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sound becomes more directional at higher frequencies. That's why if you stand in front of a speaker, you hear everything it delivers, and as you move to the side, higher frequencies increasingly drop out. Low frequencies are omni by nature, high frequencies are directional by nature.
I'm not sure how these purport to work, but for truly omnidirectional sound at higher frequencies, you'd need to cover the space with multiple drivers, spraying listeners with sound waves the way those fancy showers spray water on every crevice and curve of your body from multiple faucets. Yamaha created an experimental audio lab that achieved this by peppering the walls and ceilings with recessed drivers. It mimicked the omnidirectional way sound arrives in real life, from all directions.
These are technically bi-polar speakers. A true Omni (Duevel, German Physiks, MBL) doesn't use front and rear facing drivers firing in-phase. That's the definition of bi-polar. Omnis either use uber-sophisticated devices that vibrate in true 360 degrees like a Walsh style driver, or they use conventional drivers firing vertically with some type of wave guide as in the Duevels, Mirages, etc.
While its true that most Omnis cannot image quite as precisely as a forward radiator, they do just about everything else better, and they are much closer to live music in an acoustic space. Most of the energy from live instruments arrives after bouncing off the walls, and this is what Omnis recreate. Try an MBL 101E, and see if you can go back to a direct radiator after that.
Isn't this so-called "360 degree sound" the antithesis of what you want in sound reproduction, at least as presented here? A proper speaker configuration, from a simple stereo pair to a full-blown 7.1 setup, helps your ears locate with pinpoint spatial accuracy where within the sound stage the various distinct sound sources—such as the vocalist or the guitar or whatever—are located. Doesn't something like this totally blur or subvert that spatial stage?
To be fair, I'd have to audition these to see what they really do (and also would have to keep in mind their relatively low-cost purposes). Still, this sounds (sorry) like total marketing BS.
I don't believe omnidrectional speakers are intended for the accurate reporoduction of positioning; they're for providing even quality audio throughout an area.
It's like if Spiderman and Venom wanted to give people music. Spiderman would be fair and give the same amount of music to everybody because he's a swell guy. Venom, on the other hand, would give it all to one person in incredible detail. The only difference is, Venom would probably kill the listener whereas a 7.1 setup wouldn't.
Hopefully these truly provide the same sound effect as other more expensive omnidirectional speakers.
I'd imagine these are already out there, but I wonder if it's going to use that technology that sends out a focused beam of sound - you can't really hear it well when it's not pointed at you, but if you get in front of it you hear it fully, and if it hits something, it sounds like the sound is coming from the point of impact. In theory that could turn your back wall into a pair of virtual speakers...
What does "surround sound" even mean if it's coming out of two speakers (that are, by the way, so close together it's basically one speaker anyway)? Are they shifting phase to create a wider stereo spread?
True surround sound is when you can wallpaper your room with thousands of tiny membranes that literally surround you with direct sound from all directions, and can replicate virtual acoustic reflections of any room.
07/14/09
I'm not sure how these purport to work, but for truly omnidirectional sound at higher frequencies, you'd need to cover the space with multiple drivers, spraying listeners with sound waves the way those fancy showers spray water on every crevice and curve of your body from multiple faucets. Yamaha created an experimental audio lab that achieved this by peppering the walls and ceilings with recessed drivers. It mimicked the omnidirectional way sound arrives in real life, from all directions.
07/14/09
While its true that most Omnis cannot image quite as precisely as a forward radiator, they do just about everything else better, and they are much closer to live music in an acoustic space. Most of the energy from live instruments arrives after bouncing off the walls, and this is what Omnis recreate. Try an MBL 101E, and see if you can go back to a direct radiator after that.
07/14/09
To be fair, I'd have to audition these to see what they really do (and also would have to keep in mind their relatively low-cost purposes). Still, this sounds (sorry) like total marketing BS.
07/14/09
I don't believe omnidrectional speakers are intended for the accurate reporoduction of positioning; they're for providing even quality audio throughout an area.
It's like if Spiderman and Venom wanted to give people music. Spiderman would be fair and give the same amount of music to everybody because he's a swell guy. Venom, on the other hand, would give it all to one person in incredible detail. The only difference is, Venom would probably kill the listener whereas a 7.1 setup wouldn't.
Hopefully these truly provide the same sound effect as other more expensive omnidirectional speakers.
07/15/09
02/23/09
02/22/09
True surround sound is when you can wallpaper your room with thousands of tiny membranes that literally surround you with direct sound from all directions, and can replicate virtual acoustic reflections of any room.
01/07/09
12/03/08
12/03/08
12/03/08
12/03/08
12/03/08