What Is 3D Audio?

3D audio is audio that aims to reproduce the sound environment in a specific place, such as a hall or a live concert hall, in three dimensions. There are several methods to achieve this.

Surround method

Three-dimensional acoustics that uses multiple audio channels and speakers is called "multi-channel acoustics" or "surround sound”.

There are several formats depending on the number and placement of speakers, ranging from the familiar such as 5.1ch and 7.1ch in movie theaters and home theaters to relatively new formats such as Auro-3D and 22.2ch.

3DX is the best choice for the production of surround-style 3D sound.

Binaural method

Then there is “binaural” sound, which uses headphones or earphones instead of speakers to create 3D sound. A small microphone or dummy head microphone placed inside the ear is used to record the sound reaching the eardrum, including the reflection and diffraction of the sound in the human head. With the spread of DSP and computer-based audio processing, it has become possible to simulate the acoustics of the human head and later apply three-dimensional localization to the recorded sound source. This technology is called "binaural processing". HPL - HeadPhone Listening - which is used in NovoNotes products, is a type of binaural processing.

What is Ambisonics?

Ambisonics is an acoustic technology that aims to record and play back a 360° omnidirectional sound field. It is currently gaining a lot of attention due to its use in 360° videos on YouTube and Facebook.

By decoding the B-format audio into speakers, the recording can be played back on a large number of speakers. NovoNotes 3DX supports both speaker decoding and binaural decoding.