A Brief Discussion on Stereo Positioning

A brief discussion on stereo positioning

About positioning in stereo technology

Modern stereo positioning technology is developed based on the theoretical basis of the binaural effect. Stereo means that people can feel the sound source distributed in a spatial range, making the sound sound more spatial, distant and present.

Compared with our ordinary two-channel stereo, surround sound not only has a sense of presence, but also allows the sound to surround the listener better, giving people a sense of surround. Undoubtedly, concert halls and large-space interiors are more conducive to creating this sense of space.

Surround sound requires multiple sound sources to achieve, which is what we usually call a home theater system. Usually, more than 4 sound sources are needed.

In a car audio system, the sound sources in the front left and right are ordinary stereo main channel speakers, while the rear left and right are surround channels.

In a sound system with more playback channels than the number of channels determined by the number of sound sources (this sentence may sound a bit awkward, that is, if we have fewer speakers, but the playback channels are more than the number of speakers), a certain sound system is used. This method achieves stereo and surround sound effects, which is called simulated stereo and surround sound systems.

Stereo and surround sound have different sound quality in that the number of playback channels and the number of channels determined by the number of speakers are equal. It only creates a stereoscopic surround effect.

Our common virtual stereo technology is also used in headphones, using software expansion to achieve virtual stereo effects. This is why some headphones are only two-channel, and are not multi-unit structures, but can still achieve multi-channel effects. .

Traditional stereo positioning technology strives to reproduce the stereo effect of the original sound field in the program, so it is called reproduced stereo technology. Now, the sound engineer can directly rearrange the layout of the sound sources according to the intention of the music.

To put it simply, it is to artificially rearrange the direction of sound emission, so this modern stereo technology is also called reconstructed stereo technology.

Theoretically speaking, the more channels there are in stereo playback, the better the effect of reconstructing the sound image will be. However, from the perspective of the human ear's experience of reconstructing the sound image, using 4 or 5 channels in a reasonable audio layout is sufficient. It is enough to replace a large number of audio channel formats.

Good sound field positioning requirements for equipment

Multi-channel stereo technology plays an important role in positioning. Music listening pays more attention to music playback performance and the connotation and details of music, so it does not require the system to have a huge power reserve.

The car audio system needs to create the atmosphere of the sound field and position it accurately, and can move accurately as the listener changes. Therefore, it needs a large enough power reserve to cope with the demand for large dynamic signals and withstand high-power impact.

The performance of car audio equipment on the distance of sound. Although the distance is largely affected by factors such as the distance between the recorder and the microphone during recording, it is also affected by the playback audio equipment.

For speakers, the sense of distance is often caused by peaks or valleys in the mid-frequency response. This mid-frequency region from 1000HZ to 3000Hz is called the presence zone because it can provide a sense of presence and directness.

The harmonics of the human voice span the entire presence area, so the performance of the human voice during playback will be greatly affected by the sound equipment's grasp of the sense of distance.

Some audio equipment can push the sound in front of people, giving them a very close feeling; but some audio equipment can move the sound back, always giving a certain sense of distance.