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Holophonic journeys

  Between Two Journeys

Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic translation made from a post originally written in French. My apologies for any strange sentences and funny mistakes that may have been generated during the process. If you are reading French, click on the French flag below to access the original and correct text: 

I have just discovered something unheard of: holophonic sound. An incredible sound of realism, which transports you on a beach or under the storm...

Togian Islands

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 and place the headphones on your little ears.
2. Click on one of the players below.
3. Close your eyes and let the sound transport you.

The sea:
[audio: https: //petitesbullesdailleurs.fr/petitesbullesdailleurs/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/lamer.mp3 | titles = The sea | artists = The sound of waves in holophonic sound ...]

Storm:
[audio:https://petitesbullesdailleurs.fr/petitesbullesdailleurs/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/thunder.mp3|titles=The storm|artists=The rain and thunder in holophonic sound...]

Female voice:
[audio:https://petitesbullesdailleurs.fr/petitesbullesdailleurs/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/womansvoice.mp3|titles=Feminine voice|artists=Yes, it speaks to your ear...]

Virtual hairdresser:
[audio:https://petitesbullesdailleurs.fr/petitesbullesdailleurs/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/virtualhaircut.mp3|titles=Virtual hairdresser|artists=A haircut as if you were there coupled with an explanation of holophony]

I borrow these audio extracts and explanations on the holophonic sound to this post dating from 2008, published on DéblogToi → Holophonic sound. You will find many other sounds to listen to by clicking on this link.

Manikin for holophonic sound recording. (Source: DeblogToi.com)
Manikin for holophonic sound recording. (Source: DeblogToi.com)

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 record the sound in relief, as we do naturally with our two ears. The distance between the ears and the speed of propagation of the sound create a tiny shift: interpreted by our brain, this is what allows us to distinguish if a sound comes from the right or from the left, if it comes 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 little educational sketch of the virtual hairdresser. It's really the most striking!

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.

  Between Two Journeys

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  1. 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.

  2. 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 !

  3. @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!
    🙂

  4. 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! 🙄

  5. @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.
    🙄

  6. 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.

  7. @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.

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