alesimula97 t1_iy6al5u wrote on November 29, 2022 at 1:42 AM

Reply to comment by Taraxian in Headphone wizardry by SupOrSalad

So how does that matter? Whether the dimensionality of sound is measured or "virtually" calculated, at the end of the day it is something we perceive (pretty accurately, I'd say)

So how would audio equipment taking advantage of this be "fluff"?

After all, what matters is that we can discern between two sound waves coming from different directions

Emmerson_Biggons t1_iy7lh98 wrote on November 29, 2022 at 9:56 AM

You seem to have missed the point

alesimula97 t1_iy7lkj0 wrote on November 29, 2022 at 9:57 AM

Then please enlighten me

Emmerson_Biggons t1_iy7lu7o wrote on November 29, 2022 at 10:01 AM

The point was about a lot of audiophile mumbo jumbo can be ignored as effectively as fantasy or just absurd nonsense. Which is true, audio is a very complicated mixture of tech for a very basic form of hearing that is easily tricked.

alesimula97 t1_iy7nz4w wrote on November 29, 2022 at 10:32 AM

That is the exact point I was arguing against, maybe you should read my comment again

Our hearing is not one-dimensional, whether the dimension of sound is measured exactly by our ears or interpreted by our brain does not matter, what matters is we DO perceive 3dimensional sound and that makes audio equipment that plays sound from different directions produce a noticeable effect

Now, you say that due to its "interpreted" nature it is easily tricked, but since it varies from person to person due to our personal HRTF, you cannot trick it both "accurately" and universally and it would require personalised tuning to achieve an identical result as sound coming from a specific direction

So wouldn't that make a "smart" headset that can adapt to its user or allow him to calibrate 3d sound, and an headset that actually plays 3d sound, both valid options?

And wouldn't the latter be the most accessible option, since it works ootb?

Emmerson_Biggons t1_iy89iwg wrote on November 29, 2022 at 2:22 PM

Our hearing is objectively mono individually; one dimension. Our ability to tell direction is an evolutionary trait categorizing the frequencies and time the sound is heard between ears. Our ears are incapable of discerning direction without our brain telling itself what specific sounds in a specific order mean. Our brain is easily tricked by simply recreating those specific frequencies or adjusting when/if each ear hears a sound.

There isn't a substantial enough difference between people's ability to discern direction to need a significant personalized change to achieve a given 3d effect. Everyone's hearing is rarely accurate to direction, especially up and down anyway.

All that aside, a smart headset is a really interesting way for someone to label audio processing. Adaptable audio already exists and is not practical for headphones, as for actual physically 3d sound I'm pretty sure that exists and they are called "Speakers" specifically surround sound setups. As for headphones, binaural audio mixing is vastly more practical and is highly effective. Even to the point people, mostly audiophiles, make up nonsense terms and other weird things to headphones capabilities.

If your Audio Mastering is shit and you didn't do it right it doesn't matter how special your headphones are it won't sound good. But if you do it right then you can get a convincing 3D effect out of shitty decade old $5 ear buds you found in the back of your closet.