Ambiophonics
On Sunday, September 9, 2012 11:52:50 AM UTC-4, STC wrote:
Anyone here using Ambiophonics for their dedicated setup? After many year=
s of trying with physical barrier between the speakers to implement ambio I=
am now using DSP method and very much pleased with the sound. It did let m=
e down on a few albums but overall excellent recordimgs especially live Jaz=
z and classical music sounded very much closer to being there. I am wonderi=
ng why it hasn't caught up. I find that serious music lovers are so relucta=
nt to even experiment with it and hardly any serious discussing about it in=
RAHE. I find a lot of critism but hardly anyone ever attempted to listen i=
n a proper setup other than a few quick trials using PC which hardly a true=
representation of what it could do in a proper room setup. I have seen som=
e contributors compared it to Carver's Holo amplifiers and others but could=
not find any constructive critism of the weakness of Ambiophonics except f=
or the sitting arrangements. Looking forward to hear your feedback on Ambio=
phonics from you guys.
It is always difficult to launch a new technology. Going to Ambiophonics i=
s like switching from black and white photography to color. Many regard bl=
ack and white photography as an art form and so it is with 60 degree stereo=
.. The other problem is that none of the mainstream magazines like Stereoph=
ile are explaining how to use Amnbiophonics. When stereo first appeared in=
the fifties all the magazines had articles on how to set up the speakers, =
mount cartridges, run wires, get multiples tuners, check speaker polarity, =
etc. Finally, if all one listens to are solo guitars or a guitar with a vo=
calist, one does not need Ambiophonics or stereo and indeed should listen u=
sing one speaker so as to avoid the combing, ITD,ILD, and pinna direction f=
inding pattern distortions of the stereo loudspeaker arrangement.
The listening area limitation is a bit of an urban myth. In stereo if you =
move forward you get a hole in the middle. If you move back you get mono. =
In Ambio if you move very far forward you get normal stereo, if you move b=
ack nothing much happens. So I often have five listeners at once at my dem=
os. In stereo if you move to the side you pretty much hear just one channe=
l. (That is one main reason why they needed the center speaker in 5.1 video=
..) In Ambio if you move to the side you hear both channels clearly (great =
mono without combing) and this is true almost anywhere in the room. With f=
our speaker Ambiophonics you get a great feeling of space anywhere between =
the front and rear speaker pairs and in movies you still have front to rear=
localization. Finally with the new personal hi-fi speakers like the Sound=
matters foxl each viewer of a movie can have their own wireless speaker and=
sit anywhere they can see the screen. A common subwoofer supplies the bass=
for all. (Imax used this trick years ago.)
Ralph Glasgal =20
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