[quiktake]

Sounds great! I expect the same companies that use Dolby Headphone to pcik this up. So, Denon, Pioneer, and Audio technica are probably in.

Yamaha and Sony always market their own (inferior) tech (lots of echos and boomy bass is not my idea of a theater setting for surround sound headphones).

Creative labs is also interested in licensing the X-fi tech out a bit. Hopefully the new headphone surround work they have done go somewhere...

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spike33 for those of us too lazy to read all the articles, can someone summarize? What makes this new technology different from all the other fake 'surround sound' headphone systems?

Nothing. It's a stupid idea, just like 5.1 surround for music playback. Which means it will likely catch on big in North America. Most dumb ideas do. People are lemmings. They have to have the "next big thing".

Why can't we perfect what we've got instead of coming up with half-assed inventions nobody needs, or that will be made obsolete by something even dumber two years down the road?

 

[sfxjames]

If you y'all have read issue 87 in widscreen review, your home theater systems would be blown away.

I mean this is it. The final headphone odyssey, the next solution.

A dolby headphone with adjustments.

Imagine being able to choose a bunch of settings in which enables the virtual speakers to sound like their playing in your room rather than away from your room and closer torward your head.

Being able to hear a full 360 effect experience. Where you can hear sound solidly infront as well as all around.

Home theaters buyers will always be plagued by bad acoustics.

With this new technology, you will pretty much get the surround experience that widscreen review raves about!

 

[banjo]

Found the info on CESweb.

link:
http://www.cesweb.org/attendees/dire...p?exhibid=8320

Location:
Booth Number: AP2514
Show Location: Alexis Park

Quote:
Smyth Virutal Surround (SVS), a revolutionary new headphone technology that exactly replicates the sound of loudspeakers over headphones.


Now, to all those who are going to CES, make sure you drop by this booth and have a listen - and remember to report back on head-fi, please

 

[banjo]

So is anyone going to CES?

I know CES might not be overly relevant for a head-fier but the SVS system is really something someone ought to check out. The ability to make headphones perform like speakers - the acclaimed potential of making cheaper phones perform on par with more expensive models.

I certainly hope people know about it - this was the point of this whole thread.

In any case I will ask for price information after the show when the new model should be comming out.

Cheers

 

[Kram Sacul]

As exciting as this stuff sounds I much rather have real music recorded binaurally than trying to take exisiting material and trying to make it out sound like it was recorded binaurally.

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kram Sacul As exciting as this stuff sounds I much rather have real music recorded binaurally than trying to take exisiting material and trying to make it out sound like it was recorded binaurally.

Yes, but most recordings aren't binaural, now are they.

The point of headphone virtualisations is as a compromise, because of the fact that most audio isn't presented in the ideal fashion.

 

[Kram Sacul]

True, and I appreciate the effort to put together some kind of effect that replicates the binaural experience, but all it really is adding ambience that isn't in the recording, unless we're talking about converting 5.1 to simulated surround.

 

[enoch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cerebral_Mamba Well, if this new technology comes out, I am sure Sony, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamics, AKG all will adapt, I am only doubtful about Grado. OOhh, but I am so totally loving the RS1

Yamaha already employs virtual surrround in the headphone jack of their higher end recievers. About 2-3 years now.

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kram Sacul but all it really is adding ambience that isn't in the recording

Basically, yes. But that's exactly what a binaural recording does also. Adding in room cues and head related transfer functions to give the allusion of the sound taking place in a defined space, rather than just floating in the aether.

Whether you agree with the effect is a very personal thing and some people don't like it, but I quite like the effect when done well.

Quote:

unless we're talking about converting 5.1 to simulated surround.

That's the main benefit of it, as it's a real bummer being forced to listen to inferior sounding 2.0 downmixes just because I prefer headphones. Nevertheless, stereo sound can be virtualised just as well as multichannel tracks, and can sound very nice that way. Soundstaging dependant audio like electronica, chamber music, oh and and lets not forget movies, especially.


