Re: interesting headphone stuff
- From: Ty Ford <tyreeford@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2007 15:59:25 -0400
On Sun, 29 Apr 2007 10:22:19 -0400, Jeff Wexler wrote
(in article <jw-BE81C0.07221029042007@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>):
In article <lri8335uf263jggdshnahk9sa45ngl27mo@xxxxxxx>,
martin griffith <mart_in_medina@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
just found this
http://gprime.net/flash.php/soundimmersion/index.html
martin
It was HOLOPHONICS (not to be confused with the current Holophone; I
don't think there is any connection). From Wikipedia:
"Holophonics is a form of binaural sound recording using a dummy head
arrangement which is best heard on headphones. It should not be confused
with Holophony which is a system of sound recording over the surface of
a sphere.
It rose to fame in 1983 with the release of a recording entitled
"Zuccarelli Holophonics (The Matchbox Shaker)" released in the UK by CBS
which consisted entirely of short recordings of sound effects designed
to show off the system. These included the shaking matchbox, haircut &
blower, bees, balloon, plastic bag, birds, airplanes, fireworks,
thunder, racing cars. The system was designed and patented by Argentine
Hugo Zuccarelli.
Zuccarelli, came up with a theory that claimed that our ear is a sound
emitter, producing a reference sound that combines with incoming sound
to form an interference pattern inside the ear. The nature of this
pattern is sensitive to the direction of the incoming sound. Our ear's
cochlea detects and analyzes this pattern as if it were an acoustic
hologram. The brain then interprets this data and infers the direction
of the sound. This was printed in New Scientist and was followed by two
letters casting doubt on Zuccarelli's theory and his scientific
abilities."
In 1982 I was contacted by a venture capital group that was considering
invested a large sum of money into Zuccarelli's company. They played the
recording to me, the one with the matchbox shaking, and also 2 others,
one most notably with a person cutting hair (the perception being that
the scissors were cutting MY hair). Zuccarelli and his people claimed
that they had developed a unique and proprietary recording system that
was needed to producer these "amazing" sound recordings. I saw a
prototype of this which consisted of a black box (it was actually dark
blue) with various inputs and outputs, but no microphones were shown to
me. They demonstrated that the beauty of the system was that they could
take ANY sound, even sounds previously recorded by conventional means,
and transform those sounds into a holophonic experience. They also said
that although the effect is most dramatic with headphones, dramatic
results are quite possible with loudpseakers when utilizing another box
they showed me.
Zuccarelli was looking for $3 million (US) to further develop this
system --- a system which he claimed would be used by hundreds of
musical artists, recording studios, even possibly incorporated into the
then relatively new Walkman personal players --- it was going to be
huge. They claimed as well that movies could be produced with this
system and would usher in the next big thing since 3D and Sensurround.
The various boxes they were showing were supposed to cost about $2000.
to purchase and there were licensing schemes drawn up and pay rates for
studio usage ($200. per minute of process) were discussed. Zuccarelli
said that he had interest from Warner Bros. records, the BBC and so on.
What they venture capital people wanted from me was an analysis of this
system and a personal and professional opinion about all of this before
they would invest the $3 million. I was not the the only person enlisted
to help them make their decision --- but I was the only one actually
took an active approach.
I said I needed one day to analyze all of this and I would get back to
them with my conclusions. I had a plan. I went home and with the help of
a friend I made a simple binaural recording using a cassette recorder
and 2 ECM-50's. We duplicated the demo recording almost perfectly, in
about an hour, the shaking matchbook, the hair cutting, the walking and
entering the room, and so forth, all with equipment "off the shelf"
costing about $300.
I brought both recordings back to the investment group the next day, had
them put on headphones and listen first to the demo from Zuccarelli. I
then asked them to listen to the second cassette. They listened to it
and then admonished me for having made a copy --- I had signed the same
non-disclosure agreement that specifically forbid making any copies of
the Holophonics demo tapes. I explained that it was not a copy but that
it was produced in less than an hour by me and a friend in my living
room with about $300 worth of consumer equipment.
Needless to say, the investment group passed on the chance to be part of
this next big thing. They paid me $5000. for my time (not bad for 2 days
work) and my efforts saved them $3 million.
Regards, Jeff Wexler
There was a series of SFX on CD that was recorded that way. I have them here.
Regards,
Ty
--Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
Acting and Voiceover Demos http://www.tyford.com
Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZJ9MptZmU
.
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- From: martin griffith
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- From: Jeff Wexler
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