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[InaudibleWhispa]

I just stumbled across this and it's incredible how immersive it is. Just closing my eyes, my other sense trying to fill in the blanks. It requires headphones.

I'd heard the Virtual Barber before (this one is really good too), but it's a fun thing to explore and it's a shame there isn't more of it. I find it very relaxing, particularly obvious ones like thunder storms.

 

[crazy monkey]

Rain sound is always the best

 

[DarkKyo]

http://youtu.be/fSSLQf95-Nc

Love this one.

 

[Mato]

That sounds amazing in my new Sennheiser professional headphones. I didn't even know it was possible to get true 3d panning with current technology.

 

[Rapstah]

That sounds amazing i my new Sennheiser professional headphones. I didn't even know it was possible to get true 3d panning with current technology.

It sounds amazing in my dad's hardly-even-stereo headphones from the late seventies, so that's stunning.

I couldn't watch it anymore after the guy started dropping the match box on my legs. Frightening. I wish movies and games had this kind of technology, but they have other things to think of and can't be perfectly centered around a head all the time.

 

[BobDylan]

That sounds amazing in my new Sennheiser professional headphones. I didn't even know it was possible to get true 3d panning with current technology.

They use things such as this

The time delays are what shape the sounds

 

[scar tissue]

Fuck I had almost forgotten the virtual haircut. I want this in my games NOW.
HOOK IT TO MY VEINS

 

[ArtistDude88]

This is so NEAT. Even with my cheapo headphones! Thanks for sharing!

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Fuck I had almost forgotten the virtual haircut. I want this in my games NOW.
HOOK IT TO MY VEINS

Games already have it. Skyrim had it, for example.

It was actually kind of annoying because one of my headphones was broken, so I had to turn my characters ear toward people who were talking in order to hear them. At the same time it was kind of insightful because my wife is deaf in one ear and it gave me a mindblowing impression about what life must be like for her.

 

[InaudibleWhispa]

Games already have it. Skyrim had it, for example.

It was actually kind of annoying because one of my headphones was broken, so I had to turn my characters ear toward people who were talking in order to hear them. At the same time it was kind of insightful because my wife is deaf in one ear and it gave me a mindblowing impression about what life must be like for her.

Are you sure it isn't just simulating the sound direction by panning the audio based on the direction you're facing? I don't think it quite has the same effect. It helps create a 3D sound stage, but the sounds themselves don't sound quite so intimate and real. Or at least they didn't particularly stand out to me when I played it.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Are you sure it isn't just simulating the sound direction by panning the audio based on the direction you're facing? I don't think it quite has the same effect. It helps create a 3D sound stage, but the sounds themselves don't sound quite so intimate and real. Or at least they didn't particularly stand out to me when I played it.

It's not exactly the same, no. As I understand they use microphones in an earlike canal for true holophonic recording. But the 3D sound staging is pretty similar.

 

[pezowned]

There is a game for the iPhone which uses this. There are no visuals and you move around the world and perform actions just by using the 3D sound.

It stars Benedict Cumberbatch of Sherlock fame.

It's free on the App Store. It's well worth checking out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeBFCQ-aBds

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Obligatory Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-related_transfer_function

Realtime 3D positioning of sound using only 2-channel stereo sources has been around forever. The first real application of this in games was way back in 1997 when Aureal released the A3D sound API for realtime 3D sound from headphones. People were playing the original Counter-Strike with amazingly realistic 3D sound. The technology to position sounds in 3D space using only 2 channels isn't that novel, after all, humans have only 2 ears but can easily locate a sound in 3D space relative to their heads.

 

[Kerrby]

This one is okay: 3D interrogation chamber - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u163wC6mP2A

Then there's Pogo's 3D work - http://www.youtube.com/results?sear...1l20390l0l20572l6l6l0l0l0l0l326l463l3.3-1l4l0

You've already linked the barbershop one though. It's a shame there isn't more of this stuff, it's amazing.

 

[Fur_Q]

This one is okay: 3D interrogation chamber - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u163wC6mP2A

Then there's Pogo's 3D work - http://www.youtube.com/results?sear...1l20390l0l20572l6l6l0l0l0l0l326l463l3.3-1l4l0

You've already linked the barbershop one though. It's a shame there isn't more of this stuff, it's amazing.

This is amazing, it's like I have expensive 3D surround sound headphones on my head instead of cheap ministry of sound headphones that I bought on the cheap.

Can you get this effect with surround sound headphones on games? And what are the best ones to get.

 

[Kenka]

Wtf, some sounds don't seem to come from my headphones. Impressive how immersive this is.

 

[:Motorbass]

That sounds amazing in my new Sennheiser professional headphones. I didn't even know it was possible to get true 3d panning with current technology.

Well, essentially you only have 2 "Microphones"; your ears and can still track sounds in 3D

 

[Kenka]

Could anyone explain how to produce that effect ? I would love to listen to the Tristram Village theme from Diablo in 3d.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2evIg-aYw8

 

[Soul_Pie]

Holy shit that bit when the hairdryer seems to blow directly into the headphone.

This is incredible.

