This summer, the Audio Engineering Society held its third International Conference on Music-Induced Hearing Disorders at Columbia College Chicago. Its focus was on strategies and technologies for safer, long-term hearing outcomes resulting from exposure to loud music. Two days of papers and presentations from notable scientists and application experts in the fields of audiology, product development, and sound production, as well as lively panel discussions, contributed to a well-rounded conference experience, ImmersAV Technology—a company that develops audio and video techniques for creating recordings that are said to be “true to the original experience”—announced.
From left to right: Sara Leginsky, Ari Bolles, DEXTER, Heather Malyuk and Bob Schulein.
In keeping with the theme of technology to preserve hearing, Bob Schulein, conference co-chair, engineering producer, and ImmersAV Technology’s founding partner, organized a demonstration of a new entertainment experience as a part of the conference banquet on Thursday evening. He arranged for Glass Mountain, a Chicago-based American folk trio, to perform for the guests and to assist in the demonstration of a unique, binaural audio “you-are-there” experience. The band participated in creating and rehearsing for the musical production. For the performance, each attendee was provided with a set of Sennheiser supra-aural wireless headphones and remained in their seat for the performance. The group performed in front of a single, large diaphragm condenser microphone as well as ImmersAV’s binaural mannequin, named DEXTER. As the performance progressed guests were able to compare the headphone reproduction versus that from a two-speaker loudspeaker sound system feeding the output of the single microphone over DEXTER’s head. As the trio played a number of folk classics and originals, each attendee reportedly heard the audio with natural binaural spatial rendering no matter where they were seated.
“What a potential boon for night clubs, dinner clubs, theaters, churches, and auditoriums, to enhance the listening experience for every person coming through their doors, while listening at one’s own desired level,” said Schulein.
Glass Mountain performing from left: Ari Bolles, Sara Leginsky, and Heather Malyuk.
Conference attendee, Laura Sinnott, audiologist and audio engineer commented, “The ImmersAV performance felt warmer and clearer compared to the sound from the traditional loudspeakers. The wide spatial image truly allowed for a ‘you-are-there’ experience.”
Glass Mountain performer Heather Malyuk, AuD, (fiddle, guitar, and vocals) describes her experience during a rehearsal playback session: “It was amazingly realistic. I could hear every nuance of my performance, as well as an excellent ensemble balance with my bandmates.”
Want to experience this performance for yourself? Visit these links:
“Hop High” https://youtu.be/Bif2AUQObzc
“Don’t Laugh” https://youtu.be/HkA7p51lhP0
“Cool Water” https://youtu.be/43qG5VHQtDk
Source: ImmersAV Technology
Images: ImmersAV Technology
