Quest is over - this lab can recreate any sound of any space

ack

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May 6, 2010
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Forget about expensive cables, amps, speakers, sources and tweaks... this lab in Denmark can record and reproduce it all with 43 mini-monitors, from dead silence to a concert hall

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...his-lab-can-recreate-the-sounds-of-any-space/

Also notice the jab, which is probably a half truth: but it turns out that humans are pretty bad at comparing those varied acoustic environments. Faced with more than two choices, our brains are simply unable to keep the unique sounds of each in mind.

More details at http://phys.org/news/2016-10-lab-mimics-room.html
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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Forget about expensive cables, amps, speakers, sources and tweaks... this lab in Denmark can record and reproduce it all with 43 mini-monitors, from dead silence to a concert hall

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...his-lab-can-recreate-the-sounds-of-any-space/

Also notice the jab, which is probably a half truth: but it turns out that humans are pretty bad at comparing those varied acoustic environments. Faced with more than two choices, our brains are simply unable to keep the unique sounds of each in mind.

More details at http://phys.org/news/2016-10-lab-mimics-room.html

This facility aims at reproducing in accurate conditions the effect of an acoustic space in recording playback - besides being great development tools it would be a great tool for acousticians to get the owners preferences. We would even be able to experiment and choose our room treatments before building!

IMHO it would not replace the expensive cables, amps, speakers, sources and tweaks.
 

ack

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May 6, 2010
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As usual, I was being sarcastic. The phys.org link clarifies: Right now the lab is set up to reproduce the acoustic space in a car, and with good reason
It looks like B&O is getting into the car-audio business
 

PeterA

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Dec 6, 2011
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As usual, I was being sarcastic. The phys.org link clarifies: Right now the lab is set up to reproduce the acoustic space in a car, and with good reason
It looks like B&O is getting into the car-audio business

They are already there. My wife's 2014 Audi has a B&O stereo system built in, and it actually sounds pretty good.
 

MadFloyd

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May 30, 2010
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They are already there. My wife's 2014 Audi has a B&O stereo system built in, and it actually sounds pretty good.

My car has a B&O system too. I enjoy classical music in it.
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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Interesting...i know a retired BBC engineer who has setup his own audio-sphere many years ago in his home consisting of 16 Tannoy speakers which he has digitally setup with certain programmable delays in order to replicate the space of cathedral halls, etc.
 

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
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2 channels are expensive and complex enough! And with a quality system it's convincing enough wrt to reproducing the recording venue.

My car has a Harman audio system in it. Meh... it's ok but I just don't care about car audio anymore.
 

Kal Rubinson

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May 4, 2010
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Forget about expensive cables, amps, speakers, sources and tweaks... this lab in Denmark can record and reproduce it all with 43 mini-monitors, from dead silence to a concert hall
As is typical of non-technical reports, it is hard to understand exactly what they are doing and how it differs from other efforts along the same line. I am not blowing them off but, y'know, recreating the acoustics of another space is easy if your doing it in an anechoic chamber.
 

NorthStar

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Feb 8, 2011
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Ok, 43 speakers @ home, and 16 in the car. The car environment is getting much more simple.

With that many speakers they won't need to make DSP chips anymore. DSP will be use only in two-channel stereo setups.
 

NorthStar

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Cool, then everyone/anyone can benefit. Right now they are concentrating for the high-end car sound system environment. But it can be expanded to concert halls and the home, like an anechoic chamber. They use a computer program to measure all reverberations. Then the coordinates are applied/programmed. They use a stereo CD, a stereo audio file too, stereo music recordings to distribute the improved sound replicating the space of the recording venue. It's in a digital/processed form though. A stereo LP would need to be converted in the digital domain first, for stereo analog TT people in the home, and/or from analog stereo tapes.

Additional info:

http://phys.org/news/2012-12-recreate-concert-room.html#nRlv
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-3d-zurich-opera-house.html#nRlv

* Kal, how's the progression with the B&O BeoLab 90 loudspeakers? Review coming out soon?
- http://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/2016/01/09/beolab-90-at-ces-2016/

Bonus: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...w-on-water-with-acoustic-holograms/?tid=a_inl
 
Last edited:

Kal Rubinson

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