Noise Makers, the makers of Ambi Head have released this new plugin, which converts ambisonic B-format signals into 3D binaural audio. It allows manipulations of 3D scenes (rotations and control of spatial width) and contains features specifically designed for immersive listening.

As we have discussed in previous podcasts the entry of virtual reality content, needs immersive sound to go with it and so we are seeing a growth in Pro Tools based immersive sound solutions outside of the cinema workflow.

As Virtual Reality (VR) grows, we will need a palette of cost effective tools to create immersive binaural audio to go with the images. Noise Makers have already entered this market with Ambi Pan which enables you to take mono and stereo audio and pan it around an Ambisonics sound field and now hot on the heels of Ambi Pan, Noise Makers have released Ambi Head. Check out their demo video below to get a sense of what Ambi Head can do and for the best effect listen on headphones or earphones rather than speakers.

Noise Makers Ambi Head Features

• 3D binaural decoding of Ambisonic signals
• Spatial width control
• Scene rotation (Z axis)
• SOFA importer for custom HRTF filters
• Goniometer (Lissajous display of the binaural output)
• Sampling frequency up to 192 kHz
• Support ambiX (WYZX) and FuMa (WXYZ) New in v1.1
• Input : B-format (ambiX or FuMa)
• Output : BINAURAL STEREO

Ambisonics Background

Ambisonics has been around for decades but for most of it, Ambisonics has been a niche area in the audio sector. However with the rise of appropriate immersive delivery formats like Auro 3D and Dolby Atmos and more recently Virtual Reality, Ambisonics is fast becoming a useful way of acquiring, storing and manipulating multichannel audio in a way that can be used in any of the immersive formats. But what is Ambisonics? 

Ambisonics is a method of recording and reproducing audio in full 360 degree surround – and while it’s not exactly a new invention, recent developments in software encoding have made it a lot more interesting. And with demand for surround source material skyrocketing with the advent of 3D audio for film and immersive platforms such as virtual reality, Ambisonics is an increasingly useful option.

But how does Ambisonics work in the real world, how do you get started – and how do you make the most it? On the A Sound Effect blog experienced Ambisonics recordist and sound designer John Leonard gives more details in this special hands-on primer.

Ambisonics is a “scene-based” paradigm to capture, transform and render 3D audio. It is ideal for 360 videos and interactive media allowing listeners to rotate their head into the scene.

First-order Ambisonics can be considered as a 3D extension of mid/side stereo with additional height and depth channels. The resulting 4-channel signal set is called B-format. Several microphones and plugins exist to record and process B-format. For example :

• Brahma microphones
• Soundfield microphones
• TetraMic

So straight away you can take the audio recorded by these mics and run it through Ambi Head as it offers a solution for binaural rendering of ambisonic scenes. The internal filters have been designed for  immersive 3D listening. Users can also load their own HRTFs thanks to the integrated SOFA importer.