Quote:

Originally Posted by enoch Yamaha already employs virtual surrround in the headphone jack of their higher end recievers. About 2-3 years now.

Headphone virtualisers have been around for years. The problem is that most of them sound like crap. Sony and Yamaha's ones (which are two of the better ones, alas) rely on the fact that you aren't going to use too high-end headphones with them. If you do try too high quality a headphone all the reverb and delays will be there for you to hear, and it'll sound totally ridiculous.

Dolby Headphone was the first virtualisation system that could actually stand up to critical examination, and I'm hoping SVS will prove to be even better.

 

[Kram Sacul]

I just thought of something interesting... How about instead of using surround technology that attempts to simulate binaural we could simply record the music binaurally from high end stereo or 5.1 speaker setups? If the acoustics were carefully controlled and the audio levels were matched up I think this could work quite well.

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kram Sacul I just thought of something interesting... How about instead of using surround technology that attempts to simulate binaural we could simply record the music binaurally from high end stereo or 5.1 speaker setups? If the acoustics were carefully controlled and the audio levels were matched up I think this could work quite well.

Would be nice, would be nice.

It isn't going to happen though. People have tried again and again through the years to make binaural recordings a commercial reality, and every time they flop miserably. Most people (the unenlightened

) treat headphones as a low quality stopgap for when listening to speakers is not an option, not as a sonic experience able to stand on its own merits.

In any case, done well a binaural virtualisation can do just about everything a binaural recording can do. The effect of sound bouncing off walls is completely measureable, and the problems with incompatible HRTFs affects both these systems. At the end of the day one only has two ears.

 

[Kram Sacul]

I still don't understand why there isn't a more of a market for headphone designed music. I'm sure artists would love to insert binaural effects in songs to give headphone users added value.

 

[smeggy]

Yeah, they used to make binaural records a while ago. I used to make my own spooky binaural recordings in the 80's to freak out my friends (not music) and the effects are really awesome and somewhat unnerving

. I'd love to have that for movies

 

[banjo]

Link:

http://www.headwize.com/ubb/replypro...fnum=4&tid=889

Most recent news I could find today.

short summery (please read the whole thing - its not long)
The surround effect created was able to mimic the real speaker surround sound close enough as to trick the listener into confusing speakers with headphones. Again we see a statement that clearly hints at a great potential for headphone surround. There was a slight critic of problems with the headtracking device, but I think its fixible - and besides the headtracking device is the icing on the cake really - I mean, you don't nessecarily have to move your head around when watching a movie - but I'm sure it helps with creating the illusion.

Please Headfi - lets put some interest and effort into helping this technology on its way. There most be millions of people worldwide like me who lack the space or wont disturb neighbours by using a normal speaker set up, and who don't want a comprimize in sound quality. It is also likely that it will end up much cheaper than speakers.
I think this most be one of the biggest next steps within the headphone-world, so spread the word. Imagine being able to listen to movies recorded in the new high def standards such as dolby trueHD, or dts+, fully fledged 7.1 taken directly out of a high def player via hdmi 1.3 or analogues and fed into the 'magi box' and then into your headphones. you wont ever need a speaker setup or a receiver, and the sound might even come out better as no room-limitations need concern you. Heck, the technology might even be incorporated into the dvd player itself for minimal fuss. Admittantly this is in the future, but the faster things go the sooner we shall see it happen.

I think smyth virtual are working as fast as possible to make a commercial product, so I guess its not worth buggering them to much about news. I will try and write up something here when/if I get some news. My point is, lets bring this technology to the attention of the big companies. At the moment dolby headphone is becomming slightly more popular, but why not skip this evolutionary step and go for the gold. The fisrt hd players from toshiba are soon to hit the streets - lets tell 'em about our requirements for the next generation players - maybe SVS could become a indespensible weapon in the format war (blu-ray vs. hd dvd) just like the other surround-formats - that way we would surely see it.



And I havn't even mentioned the possible added pleasure of listening to regular stereo using SVS (as I usually bring up in my posts

) think about the huge soundstage!


Anyway, enjoy your music.

Cheers