… Surround Microphones November 2008

Surround Microphone Techniques in Practice

Demonstration of experimental recordings

Helmut Wittek
SCHOEPS Mikrofone GmbH
Karlsruhe, Germany
Contents

• Overview of applied psychoacoustics

• Practical examination: Sound samples of experimental
recordings
• Discussion of popular Surround microphone techniques

Topics
• Practical aspects
• Stereophonic imaging
• Spatial reproduction
• Differences between and pros and cons of the
respective microphone setups
Stereo Techniques in general
© J.Wuttke

Compactness

ORTF
CMXY
AB

KFM 6

CMIT-MS
Surround Techniques in general

Compactness
Decca Tree
IRT cross KFM 360

OCT

Double MS
More Information

• Get more information and samples:

– www.hauptmikrofon.de (Theile, Wittek)
– SCHOEPS Surround brochure
– www.schoeps.de
• This presentation and other
in-depth papers
• More info on all setups,
applications, topics
• free Double MS-Plug-in (Win/MAC)
• Demo samples
– Contact me

• wittek@schoeps.de ;
surround@schoeps.de
 DEMO
Sound Sample #1
Sound Sample #1
Komm, Jesu, komm
• OCT Surround
– Stadtkirche, Karlsruhe
– A-capella amateur choir
– Bach motet: Komm, Jesu, komm
Spatial Perception

• The reference: perception of a natural source

– Where, how distant, in which room, what is the room like?
– What does the source radiate?

Spatial impression
Distance, Envelopment
Direction
Depth, Reverberance
Spaciousness

0 ms 30 ms t
© Theile
Spatial Perception

Discrete Signals: Diffuse Signals:

Correlated at both ears Decorrelated at both ears
From discrete directions From all directions

Spatial impression
Distance, Envelopment
Direction
Depth, Reverberance
Spaciousness

0 ms 30 ms t
© Theile
 Directions and points in time

Direct Sound
s
Early Reflections
Reverb

0
10
20
30
ms
tim
e
 2.0 Reflection pattern

Direct Sound L R
Early Reflections
Reverb

0
• Directional imaging of direct
10 sound and early reflections
20
• Envelopment, depth? 30
ms
me ti
• Reflection density too high!
has to be reduced
• Diffuse sound (Reverb) should be reproduced as diffuse as
possible
decorrelated!
 5.1 Reflection pattern

C
Direct Sound L R
Early Reflections
Reverb

0
• Directional imaging of direct
10 sound and early reflections
20
LS• Envelopment, depth? 30 RS
ms
tim
• Reflection density is good, Lateral reflections
e are important
• Diffuse sound (Reverb) should be reproduced as diffuse as
possible
decorrelated!
5.1 Spatial reproduction

Imaging area

C
Early reflections
L R
Reverb

LS RS
 DEMO
Diffuse Field Correlation DFC Sound Sample #2
Sprache IR
Reproduction of the reverb tail:
- Should be diffuse, should be
perceived from everywhere DFC
- The more correlation, the L R
narrower the image of the reverb 0
tail and it will get localizable

The diffuse sound should be
reproduced decorrelated.

The decisive measure is called: DFC
L R
0.5
Diffuse field correlation
(DFC)

DFC
L R 1
Diffuse Field Correlation DFC

• Diffuse Field Correlation DFC of coincident microphone

setups:

XY, XY, Blumlein, XY,

Setup 90° 120° 90° 180°
2 Cardioids 2 Super- 2 Figure-8 2 Cardioids
cardioids

DFC
0.75 0.23 0 0.5
( -1 ... 1 )

Diff_GUI
Diffuse Field Correlation DFC

Correlation vs. microphone angle nis

Om
XY
Correlation coefficient (DFC)

oi ds
ardi
perc
Su

Blumlei
n

Offset angle (°)

 DEMO
Diffuse Field Correlation DFC Sound Sample #3
Laeisz Sprache IR
• DFC of spaced setups is frequency-dependent

Korr_GUI

• Samples from Laeiszhalle, Hamburg:

© Jan Korte

– Small AB 52 cm Small AB 52 cm

– Double MS:
Supercardioids, 120°
Supercardioids 120°
Directional Imaging 100%
C
D

