Physioacoustics, Psychoacoustic Aural Illusions and Your
Apple IIgs Virtual Audio - Unleashed via Noise Tracker GS, VAMPS/NTV
(Vortex Audio Mastered Psychoacoustic Sound/Noise Tracker GS, VAMPS)
By Charles T. Turley, Ph.D.
FREEWARE - Copyright (c) 1994-96 by Charles T. Turley
and OmniSoft Research LAB -(OSRL)
Updated and converted to html - 3/26/96
GS Sound - Part 5 (Binaural, Bineural Technology)
Part 5 of this six part article, covers the basic concepts for some
aspects of
psychoacoustics, using binaural, bineural, physioacoustic sound effects
and it
concludes with a review on the application of a very unique and little known
audio
technique, which I've term as 'Audio Plexing'.
ABOUT BINAURAL (VIRTUAL AUDIO) SOUND EFFECTS - You've heard
"mono" and "stereo." You've probably heard "quad"
and "surround sound."
But what about "binaural"?
Over the years, a variety of methods have been used to record and reproduce
music. In the beginning, a single microphone was placed before a group of
musicians to record or to broadcast over radio. This type of sound system
was
known as monophonic because it featured a single source.
When stereo (two sound sources) was invented, two microphones were placed
before
a band and each was recorded on a separate track. The microphones were usually
placed six to eight feet apart to give the listener a more distinct sense
of left
and right.
Now, close miking setups are in vogue - using numerous microphones fed to
either
left, right or both channels. The sound fed to both left and right channells
ends up sounding as though the instruments are halfway between the left
and right
speakers. The result sounds like a live performance in the listerners home.
Far from being the latest in a string of foar-out audio breakthroughs, binaural
sound has been around since 1881, when it was sent from the Paris Opera
House to
subscribers via telephone lines. And, unlike the rash of complex multi-channel
techniques, including qudraphonic (four-channel) sound, surround sound and
Ambisonic sound, binaural recordings do not require high tech equipment.
All a
listener needs to enjoy the experience is a pair of headphones, normal stereo
gear and a tape or CD recorded using binaural techniques.
Binaural recordings are made in an amazingly simple way. A life-size model
of a
human head is constructed with microphones implanted where a human's ears
are
found. Then the dummy head and torso are placed in the audience of a musical
performance. The sounds heard by the right and left "ears" are
stored on a
normal stereo recorder. The results are striking. The 360-degree sound of
binaural recordings place a listener right there at the performance - front
row
center. The music and its live ambience are retained because the acoustics
of
the room or hall are reproduced precisely as a spectator would hear them.
The easiest way to enjoy this technology is with a portable player and a
pair of
stereo headphones. While binaural recordings can be played through stereo
loudspeakers, the single listerner must sit exactly between left and right
speakers that have been turned to face each other, in order to experience
the
full effect.
In fact, because of the superior reproduction quality of most new loudspeakers,
many audiophiles prefer this listening venue. Binaural addicts say that
only
dramatic productions suffer from playback over speakers.
I personally consider the use of headphones to be the only logical device
for use
when listening to any binaural recording. I advise the use of good-quality,
full
(frequency) range, high-intensity, amplified, full-sized (over-the-ear)
KOSS or
Sennheiser (electrostatic) headphones, for the best possible audio rendering
of
the binaural recordings, to allow you to hear the 360-degree vertical and
horizontal sound scapes, they present.
You can make your own recordings using special binaural mikes. One model,
which
I use with many of my NTGS, (IIgs) binaural recordings and recommend, is
the
Sennheiser MKE 2002 binaural mike system. It's designed to be worn by the
person
(and/or reference dummy head), that makes the binaural master recording.
My own binaural recording steps use the latest Neumann KU-100 dummy head
model,
using signals sent directly to a hard drive, using a 20-bit digital signal
from
Sonic Solutions and then final-loop I/O digital sample recording, monitoring
and
processing to and from the MAC to the IIGS.
The final-loop I/O digital sample remastering uses the following software
and
hardware; DigitalSessions, the Sound Meister Digitizer Card and I/O loop
processed with the Hughes Model A-500 High Definition 3-D Audio Sound Retrieval
System, then saved as mastered digital ASIF files via NTGS v2.0.x for use
with
scoring, sound scape dimensional designs, modifications and enhancements.
