[tbritton]

Jeffrey Anderson has just done a very cool "binaural beat-box" video I think you will all enjoy! Headphones on - start! (fun in 1080p full-screen, too!)
 
Terry
 
 

 

[immersifi]

Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound (Binaural Recordings) + Tchad Blake musing about binaural
 
I know the parent Bowers and Wilkins thread has been posted elsewhere on this site (in another forum), but I didn't see a specific link to the binaural tracks they commissioned. There are three sessions ("Accidental Powercut 1", 2, and 3), and there's also another download called "Rhodes", which may or may not have binaural content. I say 'may' because Tchad Blake was involved with the engineering on that production, and he has a way of using binaural alone or as part of a larger recording process.
 
Anyway, here's the bit about B&W's downloadable binaural tracks, and while they are indeed downloadable (in flac 16  or flac 24), regretably, they are not free:
 
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Society_of_Sound/Society_of_Sound/Music/sos-binaural-recordings.html
 
Also, here's an interesting video I found regarding Tchad Blake and his thoughts on binaural:
 
http://blindfoldmemories.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/tchad-blake-shows-some-tricks-with-the-dummy-head/
 
I'm pretty sure that Blake has been using the KU 100 for many years...

 

[swspiers]

  Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound (Binaural Recordings) + Tchad Blake musing about binaural
 
I know the parent Bowers and Wilkins thread has been posted elsewhere on this site (in another forum), but I didn't see a specific link to the binaural tracks they commissioned. There are three sessions ("Accidental Powercut 1", 2, and 3), and there's also another download called "Rhodes", which may or may not have binaural content. I say 'may' because Tchad Blake was involved with the engineering on that production, and he has a way of using binaural alone or as part of a larger recording process.
 
Anyway, here's the bit about B&W's downloadable binaural tracks, and while they are indeed downloadable (in flac 16  or flac 24), regretfully, they are not free:
 
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Society_of_Sound/Society_of_Sound/Music/sos-binaural-recordings.html
 
Also, here's an interesting video I found regarding Tchad Blake and his thoughts on binaural:
 
http://blindfoldmemories.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/tchad-blake-shows-some-tricks-with-the-dummy-head/
 
I'm pretty sure that Blake has been using the KU 100 for many years...

 
Yaay!  About time someone else mentioned the SOS.  Yeah- the SOS is not free, but it is A LOT of material for the annual fee.  I sure wish they would offer more binaural though.

 

[immersifi]

   
Yaay!  About time someone else mentioned the SOS.  Yeah- the SOS is not free, but it is A LOT of material for the annual fee.  I sure wish they would offer more binaural though.

 
@swspiers: Thanks. I was psyched to find these - I only knew of them because a friend of mine recently purchased some B&W's for his home audio system, and part of the purchase involved having access to these files. I started perusing the link, and when I saw the binaural stuff and mentioned them to him, he downloaded them for me to audition.
 
I have to admit, it IS really cool to see a KU 100 positioned in front of the artists (on the B&W page), particularly because it's my go-to mannequin head for recording when I do my live recording work.
 
By the way...if you're looking for more binaural stuff, you can find more of my recordings by doing a web search using my user name), but if you want specifics, drop me a private message and I'll get the links to you. I don't know if the genre of the various recordings are to your liking or not...

 

[tbritton]

@immersifi -
 
I've been subscribing to Society of Sound for a few years now, and though I don't always LOVE their "pop music" offerings, the classical recordings are amazing so far. And don't get me wrong - I do really enjoy being exposed to the new music the "pop music" offerings have presented - and the 48000 standard and occasional 96000 "prize" tracks let me really get some extra-hi-fi into my system that I would have not had access to otherwise. So, there's a plug for SOS in general, and their binaural recordings have been a lot of fun as well!
 
Terry

 

[immersifi]

  @immersifi -
 
I've been subscribing to Society of Sound for a few years now, and though I don't always LOVE their "pop music" offerings, the classical recordings are amazing so far. And don't get me wrong - I do really enjoy being exposed to the new music the "pop music" offerings have presented - and the 48000 standard and occasional 96000 "prize" tracks let me really get some extra-hi-fi into my system that I would have not had access to otherwise. So, there's a plug for SOS in general, and their binaural recordings have been a lot of fun as well!
 
Terry

 
@Terry: In a way...I'm kind of ashamed that I didn't know about these tracks (all of them offered by B&W - not just the binaural) until recently - I probably should just bite the bullet and subscribe...after all, when craft is exceptional, it becomes something wholly different. As an aside, I've been listening to the 805 Matrix for years (they are one of the monitors that I use for mixing), and I'm constantly suggesting to my friends who are shopping for speakers "have you listened to the B&W's?". Mind you, speakers, like any transducer, come in all flavors, and what one likes another may abhor. Still, I feel pretty confident in recommending them - though I must confess I have yet to audition any of the B&W 'phones.
 
