Emilie Meyer
Binaural panning is a technique used to create a three-dimensional, immersive listening experience through headphones. It aims to capture the audio cues that humans use to locate sound sources in their environment, addressing the unnatural stereo soundstage created by conventional headphones. Binaural panning can be automated using software like Logic Pro X, which offers various options, such as adjusting stereo width, height parameters, and distance settings. This technique is particularly effective for spoken voices, creating an intimate effect by positioning them close to the listener's ear.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To capture audio cues that help locate sound sources in the surrounding space, providing an immersive listening experience |
| Stereo Width Adjustment | Achieved by adjusting the spread, with other values reflecting changes in parameters like Vertical Offset, Tilt Amount, Tilt Direction, and Size |
| Height Parameter | Tilt and offset parameters account for the height of the sound source, but may not be suitable for musical use |
| Distance Setting | Useful for mimicking real-life sound behaviour, where sound intensity increases as the source moves closer to the ear |
| Sound Positioning | Ability to pan sounds behind the listener, although the lack of head movement incorporation may limit the effect's effectiveness for static sounds |
| Spoken Voices | Binaural panning makes spoken voices more intimate, allowing them to be positioned near the listener's ear or whispering over their shoulder |
| Washy Sounds | Can be treated with slow binaural pans or static positions using the binaural panner |
| Headphone System | Head movements are excluded from binaural processing unless using a system with a head position tracker, such as the Waves Nx system |
| Conversion | Logic Pro X can convert conventional mono or stereo tracks to binaural format by synthesizing filtering, delay time, and head-masking effects |
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What You'll Learn
Stereo width adjustment
To adjust stereo width, one can utilise tools like stereo enhancement plug-ins, which can increase the width of selected frequencies using effects like the precedence effect. This can be applied dynamically, allowing for specific frequency ranges to be targeted without affecting others. For instance, boosting the highs without impacting the lows, or creating a rhythmic pumping effect perfect for synth stabs and lead lines. However, this technique may cause phase issues, so it is recommended to leave a lower-volume centred version of the track to maintain mono compatibility.
Another technique to enhance stereo width is by using a pitch shifter to adjust the pitch of each track slightly, creating a difference in tonality that catches the listener's ear. Adding a chorus effect to both tracks is another option, combining delay and pitch shifting to create the illusion of multiple instruments playing simultaneously. Double-tracking is a similar method, involving the recording of a second, identical performance, layered over the original and panned hard left and right.
The stereo width can also be adjusted directly within the binaural panning window, where the spread can be modified to increase or decrease stereo width. This is done alongside adjustments to other parameters, such as Vertical Offset, Tilt Amount, Tilt Direction, and Size, which contribute to the overall perception of the sound's location in three-dimensional space.
It is important to note that an excessive amount of binaural panning can lead to an unnatural or disorienting mix. Therefore, it should be used sparingly and with consideration for the overall balance of the soundscape.
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Height of sound source
Binaural panning is a technique that adds depth and space to your sound, creating an immersive listening experience. It involves distributing audio signals between the left and right channels of a stereo field, allowing the sound to be positioned within the stereo image. This is done by simulating how sound waves interact with our ears and head, often referred to as the head-related transfer function (HRTF).
Unlike normal panning, which controls the balance of volume between the left and right channels, binaural panning uses algorithms and filters to mimic how sound waves bounce off our ears and head. This is done to capture the audio cues that we use to locate sound sources in the space around us. By doing so, a pair of conventional headphones can provide a more three-dimensional and immersive listening experience.
The height of the sound source is an important factor in binaural panning. Tilt and offset parameters exist because binaural panning can reflect the height of the sound source, not just its angle of approach in two dimensions. These parameters include the vertical offset, tilt amount, tilt direction, and size. While these height parameters are not commonly used for musical purposes, the distance setting is useful. As in real life, the sound gets louder as you move it closer to the ear (centre of the circle), so you may need to compensate for this using level automation if you feel the change in level when moving the sound is too obtrusive.
To create a three-dimensional audio environment, tools such as the Ambeo Orbit plugin by Sennheiser allow precise control over the azimuth and elevation of sound sources. This makes it easy to create an immersive audio experience by simulating sound source positions and enhancing the spatial quality of mixes.
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Distance settings
Binaural panning is an audio processing technique that simulates how our ears and head interact with acoustic waves, creating a more realistic sense of space and directionality. It is particularly effective for spoken voices, making them sound more intimate by positioning them close to the listener's ear.
