Spatialization

Introduction
Spatialization: art of placing sounds in space, perhaphs to evoke and reproduce
the original acoustic at the sight of the recording, or to perform within a given
space by controlling the localization of sounds.

Various manifestations of spatial sound

- own required technical configuration of playback equipment
- own encoding formatfor the data (e.g. sound is stored as one or
more channels, co-temporal signals meant for simultaneous
playback over a certain configuration of loudspeakers)
History

one-channel – mono
early recording devices and telecommuications

two channel – stereo

1881: Théâtrophone
 Théâtrophone

WHERE?
World EXPO: International Exposition of Electricity, Paris

definition of ohm, ampere, coulomb, farad

devices like dynamo, incandescent lightbulb, electric tramway, telephone,

electric boat, etc.
 Théâtrophone

WHAT IS IT?
Telephonic distribution system available in portions of Europe that allowed the
subscribers to listen to opera and theatre performances over the telephone
lines.
 Théâtrophone

INVENTOR
Clément Ader
 Théâtrophone

INVENTOR
Clément Ader
 Théâtrophone

INAUGURATION
demonstrated by Clément Ader at the 1881
International Exposition of Electricity in Paris
Ader had arranged 80 telephone transmitters across the front of a stage to
create a form of binaural stereophonic sound.[1] It was the first two-channel
audio system, and consisted of a series of telephone transmitters connected
from the stage of the Paris Opera to a suite of rooms at the Paris Electrical
Exhibition, where the visitors could hear Comédie-Française and opera
performances in stereo using two headphones

Opera <---> EXPO - ab. 2 km

Théâtrophone
Théâtrophone
Théâtrophone
 Théâtrophone

LATER EXAMPLES
Théâtrophones quickly grew in popularity — early fans included Victor Hugo,
who wrote about his experience of listening to the Parisian Théâtrophone, and
the Portuguese King Dom Luis, who had one installed in the Teatro Nacional de
Sao Carlos in Lisbon in 1884 so he could listen to operas without having to
actually go to the theatre. Eventually the technology spread to the UK, who
implemented a subscription service (Queen Victoria was a subscriber).
 Théâtrophone

LATER EXAMPLES
Pubs, hotels, and cafés installed Théâtrophone listening stations, using them as
background entertainment in much the same way contemporary pubs use
televisions.
 Théâtrophone

LATER EXAMPLES
Advances in radio broadcasting technology led to the demise of the
Théâtrophone, which ended in the 1930s — nearly a half-century after it began.
 Théâtrophone

LATER EXAMPLES
Advances in radio broadcasting technology led to the demise of the
Théâtrophone, which ended in the 1930s — nearly a half-century after it began.
History

one-channel – mono
early recording devices and telecommuications

two channel – stereo

1881: Théâtrophone

1958: 1st commercial long player record

1961: 1st radio transmission

multi channel - ???

Spatial Hearing and Room Acoustics Primer

Distance
Spatial Hearing and Room Acoustics Primer

Distance

1. Inverse square low: amplitude change is inversely proportional to distance

Spatial Hearing and Room Acoustics Primer

Distance

1. Inverse square low: amplitude change is inversely proportional to distance

2. Proportion of reverberation: more distant objects in an enclosed space are
heard with a proportionally greater amount of reverberation to the direct
signal
Spatial Hearing and Room Acoustics Primer

Distance

1. Inverse square low: amplitude change is inversely proportional to distance

2. Proportion of reverberation: more distant objects in an enclosed space are
heard with a proportionally greater amount of reverberation to the direct
signal
3. Atmospheric effects: high frequencies are attenuated more when traveling in
air (more distant sounds are low-pass filtered, lower detail). Sound waves are
subtly distorted with distance due to. differential pressure effects