Holophonic journeys
ENI have just discovered something unheard of: holophonic sound. An incredible sound of realism, which transports you on a beach or under the storm...
You can listen to it with headphones, it's the perfect auditory illusion. But a demonstration is better than a long geek speech... Follow the steps below instead.
1. Connect a headset to your computer or phone and place the earphones over your little ears.
2. Click on one of the players below.
3. Close your eyes and let the sound transport you.
The sea:
Storm:
Female voice:
Virtual hairdresser:
I borrow these audio extracts and the explanations of holophonic sound from a post dating from 2008, published at the time on DéblogToi.
Holophony is a sound recording and reproduction technique that mimics the way our human ears and brain work. Two microphones are placed on each side of a mannequin head, right at the level of the ears.
They register sound in relief, just as we do naturally with our two ears. The distance between the ears and the speed at which sound travels create a tiny shift: interpreted by our brain, this is what enables us to distinguish whether a sound is coming from the right or the left, whether it's getting closer or further away...
The holophony recreates this gap, our brain does the rest and we really have the impression to be in the heart of the scene by listening to the sounds thus recorded.
Listen again to the short educational sketch of the virtual hairdresser. It's really the most striking! It's as if the scissors were flying past your ears...
Personally, I love being surrounded by the sound of the waves, as if I were on a rock facing the ocean, while sitting on my sofa. If that's not an invitation to travel, that is...
😉
PS. Many thanks to Yves Harmide, who made me discover this link.
And about subaquatic music, see also the singular journeys of the composer Michel Redolfi:
http://www.redolfi-music.com
However, it is totally unspeakable, because it is first of all an experience to be lived, to feel your whole body transformed into... an ear, in a water at 35°C diffusing these truly unheard-of sounds.
Very nice blog. I am not a connoisseur of diving (although I live 10km from the Channel) but the photos are sublime.
Thanks for quoting the source, not everyone does.
Good continuation !
@PascalK: Thank you for this link to Michel Redolfi's underwater music!!! I would love to experience it... I'll go listen to it online. But it must be something else in the water!
🙄
@Lavren: Welcome to Petites Bulles d'Ailleurs and thanks for the compliments! I just discovered DéblogToi, which I'll come back to visit... A mine of "geek" information! I always quote my sources when I find a news or a link that I found interesting on the web and that I use on my own pages. It's the least I can do, and it's a good way to respect both the author and the reader. Good continuation also on DéblogToi!
🙂
Thanks to Luigi!!! 🙂 Now I'm well clear around the ears 8)
The sea is super nice to listen (normal).
That's impressive.
When will the helmet that simultaneously pampers your hair? 😆
Beautiful sounds and incredible realism ❗
I saw myself at the edge of the beach in Crete, taking a nap, with the waves in the background rolling the small pebbles on the beach... 😉 My little wife coming to whisper some sweet words in my ear to wake me up (it's for the continuation that the headphones are missing 🙄 ) With all the pampers she made me, I was obliged to rush to the whiting, Luigi, the Italian expatriate in Crete... and there, this storm that brought me back to the hard reality, and to my place in Strasbourg 😥
Thank you Corinne for this new post, which, if not making us travel to Asia, has awakened some other beautiful distant memories! 🙄
@Yves: 😆 Without you, I would have never met Luigi!!! Thanks again... As a result, my colleagues at MaVille.com (ouh, the naughty buddies) reposted the link to DéblogToi.com too...
😛
@Denis: Oh yes. Me too, I think I like "The Sea" best of all, finally.
🙂
@ N @ me: That's what I liked, with these so realistic sounds: their capacity to transport you elsewhere, to create images, to make you travel differently... After all, the sea, or the storm, it could be in Asia as well as on the Breton or Basque coast, other places dear to my heart. That's what's fabulous. One can imagine everything.
🙄
thank you, still a super interesting link and the sound by this process is breathtaking!
And that's how you end up with a helmet to buy... You're exaggerating to push to consumption. Without a helmet, it already gives a good idea.
@Laurence: Glad you liked it 😉
@Nono: No, I'm not pushing for consumption. Simple headphones are enough. In fact, without headphones or earphones, it's not quite the same. The holophonic sound is only really perceptible in its full dimension if it is played in each ear.