The back side sounds funny and the patterns are never perfect.ĭo you have two preamplifiers and a mixer of some sort? The idea behind binaural is simulating a human head, so no, you can’t separate them on two mic stands. If they produce cardioid patterns, then you should again mount one above the other and point one left and one right. Those are very live and will tend to whip around the performance field and make people ill. You need to be excessively careful about room echoes and any sounds coming from the other three sides. If you stage a performance between two of the lobes, then this setup should simulate binaural recording. If the microphone has a Figure Of 8 pattern available–which is what this type of mic would have with no baffles or other tricks, then I would think you could mount one directly above the other such that the two “8” patterns were at 90 degrees. It’s impossible to Google this microphone without thousands of “really cool” listings and no specifications.
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