Advanced microphones capable of recording 360 degrees of sound have evolved so far

by Pixabay

With the recent development of VR technology, many VR contents using head mounted display are produced. For VR content using 360 degrees of people's field of vision, it is more attractive that sound is also 360 degrees stereophonic sound, and each manufacturer is developing to develop "high-function microphone capable of recording all 360-degree sound" It is reported that.

Mics that record in "3D" and ambisonics are the next big thing - CDM Create Digital Music
http://cdm.link/2018/09/3d-ambisonic-microphones/

In the era when audio was being played back in monaural style, only one microphone was enough to record sound. Because only one speaker, which is a playback device, is used, even if there are two or more microphones, it is because you can not express the three-dimensional effect. Recording this one microphone even in modern times when audio technology has evolved, one microphone recording is mainstream in voice-over situations where announced recording and voice translated into original voice are superimposed.

However, the monaural method of inputting and outputting only a single signal source remains unsatisfactory if it is from the human hearing that can recognize the direction of all sounds of 360 degrees. I was born there, and it is a stereo system that uses two or more microphones to record separate left and right audio signals and play them with two speakers. In the stereo system, it is possible to reproduce the space where the recording was done by arranging the sound in the left and right direction, and it became possible to reproduce the sound field with more realistic feeling.

In the case of stereo recording, it is theory to record left and right sounds using two microphones that have exactly the same acoustic characteristics, but as the era progresses, many microphone makers will have 2 A compact microphone that allows easy stereo recording by placing a set of microphones has appeared.

Recording method has been changing from mono to stereo, but in recent years methods such as "3D recording", "surround microphone" and " amb sonic microphone" are drawing attention. As with the stereo system, these microphones are also trying to record sound by linking it with spatial information, but it is different from conventional microphones in that it is necessary to acquire spatial information of more than two left and right channels of stereo Thing.

by Daniel Filho

In order to realize 3D recording and ambisonic recording, "microphone capsule having a plurality of channels for recording sounds from all directions", "decode the recorded sound by software, adapt it to the delivery format Encoding technology "is required.

Audio recorded by this method can edit stereophonic sound by applying various operations on software, even if it is a single microphone capsule, as if using multiple microphones It works. In recent years, many manufacturers have been paying attention to this new recording method and are developing a variety of new products.

For example, " AMBEO " is Ambasonic microphone made by Sennheiser , Germany's acoustic equipment maker. The price of AMBEO that appeared in 2017 is 1650 dollars (about 185,000 yen), it is a flagship model of Ambisonic microphone in Sennheiser.

In AMBEO, four microphones for recording 360 degrees of sound are stored in one capsule and it is possible to encode using a specific encoding software. It is recommended that ambitious microphone is recommended for people who wish to perform studio recording at VR or multichannel recording.

" 8ball " is a 3D recording microphone with head tracking function developed by HEAR 360 3D microphone related startup. Although the price is quite expensive, it is 2500 dollars (about 280,000 yen), 8 ball is set to use in the camera and it is said that it is suitable for high end video production.

" NT-SF1 " is a 360-degree microphone produced by RØDE , a microphone manufacturer from Australia, and the price is 999 dollars (about 110,000 yen). It is easy to obtain because price is low, and it is editable with many software.

" H3-VR " developed by Zoom , a Japanese acoustic equipment maker, is a very simple Ambisonic microphone, and the price is only 350 dollars (about 40,000 yen). Equipped with ambicic microphone with 4 capsules and 6 axis automatic motion sensor, the recording software and encoding software are built in the device itself.

Some YouTuber wants to offer 3D experiences to users, so cheap Ambasonic microphones potentially have a lot of demand. There is a possibility that quality is sacrificed because it is very low price, but Ambosonic microphone seems to be an attractive product even though it is.

" ZYLIA " is a portable microphone developed by Polish startup, and engineers who are independent from German company Siemens are involved in the development of internal parts. The price is 699 dollars (about 68,000 yen) in the basic model and 1199 dollars (about 135,000 yen) in the professional model.

ZYLIA says "It is not necessarily a VR microphone", so it seems that it is only possible to automatically separate the sound recorded by ZYLIA in the basic model. In the basic model, it is possible to automatically separate sounds such as drums, keyboards and vocals, and that VR recording is possible with the option of a professional model.

" NEVATON BPT " is a super high-end surround microphone made by Russian legendary brand Nevaton , and the price is 4715 euros (about 620,000 yen). Three kinds of microphones, such as monaural, stereo, surround, are built into one microphone capsule, and it seems that it is possible to record all at the same time.

It is said to be very expensive and the quality is an unusual level, and it was introduced that "if you are interested in sound, everyone has become a microphone you want to use once".