Back in the 50's we called this "binaural sound".  The recordings were
made with two microphones placed at the ears of a dummy head. The shape of
the outer ear and the time delay between receptions by the mikes depended
on the direction of the source. When heard through earphones, the sound
placement is precisely reproduced. The concept is not new, just not used
much because it requires earphones for proper reproduction.

Tom Karnes
Oceanside, California
[log in to unmask]

On Sat, 3 Nov 2001, [log in to unmask] wrote:

> Inventor touts true 3-D stereo
>
> >>Mon, Oct 29, 2001
> >>
> >>By Bill Redekop
> >>
> >>-- Imagine this stereo system: You can hear the orchestra's string
> >>section and point exactly to where the players are seated; you can follow the
> >>conductor's footsteps walk past you and know where he stops to conduct;
> >>you can locate exactly -- two rows back and to your right -- the cell
> >>phone going
> >>off in mid-concert.
> >>
> >>Precision stereo. It's unlike any stereo you have ever experienced.
> >>"Every sound is in its place in relationship to you, and in relation to
> >>every other sound," explains inventor Ray Wehner.
> >>
> >>Wehner's precision microphone records sound exactly in the location where
> >>it occurs. When played back, it seems to throw the sound, like a ventriloquist,
> >>back into the location it came from.
> >>
> >>For full effect, it must be listened to with headphones. The sound is so
> >>lush and real it's almost spooky. You may think someone is behind you or
> >>standing
> >>in front of you.
> >>
> >>"Stereo sound," explained Wehner, 71, a retired psychiatrist who has
> >>worked on his invention 26 years, "is spatial. My microphone is spatial
> >>and precise."
> >>
> >>Now, Wehner's ready to go to market. His first target is helping people
> >>who require hearing aids.
> >>
> >>"I've had people with hearing problems try it and want to know where they
> >>can buy it," said Wehner. "People's experiences with present hearing devices,
> >>even very expensive ones, have not been very satisfactory. And there has
> >>been no improvement for years."
> >>
> >>His invention is currently in the hands of the Prairie Centre for
> >>Business Intelligence, a division of the National Research Council. The
> >>manager for the
> >>project refused to be interviewed because of the highly secretive and
> >>competitive nature of inventions.
> >>
> >>"He's on to something," said Vancouver record producer Ed Henderson, who
> >>produced a CD for a friend using Wehner's precision microphone.
> >>
> >>Henderson said while there are some "acoustic imaging" microphones
> >>available, he has never heard one that "holds its geometry in space" like
> >>Wehner's.
> >>
> >>The best musical application for Wehner's microphone might be live
> >>recordings, said retired jazz drummer Earl Waters of Gimli.
> >>
> >>"It's just amazing. There's nothing like this."
> >>
> >>Wehner has even given a demonstration to the Dalai Lama in India -- it's
> >>akin to getting an audience with the Pope.
> >>
> >>"The Dalai Lama said, 'Why isn't this used? This should be used.'"
> >>
> >>Few people fully understand how Wehner's invention works, even after his
> >>explanation, but it involves both a medical approach to the ear, and use
> >>of a Buckminster
> >>Fuller concept.
> >>
> >>In medical school in the 1950s, Wehner became intrigued with the human
> >>ear. It puzzled him that the outer eardrum is not perfectly round but
> >>rather oval-shaped,
> >>and no one could explain why. He also expected the eardrums to be
> >>parallel to each other in the human skull. Instead, he found that they
> >>slant forward
> >>-- toward your nose -- and down.
> >>
> >>Wehner set out to duplicate the human ear, practising with dummy heads
> >>and microphones.
> >>
> >>What researchers have failed to understand, he says, is that we likely
> >>hear like we see. That is, the image transmitted by our eyes to our brain
> >>is really
> >>an upside-down image that is then corrected by the brain.
> >>
> >>This is called "counter-intuitive" to what we would suspect. Wehner
> >>believes the way we hear is also counter-intuitive, but no one has yet
> >>been able to
> >>figure out quite how.
> >>
> >>Wehner believes he is finally getting close to marketing his product.
> >>
> >>"We're on the edge of it. We're on the threshold."
>
>
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>


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