PS Audio - Surround Sound not more popular with Audiophiles?

[kfbkfb]

Also...many TV shows produced since the late 1980s have Dolby Surround encoded soundtracks (probably motivated by the more widespread adoption of stereo sound for TV around that time).

I use my Dolby Pro-Logic (1) decoder often since I videotape many of these shows from the DTV subchannels such as Comet TV and lately I videotape some shows from Hulu [time shifting Stargate Atlantis now] (all offer stereo sound which is good enough to work for Dolby Surround decoding).


Kirk Bayne

 

[par4ken]

There is a small handful of us on the forum that own a Smyth Realiser A16. All I can say is, don’t dismiss Dolby Atmos listening through headphones until you’ve experienced the A16. And its precursor, the A8, did a pretty credible version of 3.0, quad and 5.1!

I've been reading the odd post about the "Realiser" lately. It sounds like something that might have huge potential, it almost sounds like science fiction. Correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like an artificial way to generate a binaural signal, fine tuned to the listeners ears. Still I can't help but thinking that it would be best suited to gaming applications. If it provides not just realistic directional sound but quality sound as well then it might be great for music as well. I'm not ready to try it out for myself but I am interested in knowing more about it.

One question, the big problem with headphones is that they don't image in front, is that any different with the Realiser?

 

[gene_stl]

I can certainly see using streaming to try things out before you buy them. And there is also little doubt that a lot of the Atmos content (and other potentially desireable content , like Revolver )isn't even available on physical media. It just is not a proposition that works for my particular set of weirdness and cantankerousness.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I've been reading the odd post about the "Realiser" lately. It sounds like something that might have huge potential, it almost sounds like science fiction. Correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like an artificial way to generate a binaural signal, fine tuned to the listeners ears.

Not really. It mimics the soundstage of a real loudspeaker system/room (yours or anothers) using only the headphones.

One question, the big problem with headphones is that they don't image in front, is that any different with the Realiser?

With the right sources and setup, yes.

 

[ar surround]

I don't even watch movies often but when I do it's usually not even with the surround system turned on. I'm not even curious.

And I thought I was the only one who did that. I find watching a movie in surround sound too distracting. Perhaps that is how the people feel who cannot listen to music in surround.

 

[DuncanS]

And I thought I was the only one who did that. I find watching a movie in surround sound too distracting. Perhaps that is how the people feel who cannot listen to music in surround.

I rarely watch a film/movie and if I do its usually in stereo. Surround/Atmos is for music

 

[par4ken]

Not really. It mimics the soundstage of a real loudspeaker system/room (yours or anothers) using only the headphones.

Yes but to do that using only two drivers it must be creating the same sound that we would hear with our ears naturally, with the exact time phase and frequency characteristics as sitting in the room with with those speakers active. That sounds to me like what binaural does but in a simpler manner by using a dummy head. I would surmise that it perhaps shares some similarity or relationship with Ambisonics as well?

Just trying to wrap my head around how such a thing could possibly work. Also does it require some kind of earbud that sits inside the ear? I would think that headphone drivers over and outside the ear might have some limitations.