To set up binaural panning, you need to select Binaural Pan in the Stereo Out box in the Inspector window. This will bring up a tiny binaural panner with a wedge shape, indicating the pan direction and stereo width. You will also see a green dot or puck that can be moved closer to the centre of the circle to make the sound appear closer. This is where the distance settings come into play.
The distance settings in binaural panning allow you to adjust the proximity of the sound source to the listener's ear. As you move the sound closer to the centre, it will get louder, just like in real life when a sound source is closer to your ear. This can be a useful feature, but you may need to compensate for the change in level using level automation if you feel the increase in volume is too obtrusive.
In Logic Pro's Binaural Panner, the distance setting is controlled by the green puck, which can be dragged to adjust the distance and stereo width. Double-clicking on the Binaural Pan control will open a larger window with more precise control over the distance and other parameters. The distance value automatically adjusts when changes are made to the puck positions.
Additionally, the Binaural Panner allows you to set the size of the plane or sphere, which further influences the distance settings. You can drag the Size field value up or down, double-click to enter a new value, or option-click to reset it to the default. These distance settings work in conjunction with the Angle, Elevation, and Spread values to create a realistic sense of space and directionality.
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Headphone mix issues
Our hearing system relies on several factors to locate sounds accurately, and the difference in levels between the left and right ears is just one aspect, which is what conventional pan pots achieve. However, when using headphones, the way our ears receive sound and how our brains process it differs significantly from listening to loudspeakers. With headphones, each ear only hears the audio carried on the relevant channel, whereas with speakers in a room, both ears hear the signals from both left and right loudspeakers. This acoustic 'crosstalk' between the two channels and each ear is essential for the 'stereo illusion'.
Binaural panning can also reflect the height of the sound source, not just its angle of approach, through tilt and offset parameters. While this may not be musically relevant, the distance setting is useful as sounds get louder as they move closer to the ear. However, this level change may need to be compensated for using level automation to avoid an obtrusive change in level.
While headphone mixes can provide a more detailed listening experience, revealing edit points that may be missed on speakers, they also present challenges. Stereo imaging and panning information become harder to judge, and mixes that sound impressive on headphones may not translate well to speakers. This is because the interaural timing information is missing when using ordinary stereo headphones, resulting in non-linear and ill-defined stereo images. Thus, it is generally recommended to use both headphones and speakers for mixing, as they each have their pros and cons and complement each other.
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Filtering effects
Binaural panning uses algorithms and filters to mimic how sound waves interact with our ears and head. The filtering effects are replicated digitally to give the brain precise location cues, such as whether a sound is coming from the front, back, or above. This is achieved by simulating how sound interacts with the head and pinnae (outer ears).
The shape of the outer ear, or pinna, results in a 'bio EQ' filtering effect, which alters the perceived spectrum of incoming sound depending on its angle relative to the ear. This is crucial for determining if a sound is in front of or behind us. Binaural panning can reflect the height of a sound source, not just its angle of approach, through tilt and offset parameters.
The Doppler button in the Binaural Panner tool turns on or off the Doppler effect, which changes the pitch of a signal as the listener moves relative to the source. The Binaural Panner is a psychoacoustic processor that can simulate sound source positions, including up and down information, when fed a standard stereo signal. The output is best suited for headphone playback, but integrated conditioning can ensure a neutral sound for speaker playback as well.
Binaural audio aims to capture the audio cues we use to locate sound sources in our environment, providing a more immersive listening experience. It can be achieved using audio plugins or software that apply head-related transfer function (HRTF) filters, simulating how sound interacts with the head and ears.
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Frequently asked questions
Binaural panning is used to capture audio cues that help locate sound sources in the surrounding space, providing a three-dimensional and immersive listening experience. It aims to address the unnatural stereo soundstage created by headphones, where the left and right ears receive isolated and separate signals, resulting in a perception of sound being 'inside the head' rather than around it.
Binaural recording can involve unconventional practices such as using a dummy head with microphones fitted in each ear or even placing tiny microphones directly in the ears. These methods aim to capture the audio cues that help us locate sound sources accurately.
The stereo width can be adjusted by modifying the "spread" parameter in the binaural panning settings. Additionally, parameters such as Vertical Offset, Tilt Amount, Tilt Direction, and Size can be tweaked to reflect the height of the sound source and enhance the three-dimensional effect.