Phantom source shift

• Level and time differences 75% B

govern the perceived phantom A

source direction 50%

7,5 % / dB
– φL = f (∆L) ;
25%
– φt = f (∆t) ;
– φ = φL + φt;
0 3 6 9 12 15
• The necessary interchannel Interchannel level difference ∆L [dB]
100%
differences are rather similar to D
those known from natural

Phantom source shift

75% A
hearing B
E
• Recording angle 50%

– Recording angle 75% 13 % / 0,1ms

• “Image Assistant” on 25%

www.hauptmikrofon.de
0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1,0
Interchannel time difference ∆t [ms]
Principal issues in Microphone Design

• Directional Image:
– can be calculated, differences between stereo techniques regarding the
image
• Early reflections:
– Lateral reflections are important – should be perceived separately
• Diffuse Field Reproduction:
– Diffuse Field Correlation DFC should be minimal, can easily be predicted

the channels have to be decorrelated regarding the diffuse sound
• Further points of interest:
– Reality is not always ideal!
– Type and properties of single capsules (pressure/pressure gradient
transducer)
– Direct/Reverb ratio
controls reflection level
– Loudness balance
– Size of the setup
– Sensitivity to wind noise
2-ch setups in practice 1

• AB, Decca Tree

– 2-3 * Omni (LF pickup !)
– Distance: 0.5 .. 2 m (decorr!)
– Most popular for orchestra recording
– Vague directional image, open spatial image
– Potentially low DFC and reflection density
• ORTF, quasi-ORTF setups
– 2 cardioids (or var.)
– Distance: 0.17 m, Angle: 110 ° (or var.)
– Most popular for ensemble recording
– Good directional image, good spatial image
– Low reflection density, low DFC
2-ch setups in practice 2

• KFM 6 - sphere microphone

– 2 Half-Omnis
– Distance: 0.2 m
– Most popular for natural spaces
– Very natural directional and spatial image
– Reflection density and DFC are natural
high!
• XY, MS setups
– 2 directional pattern or M (variable) + S (fig-8)
– Distance: 0 m, Angle ≥ 90°
– Most popular for film, music, drama recording
– Good directional image, clear spatial image
– Reflection density and DFC strongly depend
on the setup
 DEMO
Comparison of stereo setups
Sound Sample #4
Showroom
• SCHOEPS Microphone Showroom: www.schoeps.de/showroom
offers an interactive comparison of stereo techniques…
XY

UMS 20 UMS 20

M100C

CMXY
MS UMS 20

CMIT MS

CMC 64 + CCM 8 WSR MS

RCY

MS-BLM

SGMSC
(CCM4 + CCM8)
ORTF and AB Stereo

STCg Decca
3 * CCM 2H

MSTC 64 U, STC

M100C
UMS 20

MAB1000
KFM 6

ORTF
Outdoor Set
 Surround Microphone Design

• Directional Image:
– Image Assistant
– Crosstalk: never 3 correlated direct signals!

α = 0°
α = 30° L, R: Super-Cardioid L CR
C: Cardioid
b: 40 .... 100 cm
h: 8 cm
OCT setup

C
α = 90° h = 8 cm R

L b = 40 .. 100 cm
Stability in 5.1

• Localisation curve on off-centre position

Sitzposition LINKS: Lokalisationskurven experimentell

R

30
30
(Grad) ϑ
sourceΦdirection

15
15
Auslenkung
C

0
0
Perceived

-15
-15

-30
L

-30
-60 -30 0 30 60
(Grad)source direction Ω
Sound
Einfallswinkel
OCT 70
OCT 70 INA 33
INA Quasi-ORTF
Quasi-
(Mittelwert + 95% Vertrauensbereich) ORTF
 DEMO
OCT Surround Sound Sample #5
OCT:
Early reflections
Porta Westfalica
OCT Surround
C Reverb