 

[Mato]

Well, essentially you only have 2 "Microphones"; your ears and can still track sounds in 3D

Yes but the sound waves only come from the direction of the speakers (headphones). In real life sound waves can come from all sorts of direction around you.

 

[Vermillion]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u163wC6mP2A

I couldn't finish this one, but it's absolutely incredible. Be tough, and you just might get out. Stay strong, stay silent.

 

[show me your skeleton]

'rival', 'sleight of hand', 'soon forget' and 'of the girl' from pearl jam's 'binaural' album were, unsurprisingly, all recorded using this technique.

 

[Kenka]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u163wC6mP2A

I couldn't finish this one, but it's absolutely incredible. Be tough, and you just might get out. Stay strong, stay silent.

Holy fucking shit, this is the most immersive audio I ever experienced.
That is even more candy for your ears that the movie "The Untouchables" which arguably featured some of the best sound effects and dialogue to keep you hooked in the history of cinema.





Goddamn!

 

[moniker]

Yes but the sound waves only come from the direction of the speakers (headphones). In real life sound waves can come from all sorts of direction around you.

An eardrum is basically a 2d membrane that registers sound waves. It doesn't matter much where the sound waves originate from. Your brain creates a 3d sound stage from interpreting the differences registered by the two membranes (slight delay depending on which membrane is farthest away from the sound source, occlusion of sound because of the physical head etc).

 

[wwm0nkey]

Kind of wonder what the application of this could be with video games or 3D movies.

 

[freenudemacusers]

Ryoji ikeda did something like this with the headphonics album. Really trippy stuff.

 

[Mistake]

This song was done back in 2000 for F Zero which has a part like that. It feels like the song moves around your head with how it's done

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9O3AW-Kras&feature=player_embedded

The 3D sound is really cool though, it's like I have theater to myself!

 

[Pejo]

Love this stuff. Makes me want to start gaming with headphones, but dat uncomfortableness.

 

[dark10x]

Love this stuff. Makes me want to start gaming with headphones, but dat uncomfortableness.

Games and films really sound NOTHING like this, however.

The audio would have to have been recorded very specifically using a binaural microphone.

 

[Suairyu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u163wC6mP2A

I couldn't finish this one, but it's absolutely incredible. Be tough, and you just might get out. Stay strong, stay silent.

The awful writing and acting actually stopped me from getting immersed.

 

[Nemo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u163wC6mP2A

I couldn't finish this one, but it's absolutely incredible. Be tough, and you just might get out. Stay strong, stay silent.

Not gonna lie, when he whispered "I'm gonna cut your ear" into my left ear I got chills and closed it. Great stuff

 

[Qwomo]

why is someone walking around my head shaking a box of matches

I hate this person

 

[ghettotwan]

Love this kind of stuff

 

[cooljeanius]

http://youtu.be/fSSLQf95-Nc

Love this one.

Is this song available for download anywhere?

Edit: Found it: http://www.pogomix.net/downloads/
It's name-your-price, you can enter $0

 

[Lord Ghirahim]

I'm getting the full version of Nazo Waku Yakata next week. I hope I can finish it in a couple of sittings.

 

[Captain_Spanky]

Cool!

 

[orioto]

Problem with binaural audio is that it's always about things around your head... And i never ever heard anything coming from the front actually.

But especially, having things around your head is nice but the whole thing is useless if it can't be used to create a realistic and wide soundscape for music or ambiance, and in many games and movies... things are in front of you.

 

[Sethos]

Love getting that tingle down your spine.

However, lots of the videos on YouTube seems to suffer from a ton of humming when done right. A lot of the crisp and clear ones, the effect doesn't seem as profound.

 

[Downhome]

I love this stuff as well, lots.

If you have an iPhone, stop what you are doing and go directly to the App Store and download Papa Sangre...

www.papasangre.com

http://www.appspy.com/papa-sangre-review

 

[RotBot]

Games and films really sound NOTHING like this, however.

The audio would have to have been recorded very specifically using a binaural microphone.

Aureal A3D was getting pretty close to simulating the binaural effect in the late 90s. But Creative Labs drove them bankrupt, bought and scuttled the technology, and killed any progress in 3D game audio.

 

[InaudibleWhispa]

Problem with binaural audio is that it's always about things around your head... And i never ever heard anything coming from the front actually.

But especially, having things around your head is nice but the whole thing is useless if it can't be used to create a realistic and wide soundscape for music or ambiance, and in many games and movies... things are in front of you.

I'm sure that's less a limitation and more that all of the demo's are designed to show off, and having the sound close to the head moving from side to side is more impressive. Some of the more atmospheric ones like a thunderstorm or a song clearly use a full 360 soundstage.

 

[BobsRevenge]

It sounds amazing in my dad's hardly-even-stereo headphones from the late seventies, so that's stunning.

I couldn't watch it anymore after the guy started dropping the match box on my legs. Frightening. I wish movies and games had this kind of technology, but they have other things to think of and can't be perfectly centered around a head all the time.

Almost all games I've played recently have it, and I imagine most movies use their 5.1 mix to create a stereo mix with it too.

This virtual 3d sound isn't unusual or even rare. I've only played games in stereo for over a couple years now, so it's something I'm aware of.

