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In Reply to: RE: Another First Reflection Trap (FRT) Adventure : Quasi-Ambiophonics posted by glasgal@ambiophonics.org on March 06, 2017 at 11:05:06
Hi, thanks to all participating and posting about these ideas.
I just setup something like a full barrier made out of 2 sheets of 50mm acoustic foam. These are at an angle to accommodate going around my equipment which is in the center of the speakers (so the barrier touches the side of each of the speaker cabinet and there is some dead space between the foam... the last 70CM to the LP is pretty much a solid block 100mm thick). I have the current total angle at about 40 degrees, sitting somewhat nearfield about 2 meters away from the speakers. My speakers are typical box monitors, but use a single Heil from about 800 hz on up and a long throw woofer for below that..
I think in reality the effect works well (almost 100%) while sitting up to 15 CM from the barrier edge in the way I have it set up currently.
This worked as I expected for sound stage, as I have a couple Carver C-9's and a C-16 currently in the closet and in the past used a C-1 with Carver Amazings -- but I was totally surprised by the increase in clarity using the barrier.. top to bottom everything was more precise... performed like a serious upgrading to the speakers...
So I was wondering if any software version can match the physical barrier as far as this increase in clarity is concerned. I already purchased Amtra, but my preliminary tests have not been successful.
I am sourcing materials for a more permanent style barrier. I will also give another try to the software again (at 20 degrees) when I tear down this temporary barrier, but I would be interested to know if in fact the software can duplicate the clarity improvement as well as a correctly devised physical barrier.
Follow Ups:
Thanks for being adventurous enough to try Ambiophonics. In general software outperforms a barrier in practice. This is because the barrier does not work over as wide a frequency range as the software and normally barriers cannot cancel crosstalk as completely due to diffraction at the edge. It is also hard to keep one's head close to the end of the barrier or watch a 3D movie.
It is essential with software that the speakers be less than a third the stereo spacing. This is to avoid introducing a head shadow that the software is not anticipating and also to keep the pinna direction finding errors to a minimum.
If Amtra is not your cup of tea, try the little miniambio component and then you don't need a computer running all the time. It also has a parametric equalizer that you can use to make things sound like the barrier if you do hear a difference. (Remember that stereo is quite colored With any of the RACE devices, I get a really wide, up to 180 degree stage, with many LPs or CDs not to mention movies like Avatar. Don't give up. Once you have it working you will never want to listen in 60 degree stereo again.
Hi and thanks for the additional information.
I still have a miniAmbio box I bought a couple years ago, but I found the ADC/DAC converters too coarse for entry into my systems signal path.
I replaced the old miniDSP units I am using for sub and super-tweeter control with the new miniDSP 2x4 HD unit - and I thought that was a big upgrade for sound quality. So I think it would be a fantastic thing if someone can port the RACE stuff to the new miniDSP 2x4 HD, which would offer more processing power, better ADDA, and direct digital input which can eliminate the AD step.
Or better yet, some box which would offer hi-res digital input and output.
I need travel for work the next few weeks, but will try some of the other RACE plugins and programs as soon as I return. My system is in a dedicated small treated room, music only, with a pretty good computer-based front end (listed in my HeadFi profile), so I am pretty confident I can get this to work one way or another..
Thanks again...
You can always port in ambiophonics to your MiniDSP the DSP is available for $10/- from the MiniDSP site.
I will forward your suggestion to the DSP4you management. I too think the Ambiophonics plugin should go into the 2x4 HD unit and told them that almost a year ago. But I guess the demand is not there yet.
I have never noticed any coarseness with the analog miniDSP and they have sold hundreds of them. It operates at 96/24 so I don't see why there should be a problem. But I agree a digital input and output for that matter would be nice. I use only digital amplifiers from TACT and NuForce so I am normally 100% digital up to the speaker leads. But I use miniDSPs for demonstrations, 3D movies, etc. and have had no problems.
Hi and thanks again for the additional comments.
I removed the barrier and set the speakers at 20 (10/10) degrees and tested Amtra again (exported processed files in the default settings and used in my normal setup) and found some artifacts with pop music type productions (classical was better but not as clear as without the processing). However, I immediately noticed some of the possible benefits of the speakers in this configuration, so will keep the speakers set at 20 degrees until I return from the business trip.
I did a quick check at miniDSP for the software and iirc they specifically mention it will not work with the HD version miniDSP... I do not know how difficult to do this port, but with the proliferation of desktop speaker setups currently being used, I would think there is some marketability in a higher range product than the current. I admit that my initial observation of grainy-ness with the standard miniDSP may have been partly or wholly attributable to some cognitive bias on my part (my DAC is a well-fed Audio-GD NOS7).
Anyway - I am currently building a second input to my preamp for casual listening. This will be a SoTM SMS-200 to some yet-undecided DAC but with a new computer. I will build his computer with the idea to be able to run either Samplitude or JRiver with an Ambio VST plugin. I already have all the software, and some of the computer parts, so hopefully in a month or so I will be able to do a proper test.
For anyone interested in this stuff, I have just learned of some software seeming aimed mostly at pro-level use (meaning probably very expensive).. but nonetheless interesting in that this company also found the concept worth developing into a professional level product.
https://www.theoretica.us/bacch-dsp/
"I too think the Ambiophonics plugin should go into the 2x4 HD unit and told them that almost a year ago. But I guess the demand is not there yet."
It does. The plugin is available for 2 x 4.
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