L h R

40 cm

b + 20 cm

RS
LS
OCT Surround Setup

OCT Surround using 5 SCHOEPS CCM compact microphones and

the stereo bar MAB1000

RS
Front + 20cm

R LS
8 cm

40 cm
L
C
40 - 100 cm
 DEMO
OCT + Hamasaki Sound Sample #6
Lyon: OCT Surround-
Early reflections OCT+Hamasaki
OCT + Hamasaki square
Reverb
C
L h R
b

L +-
>2m +- R

>2m

+-
+-
LS RS
 DEMO
Omni setups / Decca Tree Sound Sample #7
Lyon: Decca+Hamasaki-
OCT+Hamasaki
• Decca Tree
C

h > 0.5 m

L b > 1.5 m R

• Surround channels:
– 2 further microphones, 1-4 m apart
– Hamasaki square
– etc.
IRT cross and ORTF Surround

• IRT cross for Surround atmos:

– 4 Cardioids at 20 cm - 90°
– 4 Supercardioids at 14 cm - 90°
• “ORTF Surround” for Surround atmos:
– 4 Supercardioids at 10/20 cm - 100°/80°
 DEMO
IRT cross and ORTF Surround Sound Sample #8
ORTF Surround/DMS:
• IRT cross for Surround atmos Durlach Altstadtfest:
Atmo - Kapelle
– 4 Cardioids at 20 cm - 90°
– 4 Supercardioids at 14 cm - 90°
• “ORTF Surround” for Surround atmos
– 4 Supercardioids at 10/20 cm - 100°/80°
IRT cross

• Test recordings
KFM 360 for 5.1 Surround

• 18 cm sphere microphone + 2 * fig-8

• MS processor to produce 5.1 output
Surround – non-coincident

OCT Surround
IRT cross

Decca Tree

KFM 360
Double MS: The M/S principle

1
L = *( M + S)
M=L+R 2
S=L-R 1
R = *( M -S)
2

M
S

L
R
The Double M/S idea

• Front M/S pair

• Rear M/S pair
• Combined
Double M/S triplet
The Double M/S decoding

Double M/S enables 2 different decoding methods:

a) each pair is decoded separately
b) decoding utilizes the third microphone as well

LR

a)

LR

b)
Tools for Decoding

Decoding variants:
• 2 M/S Matrices
• Hardware (M DMS)

• Software (VST, RTAS)

– Try by yourself, it’s free!
– www.schoeps.de/dmsplugin.htm

DEMO DEMO
Sound Sample #9 Sound Sample #10
Schostakovitsch Schalke
Klavierkonzert Volksmusik
Rossini Drums
Crosstalk

• Crosstalk in Double M/S

Avoid crosstalk by optimal decoding

4ch 5ch
Film recording

• Double M/S with shotgun

– for live surround e.g. in documentaries
Surround - coincident

CMIT-Double M/S

Double M/S
 What‘s best for …?

1. OCT – DMS
2. IRT – DMS
3. ORTF Surround – DMS
4. OCT – Decca Tree –
Hamasaki – DMS

OCT Surround OCT + Hamasaki

Decca Tree +
Hamasaki

DEMO
Sound Sample #11 IRT cross
Porta Westfalica
Marktplatz
Kammertheater
Lyon Double MS
Marktplatz
Schalke
Durlach, Altstadtfest
ORTF Surround
What‘s best for …?

• The choice of the recording setup depends on:

– Aesthetical intention of the tonmeister
– Available space on location
– Available time/manpower for the installation (fail-safe)
– Need for wind screen and elastic suspension
– Ease of use, robustness
– Post-production or live broadcast

• Thank you
What does the microphone need?

• The microphone is the basis for all.

• Well-known parameters govern the quality:
– Good frequency response
– Smooth polar pattern
– Low noise floor
– Good reliability
– And the sound…

Thank you.
SCHOEPS Mikrofone

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capsules
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accessories
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filters, pads, etc.
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powered, for radio
transmitters, Digital
SCHOEPS Mikrofone

• CCM Compact Series

– Compact studio microphone –
full studio quality.
– 18 capsules
• All polar patterns and specific
capsules
– >100 accessories
• All types of tubes,
goosenecks, table stands,
swivels, cables, suspensions,
filters, pads, etc.
SCHOEPS Mikrofone

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