MMAD – An On-Line Experiment in Microphone Array Design Compatibility.

Presented by
Michael Williams
Free-lance Recording Engineer and
Teacher of Audio Engineering and Sound Recording Practice

Abstract:
The basic principles of the Multiformat Microphone Array Design system have been developed and described in AES papers presented at previous AES conventions (AES preprints 8601, 8839, 9136, 9569). The most recent paper publication at this Convention (preprint 10555) brings all this information together with a detailed description of a few full 3D Audio array designs. These arrays all follow the idea that reproduction is compatible with many of the present-day reproduction formats. But with the development of various software packages that seek to reconfigure the reproduction formats, considerable degradation of the reproduction quality can be experienced. This tutorial will discuss the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ practices in setting up these reproduction configurations. A complete set of channel files will be downloadable for interested parties to experiment the validity of the compatibility claim. This will range from the simple stereo setup, through 5 and 7 channel surround reproduction, right up to the full 3D Audio 14 channel upper hemisphere reproduction, as presented at the in-person AES 152 Convention in Den Haag, 7/8 May, 2022. The complete array system will, from now on, be called ‘The Williams Tree’. Students of the full ‘comfort’ upper and lower hemisphere reproduction will also be able to experiment possible loudspeaker configurations. [BACK]