Binaural Audio
I’m sure I’ve talked about this before in this, or some other blog, but I have this love for binaural recordings.
Binaural sounds like it might be quite complex but really, it is anything but! It’s such an easy thing for anyone to do. Let me explain the process and how it all works.
Recording live music binaurally
We, as human beings, hear sound through a pair of ears, located either side of our head. These ears are separated by about 5-8 inches on the same horizontal plane. They capture & shape the audio, and focus it on the ear drum which in turn vibrates tiny bones and the brain interprets that as sound. So, the binaural method simply places 2 microphones about 5-8 inches apart and on the same horizontal plane. These each occupy one of two tracks that, when played back through stereo headphones, give the binaural effect. The left mic feeds the left channel and the right feeds the right, therefore the sound that is recorded is recorded the same way we hear it.
Nuemann KU100 Binaural Microphone
Of course, the drawback is that you have to listen to binaural recordings through headphones to get the best effect. Listening through regular stereo speakers pretty much loses the effect. The best bit about binaural is how it recreates the full three dimensional soundscape that we experience in real life. Because of the way our brain decodes incoming audio to the ears, it places all sounds for us in the three dimensions. Because binaural recording accurately replicates this method of audio capture, when you listen back, the brain performs the same processing and it decodes the hidden spatial information and it feels like we’re actually there. Sounds that happen above the mics, when played back, appear to be occurring overhead, even when there is no speaker there! It’s simple, clever stuff.
Binaural Microphone
You can easily make your own binaural recordings by acquiring two microphones, wiring them up so that each one feeds one channel of a stereo pair and then placing them in the right position and plugging into a recorder. Some people use elaborate dummy heads that have replica ears, with all the pinae and a mic buried where the ear cavity is. Some just attach the mics to their shirt collars or their regular headphones with crocodile clips!
Recording binaurally out in the field
So, what prompted me to write this post was finding this group on SoundCloud…
Choc full of some lovely home made binaural work, there are some proper little gems in here.
But for some really awesome binaural stuff, check out Bilocation by Steve Marshall. This 41 minute piece is a blend of ambient sounds, music and general audio joy. It is available on regular Binaural stereo CD or in DTS 5.1 on DVD. On this version, Steve used transaural processing to utilise the 6 speaker configuration of most home cinema set ups. Listening to the 5.1 version requires you to sit in a “sweet spot” but you are freed from the shackles of headphones. Steve wrote an article for Sound On Sound that better explains the processes he used.
So, whack on some headphones and have a listen to the recordings offered over at SoundCloud, and then, if you feel inspired, go out and make some of your own! There’s no clever jiggery pokery involved! 
Field Of Sound
As part of my homogenisation of the Failed Muso brand earlier this month, I also decided to merge another of my blogs into the Failed Muso blog.
This blog was called Field Of Sound and was started up to cater for my passion of multi-channel & surround sound audio. Regular followers will know that I am a massive fan of such things and my music collection contains many multi-channel recordings including the DVD AUdio version of Dark Side Of The Moon, the entire Bjork & Depeche Mode catalogue in 5.1, Queen’s A Night At The Opera and much, much more.
I started it up a while back but never really posted much to it sadly. However, the posts I did make have now been merged in with the Failed Muso blog in chronological order.
There is one final blog, again a poorly posted to one, called Zerox Machine which was an attempt at having a blog to rant and rave about anything other than music. I have decided not to merge this one as it’s not music related and I’m guessing music related shit is what you guys want from me. I may, but probably may not, import it as a secondary blog on here, if I feel it’s worth it.
Yazoo – In Your Room
Arrived yesterday and what a bundle of spartan synth goodness it is !!
Each album is on it’s own CD with the third case containing both the remixes/b-sides CD and the DVD that contains the Dolby & DTS 5.1 mixes, promo videos, documentary and BBC footage. The discs and booklet are housed in the box, pictured at the top. The booklet (pictured at the bottom) is quite chunky and full of info, bio and pics.
The remastering is superb, both in stereo and 5.1. The work was carried out by Simon Heyworth (remastering) and Kevin Paul (5.1 mix) who were both responsible for the Depeche Mode Remasters and the quality and execution is just as stunning as those works.
The sparse, arpeggiated nature of Yazoo’s music is given some room to breathe and their work sounds as fresh today as it did 25 years ago. Alison has never sounded so good 
)
Add to that the fantastic documentary, promos and clips from the BBC and that wonderful book that goes with it, it’s a great package.
Depeche Mode – The Remasters
Released last year, and created to celebrate 25 years in the business, the first 10 studio albums by Basildon band, Depeche Mode not only mark a stunning career but also a landmark surround sound music release. Each album is released in various formats (including Vinyl & CD) but the pinnalce is the collectors editions which feature 2 discs. Disc 1 is an SACD hybrid with remastered versions of the album in stereo and 5.1 multichannel at 24bit/96KHz. Disc 2 is a DVD (not DVD-A) that features the album in 5.1 Dolby Digital at 24bit & 5.1 DTS at 24bit/96KHz. This second disc also features b-sides, live tracks, remixes & singles not featured on the albums and a documentary chronicaling the band at the time each album was released. Held in gatefold sleeves with plastic protectors and a booklet with new pictures and sleeve notes, these releases are a must not only for fans, but for lovers of electronic music and surround sound alike.
EDIT: After popping DISC 1 of these albums into my car HiFi, I discovered that they also contain CDText, much to my (pleasant) surprise )
With their last studio album, “Playing The Angel” already released in 5.1, along with the live album, “101″, Depeche Mode are now undeniably the most prolific 5.1 musicians alive today.
I will be endeavouring to review each pack as time allows, but to be perfectly honest, I’m too busy enjoying listening to them !!
Visit Mute Records online store, Mutebank, for some incredible deals on these albums, including Multipack purchases.
Visit the microsite HERE
Depeche Mode – The Remasters
Released last year, and created to celebrate 25 years in the business, the first 10 studio albums by Basildon band, Depeche Mode not only mark a stunning career but also a landmark surround sound music release. Each album is released in various formats (including Vinyl & CD) but the pinnalce is the collectors editions which feature 2 discs. Disc 1 is an SACD hybrid with remastered versions of the album in stereo and 5.1 multichannel at 24bit/96KHz. Disc 2 is a DVD (not DVD-A) that features the album in 5.1 Dolby Digital at 24bit & 5.1 DTS at 24bit/96KHz. This second disc also features b-sides, live tracks, remixes & singles not featured on the albums and a documentary chronicaling the band at the time each album was released. Held in gatefold sleeves with plastic protectors and a booklet with new pictures and sleeve notes, these releases are a must not only for fans, but for lovers of electronic music and surround sound alike.
EDIT: After popping DISC 1 of these albums into my car HiFi, I discovered that they also contain CDText, much to my (pleasant) surprise )
With their last studio album, “Playing The Angel” already released in 5.1, along with the live album, “101″, Depeche Mode are now undeniably the most prolific 5.1 musicians alive today.
I will be endeavouring to review each pack as time allows, but to be perfectly honest, I’m too busy enjoying listening to them !!
Visit Mute Records online store, Mutebank, for some incredible deals on these albums, including Multipack purchases.
Visit the microsite HERE