 

[Sharp]

I'm sure that's less a limitation and more that all of the demo's are designed to show off, and having the sound close to the head moving from side to side is more impressive. Some of the more atmospheric ones like a thunderstorm or a song clearly use a full 360 soundstage.

My impression was that it's extremely difficult to create a sensation of sound directly behind you with standard headphones. Is that just a misconception on my part?

 

[dark10x]

Aureal A3D was getting pretty close to simulating the binaural effect in the late 90s. But Creative Labs drove them bankrupt, bought and scuttled the technology, and killed any progress in 3D game audio.

That's a shame. I never actually tried using A3D with headphones back in the day but I had a 4.1 setup that worked really well in the 90s (Klipsch speakers that I still use on my PC today as they still sound pretty damn good).

I actually owned a Diamond Monster Sound MX300 back then. It was a pass-through audio card just as the Voodoo was a pass-through video card. Still have that thick connector cable they included with it lying around.

 

[InaudibleWhispa]

Almost all games I've played recently have it, and I imagine most movies use their 5.1 mix to create a stereo mix with it too.

This virtual 3d sound isn't unusual or even rare. I've only played games in stereo for over a couple years now, so it's something I'm aware of.

I believe games achieve an illusion of 3D sound by simply panning stereo audio, but it isn't binaural. Binaural actually records a sound hitting both ears, taking into account the spacing of the ears and the tiny difference in time between a sound hitting each ear, which is how the ear pinpoints the location of a sound in reality. The effect of "the bullet came from the left of me" is the same, but with binaural recording of the sound (which, as far as I am aware, can't be simulated yet) the effect is much more accurate and realistic. Certainly no game that I've played sounds remotely as good the examples in this thread in terms of creating an immersive 3D soundscape, and based on the reaction many others feel the same.

My impression was that it's extremely difficult to create a sensation of sound directly behind you with standard headphones. Is that just a misconception on my part?

Well many of the binaural recordings I've heard have certainly fooled me into thinking something is behind me. I'm sure it's difficult when simply panning stereo audio, but with the advantages of a binaural recording it's easier to trick the ear.

 

[BobsRevenge]

I believe games achieve an illusion of 3D sound by simply panning stereo audio, but it isn't binaural. Binaural actually records a sound hitting both ears, taking into account the spacing of the ears and the tiny difference in time between a sound hitting each ear, which is how the ear pinpoints the location of a sound in reality. The effect of "the bullet came from the left of me" is the same, but with binaural recording of the sound (which, as far as I am aware, can't be simulated yet) the effect is much more accurate and realistic. Certainly no game that I've played sounds remotely as good the examples in this thread in terms of creating an immersive 3D soundscape, and based on the reaction many others feel the same.

No, it simulates the effects of sound coming from behind you. It is even surprisingly effective without the use of headphones, and just having a couple good speakers in front of you.

I don't believe it simulates it in a way that is accurate to binaural recording, but it does simulate a three dimensional sound-space effectively. Most games I've played recently seem to do this.

 

[Damon Bennet]

the introsound of the nintendo ds is holophonic 3d.

 

[CrunchyFrog]

Yes but the sound waves only come from the direction of the speakers (headphones). In real life sound waves can come from all sorts of direction around you.

Not entirely true. Yes while sound waves do come from multiple directions into the ear, they dont end up in there as such, both mechanically and perceptually. The most important part here is not necessarily just the positioning of 2 microphones at the distance of the ears on the head, but also the pinna, the big floppy outer part of your ear. Pinna, due to their weird curves and folds, augment 3D sounds and funnel them into your ear in a very specific way. All sound ends up going through to your timpanic membrane and into your cochlea in a linear fashion, but its the augmentation of the sound by your pinna which gets processed and picked up in the sound processing areas of your brain that allows you to accurately determine position in 3D space.

 

[InaudibleWhispa]

No, it simulates the effects of sound coming from behind you. It is even surprisingly effective without the use of headphones, and just having a couple good speakers in front of you.

I don't believe it simulates it in a way that is accurate to binaural recording, but it does simulate a three dimensional sound-space effectively. Most games I've played recently seem to do this.

I know it simulates it by panning audio, as I said. The effect is the same in that it tricks you into thinking sound is coming from a direction, but it isn't anywhere near as accurate or as immersive as a binaural recording. Thus saying "We already have this in games" isn't quite true. We have a poorer simulation of it. Not that I'm complaining; playing a good game with a decent set of headphones still sounds great and is incredibly immersive, but this would be a step up in every way as far as I can see.

 

[akira28]

Aureal A3D was getting pretty close to simulating the binaural effect in the late 90s. But Creative Labs drove them bankrupt, bought and scuttled the technology, and killed any progress in 3D game audio.

Curse Creative Labs forever. I spent 150 bucks for that Turtle Beach A3D enabled card, and they killed them. I remember walking in circles around the bubbling moats in Unreal just to gawk at the effect.
Plus the Creative labs version never worked, and now most sound cards are built into the motherboard, and no one cares about specialized audio for gaming anymore. Way to screw the pooch Sound Wanker.