Still, that a speaker company - who also happens to sell headphones - 'gets it' (i.e. the obvious marketing angle) and issues some very different styles of music in binaural is indeed a cool thing (I wonder if Hudson Fair knows about these? ) is kind of cool. I truthfully have no idea whether the Sennheiser's AKG's, Shure's etc of the world have marketed binaural content - it seems that STAX did long ago, but I truthfully have not surfed the web enough to see who's supporting such projects - you'd think they all would...but then again, binaural is a different beast...

 

[swspiers]

  @immersifi -
 
I've been subscribing to Society of Sound for a few years now, and though I don't always LOVE their "pop music" offerings, the classical recordings are amazing so far. And don't get me wrong - I do really enjoy being exposed to the new music the "pop music" offerings have presented - and the 48000 standard and occasional 96000 "prize" tracks let me really get some extra-hi-fi into my system that I would have not had access to otherwise. So, there's a plug for SOS in general, and their binaural recordings have been a lot of fun as well!
 
Terry

 
Yeah, but even their 'pop' offerings have some exciting stuff I would never had heard otherwise.  I really like the service, and am a little surprised that it's not more popular

 

[tbritton]

   
Yeah, but even their 'pop' offerings have some exciting stuff I would never had heard otherwise.  I really like the service, and am a little surprised that it's not more popular

 
No kidding! I got turned on to it by a fine Emmy-award winning engineer/mixer/producer friend of mine who called it one of the best bargains in music in the universe (to paraphrase!) Totally right. Right from Dengue Fever's amazing sneak release to SOS subscribers two years before being released publicly and onwards, the "pop music" offerings have been consistently full of surprises and, well, challenges for me. I sometimes take quite a few listenings before the greatness of some artists sinks in for me ... the offerings have often had that effect of making me into a true convert after giving them a few chances. 
 
The binaural offerings surprised me quite a bit - I was thinking "cool beans" with the first one, but didn't really expect more. Now with three releases of these "Accidental Powercut" binaural collections and probably more to come, B&W are really giving some fantastic material for us binaural fans to enjoy!
 
Terry

 

[immersifi]

   
No kidding! I got turned on to it by a fine Emmy-award winning engineer/mixer/producer friend of mine who called it one of the best bargains in music in the universe (to paraphrase!) Totally right. Right from Dengue Fever's amazing sneak release to SOS subscribers two years before being released publicly and onwards, the "pop music" offerings have been consistently full of surprises and, well, challenges for me. I sometimes take quite a few listenings before the greatness of some artists sinks in for me ... the offerings have often had that effect of making me into a true convert after giving them a few chances. 
 
The binaural offerings surprised me quite a bit - I was thinking "cool beans" with the first one, but didn't really expect more. Now with three releases of these "Accidental Powercut" binaural collections and probably more to come, B&W are really giving some fantastic material for us binaural fans to enjoy!
 
Terry

 
OK... that's it. I might have been on the fence about subscribing, but you two cats (Terry and swspiers) have convinced me; tomorrow, I join the fold.

 

[swspiers]

   
OK... that's it. I might have been on the fence about subscribing, but you two cats (Terry and swspiers) have convinced me; tomorrow, I join the fold.

 
Yaay!
I've read some really poorly informed opinions regarding SoS on this forum, and I think a lot of people are missing out on some pretty good material because of it.  I don't like everything that I download from there, but that goes with everything.  I hope you like what you hear!

 

[immersifi]

   
Yaay!
I've read some really poorly informed opinions regarding SoS on this forum, and I think a lot of people are missing out on some pretty good material because of it.  I don't like everything that I download from there, but that goes with everything.  I hope you like what you hear!

 
Hmmm...well, I have not perused the forum enough to see any negative comments - but I have to say, that surprises me. That is, what I have heard so far is very, very good - some of the best recordings I have ever heard in fact (and not just the binaural stuff, which is very, very good indeed). Case in point, Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2. It's always been a favorite of mine, but wow, the recording is staggeringly good, as is the performance - I dare say, this is probably my favorite version of the piece. It's a tour de force of recording craft, and the performance is really top shelf. Seriously, staggeringly good. Anyone who loves music and or high fidelity should have that in their library.
 
I was so psyched that I posted something about it on the immersifi recording services facebook page as I really felt that these recordings need all the exposure that they can get.

 

[dwareing]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itLxXeyM2aM

 

[immersifi]

Great!
 
I added it to the Immersifi Playlist. 
 
Dig.

 

[dwareing]

  Great!
 
I added it to the Immersifi Playlist. 
 
Dig.

"To emphasise the difference, the recording starts off mono - the same sound in each ear. This is the same as a conventional recording if all the sounds were positioned in the middle, and it should sound in the centre of your head. At about 1 minute in, the sound switches to binaural - you should hear the sound stage widen, and things should begin to sound outside your head." http://iosr.surrey.ac.uk/blog/2013-10-14.php
 
...Still spatially lame..

 

[dwareing]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1--B1HO-epo