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How many of us record our own music? I would say very few, therefore the device is a novelty for recording family gatherings and sporting events so one person at a time can listen to it. And what about Android? Could be a fun toy for iPhone users, not much use for high end audio unless someone plans to release music on yet another format.
This was interesting to me, because I tried a few recordings in the past, and just last night I watched a cellphone video of a lightning strike that someone recorded. The lightning strike illustrated some troubling aspects of personal recording that have been around since forever: One is the lack of the ultra-deep bass that comprises thunder, and two is the transient nature of the sound. Timing, i.e. deciding when and where to record, and then the editing chores involved in sifting through a lot of raw audio to weed out the junk is going to be tedious and time-consuming. And then there's the ugly problem of extraneous noises that are screened out of professional (but not personal) recordings. Even the professional live concert recordings get some fancy microphone treatments during recording, followed by a lot of hard work in the lab removing the worst of the extraneous sounds that the mics couldn't exclude.
If the system does some special tricks (which might not be compatible with other systems or recordings), it might indeed sound like you're there. Unfortunately for me, the binaural recordings I've purchased sound no better than conventional recordings, and usually worse. Perhaps the system you mention has some tuning features to customize for users who aren't getting the full realism with the default configuration.
I don't see this revolutionizing the audio industry by any means, and it'll never replace actual proper recording mics, but it is a step up for the amateur iphone videographer who doesn't have any real equipment. Convenience and portability are the name of the game. For those worried about the weird effect of "binaural" recordings (at least this version of it) on regular stereo playback, at least when you start this way you can always mix it down in post-production into something that will sound more normal on a typical 2-channel system. You can't go the other way from a normal recording to create binaural tracks. I'm curious how well they deal with the cable microphonics though. The sample videos are all relatively calm with very little movement.
What you hear in the real world with your two ears, without devices, is natural. It seems to me that you may be talking about using a device to experience an enhanced virtual "reality" that's not what you hear naturally. Or you may be pointing to a time when large numbers of people (if not the majority) are going around with a device most or all of the time, so they are "separated" from normal experience most of the time. Or maybe you're suggesting the device for music listening only, where users won't be able to do anything else at the same time as they mostly do now, because it's so involving. Do you have an idea where this is going?
I'm sorry George, but using a video of hamsters to illustrate 3d sound kinda proves my point. No Rolling Stones or Beethoven, not too interested no matter how cute the little rodents may be. However I do appreciate the new technology and recognize this application may be in its infancy. I'm a soundstage nut and would love to hear some music examples as the tech matures.
This is no good. Sure, it's lifelike, if lifelike means being amidst the players so you can hear every foot-scuff and chair bump and other extraneous noise that's excluded from high-quality music recordings. I prefer the high-quality recordings where highly-paid engineers preclude or remove such distractions, and charge me anywhere from $10 to $20 for the professional version.
Here's one from a link listed with the concert rehearsal posted by George. The panning is a little distracting, but the recording doesn't have the extraneous noises of the first one, and it's a great song as well.https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dP7XChShXMQ
George, I think the problem here is one of demographics. You are trying to introduce novelty to a hardcore audiophile community. Yes the concept is interesting and some of those binaural effects are neat, but you haven't produced anything that will appeal to this audience that really only cares about high quality recordings. They don't audience murmurs, sounds of footsteps, etc. They want something that makes the music better... and you haven't quite done that. We're not asking for G.R.A.S. level of performance, but until the technology has improved to the point where a wearable device can produce a good recording comparable to a pair of decent studio microphones, you may be barking up the wrong tree here. Some more objective questions:1) are the mics omnidirectional?2) what is the FR curve of the mics? 3) is it a dynamic mic capsule? 4) have you considered applications like noise cancellation or perhaps selective filters to reduce ambient sound while improving vocal intelligibility?
Still pretty far from a good music recording. The guitar sounds like it's inches away, with excellent detail but no ambiance, and the voice sounds like it's all on my left side, like an ancient stereo recording that goes for extreme separation as a sound effect.
You're making a diversion. I didn't say anything about different tastes for different folks. What I said was that *all* commercial music has workers who take the time to clean up the irritations and distractions in the raw recordings, to make the music as enjoyable as a live concert where the audience is required to sit still and be quiet.In this technology you present, there are no paid workers to clean up the junk in the sound, so what you have may be useful for special events and so on, but not for serious music recording and listening.
