I helped this guy get some free DSP software/hardware while he was still at the Media Lab. Audio Spotlight - Add sound and preserve the quiet. The demos are neat but you need to read the specs 85dB max SPL at 1k and much less at lower frequencies. This is with 10's of Watts of ultrasonic carrier. It also has large amounts of DSP to clean up the distortion in the non-linearity of air (the working principle), this is not an analog system. Been around since 1963 or so awaiting the compute horsepower.
David: By linear loudspeaker array,is the paper referring to an horizontal array of small drivers for frequencies over 2000hz extending from left to right before the listener?, what is the Spectral Division Method? in words that a child could understand, please 
Scott: I am curious to hear from anyone who has heard any of the current implementations of this technology. Does it show promise as a future alternative for crosstalk cancellation in the higher frequencies? Could it be used alongside with RACE for the lower frequencies? IF both use DSP, latency could be adjusted to be the same, right?
again, thanks for your contributions, guys!
Scott: I am curious to hear from anyone who has heard any of the current implementations of this technology. Does it show promise as a future alternative for crosstalk cancellation in the higher frequencies? Could it be used alongside with RACE for the lower frequencies? IF both use DSP, latency could be adjusted to be the same, right?
again, thanks for your contributions, guys!
Latency is probably not a show stopper, high SPL's were hard to achieve though. The effect is a little unnerving at first, the sound comming out of thin air so to speak. Then again so was my first crack at the Realizer.
Remember those "egg" lounge chairs with speakers. I think a realizer type product in conjunction with one of these has promise as a private listening space for those who don't like headphones. Different algorithms and maybe to complex to allow full head motion with respect to the speakers.
David: By linear loudspeaker array,is the paper referring to an horizontal array of small drivers for frequencies over 2000hz extending from left to right before the listener?, what is the Spectral Division Method? in words that a child could understand, please
I think you are correct. I have not been able to find a copy of the paper describing the "Spectral Division Method" but they seem to be using a phased array to focus the higher frequencies preferentially on the 'near' ear. Sorry I can't help more. It is a bit beyond me, and I am not very interested..
The papers that David linked to seem to partially describe what is known as Wave Field Synthesis, another technology that has been waiting for the computing horsepower to become a reality. It is fascinating as it promises accurate spatial reproduction well beyond what we currently have. It, however, requires special recording techniques and is not compatible with our music libraries.
Parametric speakers seem a more short-term posibility for crosstalk cancellation at least for the higher frequency range.
Is it only me who sees the coming years as the door-step to a brave new world of unexpected break-throughs in the listening experience?
Parametric speakers seem a more short-term posibility for crosstalk cancellation at least for the higher frequency range.
Is it only me who sees the coming years as the door-step to a brave new world of unexpected break-throughs in the listening experience?
Poldus, I think it's only you. I felt that way last year, but not this year.
I tell you, I feel much better now, not obsessing on audio and hoping for xtalk cancellation to be accepted by "audiophiles".
It's really exhausting coming on these forums and "discussing" theories, only to hear that people are hung up on the same thought patterns they have been for 20 years.
I think this invention is beyond interesting and should be implemented ASAP, but the TED talk was in 2009? And this is the first I'm hearing of it.....so, it may have been discussed somewhere on this forum but if it is, it's pretty obscure.
I mean, what is the point of making the "worlds greatest stereo speakers" if all sounds presented between them is a foggy mess?
(by the way, laser sound would be xtalk avoidance, not cancellation)
I'm still trying to understand this invention, it's way out of the box
I tell you, I feel much better now, not obsessing on audio and hoping for xtalk cancellation to be accepted by "audiophiles".
It's really exhausting coming on these forums and "discussing" theories, only to hear that people are hung up on the same thought patterns they have been for 20 years.
I think this invention is beyond interesting and should be implemented ASAP, but the TED talk was in 2009? And this is the first I'm hearing of it.....so, it may have been discussed somewhere on this forum but if it is, it's pretty obscure.
I mean, what is the point of making the "worlds greatest stereo speakers" if all sounds presented between them is a foggy mess?
(by the way, laser sound would be xtalk avoidance, not cancellation)
I'm still trying to understand this invention, it's way out of the box
True.
I see what you are saying. I am constantly experimenting to find a physical barrier that is satisfyingly effective and unobtrusive to complement R.AC.E.
I don´t want a tall barrier so the speakers (shelf type) are sitting on the floor with a 1 meter tall barrier in between and have a soft cushion on top which stops sound from going upwards. I find the effect to be pretty undistinguishable from a tall barrier and I can live with it visually.
Poldus, I think it's only you. I felt that way last year, but not this year.
I tell you, I feel much better now, not obsessing on audio and hoping for xtalk cancellation to be accepted by "audiophiles".
It's really exhausting coming on these forums and "discussing" theories, only to hear that people are hung up on the same thought patterns they have been for 20 years.
I think this invention is beyond interesting and should be implemented ASAP, but the TED talk was in 2009? And this is the first I'm hearing of it.....so, it may have been discussed somewhere on this forum but if it is, it's pretty obscure.
I mean, what is the point of making the "worlds greatest stereo speakers" if all sounds presented between them is a foggy mess?
(by the way, laser sound would be xtalk avoidance, not cancellation)
I'm still trying to understand this invention, it's way out of the box
There's simply no "software" for crosstalk cancelled playback. Virtually all recordings are made with and for the classical stereo triangle. Stereo is based on speaker crosstalk. It works because of crosstalk. This is not going to change.
Then there's simply no practical implementation of crosstalk cancellation. Even the classical stereo triangle is dead or do you know anybody sitting in the sweet spot of his stereo listening to music for an extended period of time?
Maybe movies come to the rescue. There are ongoing experiments in Germany with binaural playback using wave field synthesis and head tracking instead of headphones (and head tracking).
I do get a stable phantom center from two speaker stereo. Matrixing with an additional center speaker can improve things considerably. You'll get a stable center image. Nevertheless stereo is a single seat solution. But so are crosstalk cancelled solutions. Doesn't matter if software or hardware based.
That said I would choose crosstalk cancelled playback any time over stereo if there was a) a practical crosstalk cancellation solution and b) optimized recordings. None of which exists.
Stereophile and the like make all their money from advertisers, not from sales, so it is in their interest to prepare the sheep for slaughter.
Ambisonics converted to binaural works fine for me on £10 cans, Persumably it could work for anybody with the right set of IRs. How would industry make any money out of that!
Here is an example (that works for me)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4elj3wj9wzd9rr2/Untitled.mp3