Again, I'll point out, you should only use headphones to listen to binaural
and/or bineural recordings, that I make and release, for use with the IIGS.
You
must have a stereo card connected to your stereo amplifier system and have
your
headphones connected toyour stereo systems headphone output jack.
If you use this proceedure for listening to the VAMPS, NTV, MegaMOD and
MegaVAMPS
releases, via a IIGS as outlined above, you will lose yourself in both binaural
and bineural, 360-degree virtual audio and time becomes totally relative,
almost
non-moving in mental concept. The illusions of time speeding up and/or slowing
down can also be observed, with such audio minulations. Time is considered
as the
4th dimension and this is where the claim of 4D audio comes into play. Any
audio
output signal that causes the above outlined effects, can be considered
and
defined as 4D Audio.
ABOUT AUDIO PLEXING TECHNIQUES - To obtain the physioacoustic event of 'Audio
Plexing' (to promote the production of natural pleasure inducing endorphins
in
the brains left and right hemispheres), use pulsed audio signal interupts
of 90
times per minute. The audio signals should be; digital, square-wave, ASIF,
stereo
and looped, also being overlayed/layered, with very low volumes (ranging
from 9
to 27) for each.
Using extreamly low intensity phasing for each, pairings of these looped,
stereo,
audio signals, designed in a score pattern, that renders them in polyrhythm
and
styled in portato (a manner of audio score performance halfway between legato
and
staccato), is essential! You must also assign them dual(R & L) channels
within
NTGS v2.0; RAM and/or Ensoniq Sound banks (one selective pair for each tracks
stereo channel assignment).
They respectively, should be a selection of i.e.; Left - 7000/7007, 70/77,
700/707 Hz and Right - 4000/4004, 40/44, 400/404 Hz. Left and right, may
also
be positionally reversed respectively, if so desired. Intergrating and applying
such audio designs into any of your music compositions with either Noise
Tracker
GS modules (type 1 or 2), it's possible to generate subtle audio stimulation
of a
cluster of nerves, located behind the area of each ear, to promote the production
of natural pleasure inducing endorphins in the brains left and right hemispheres.
Finally, I've decided, with the ways, means and assets having been made
available to me for their production, I'll be working on production of a
series
of digitally remastered, binaural 'MASTER' recordings, for release on both
audio
cassette and CD, featuring my entire collections of VAMPS, NTV's, MegaMODS
and
MegaVAMPS. They should be available for ordering by late July or early August
of
1996. I plan to make them available for mail-ordering, from a company called
"The
Binaural Source". They have the most extensive collection of binaural
recordings
available anywhere!
You can contact them via mail at: Box 1727, Ross, CA., 94957 or give them
a
tool-free call, at 1-800-934-0442, for a free catalog of the many master
binaural
recordings they currently offer, on cassette and/or compact disc (CD), from
around the world. The Binaural Source catalog listings range in prices of
from $5
to $39. The catalog listings are drawn from all over the globe, including
rare,
hard-to-find, gold masters, made in Austria, England, France, Germany, Ghana
and
Poland.
Charles T. (Dr. Tom) Turley, Ph.D.
115 Santa Clara St. Brisbane, CA., 94005, USA
Voice Tel. (415) 468-1609
email: gbmaidsf@wco.com
IIgs Forever!
Thanks and References; Harry Somerfield - (Home Entertainment)
Cronicle Features,
CA., The Binaural Source, Ross, CA. - John Sunier, Discovery MAG. (Sound
&
Audio), Fields, Within Fields, within Fields - (Sound & Audio) - (Issues
1978-81), Electromagnetic Fields & Life - (Sound & Audio) - Prof.
S. Pressman,
The Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music - Prof. Ralph T. Danial. My special
thanks
to; Durand R. Begault, Ph.D. - Aerospace Human Factors Research division
of
NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA., for his many informative
contributions and technical advise, Hugo Zuccarelli - Holophonics recording
process and especially Tom Erbe, for his amazing MAC sound enhancement
application - SoundHack v0.84.
Read SOUND GS Part 6
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