[Sursound] Directional / parametric speakers ?

Discussion:

Augustine Leudar

2017-10-04 22:50:46 UTC

Hi,
Has anyone who tried directional speakers (those that use ultrasound etc to
create audible inteference patters in a "beam of sound" etc) -? If so what
were your experiences - did they work ? Any recommendations on particularly
good ones ?
I am looking at two at the moment (soundlazer and hypersound) - sound lazer
claims to be able to make a sound seem like it is emmiteed by the object
its aimed at - if this is true then I will have lots of fun with that - but
part of me is skeptical......

http://www.soundlazer.com/what-is-a-parametric-speaker/

http://hypersound.com/pro/products/

anyone ?

Marc Lavallée

2017-10-04 23:15:07 UTC

Permalink

Hi Augustine.

I do have a Soundlazer; I got it 2 years ago.
I can bring it from work, play with it a a bit more and report.
I remember that it does not sound "good", and it spectrum is limited.
Its using some DSP chip with a customizable software.

--
Marc

On Wed, 4 Oct 2017 23:50:46 +0100

Post by Augustine Leudar
Hi,
Has anyone who tried directional speakers (those that use ultrasound
etc to create audible inteference patters in a "beam of sound" etc)
-? If so what were your experiences - did they work ? Any
recommendations on particularly good ones ?
I am looking at two at the moment (soundlazer and hypersound) - sound
lazer claims to be able to make a sound seem like it is emmiteed by
the object its aimed at - if this is true then I will have lots of
fun with that - but part of me is skeptical......
http://www.soundlazer.com/what-is-a-parametric-speaker/
http://hypersound.com/pro/products/
anyone ?

Augustine Leudar

2017-10-05 01:36:51 UTC

Permalink

Hi Marc,
that would be great. Im not really bothered about amazing audio fidelity so
much as if it can make it sound like objects are emiting sounds at least
vaguely convincingly (eg projecting the sound of a voice onto a statue so
it seems like the statue is talking) according to this vid it can do that :

Post by Marc LavallÃ©e
Hi Augustine.
I do have a Soundlazer; I got it 2 years ago.
I can bring it from work, play with it a a bit more and report.
I remember that it does not sound "good", and it spectrum is limited.
Its using some DSP chip with a customizable software.
--
Marc
On Wed, 4 Oct 2017 23:50:46 +0100

Michael McCrea

2017-10-05 20:27:29 UTC

Permalink

Hi Augustine,

Parametric arrays are an ongoing area of research here at DXARTS (see here
<https://dxarts.washington.edu/research/technology/ultrasonic-beamforming>
and here
<https://dxarts.washington.edu/research/creative-work/acoustic-scan>). I
can confirm that the sound of reflections is very pronounced such that when
listening in the path of the reflection it is louder than the source
itself. Very interesting when it moves :)

While I haven't heard the two speakers you mention, the audio spotlight
<https://www.holosonics.com> is quite a powerful, highly directional
speaker (though expensive). By nature of the "parametric" phenomenon, low
frequencies are quite difficult to reproduce, and it's highly dependent on
the hardware and signal (pre-)processing as well. The audio spotlight uses
electrostatic transducers, so it has a wider frequency response than other
products which use piezoelectric transducers, and it also helps that the
speaker aperture is large.

My best,
Mike McCrea

Post by Augustine Leudar
Hi Marc,
that would be great. Im not really bothered about amazing audio fidelity so
much as if it can make it sound like objects are emiting sounds at least
vaguely convincingly (eg projecting the sound of a voice onto a statue so
http://youtu.be/ne0Fy7Ybl8A

--
Dr. Augustine Leudar
Artistic Director Magik Door LTD
Company Number : NI635217
Registered 63 Ballycoan rd,
Belfast BT88LL
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Marc Lavallée

2017-10-06 02:11:17 UTC

Permalink

Hi Augustine.

I'm trying the SoundLazer now.

It can project sound on a surface from which it seems to originate. But
the frequency range is very limited, there's no bass, there's
distortion (at higher volume), and there's a constant, high-pitched
noise. But in a room with some ambiant noise, it would work fine if
expectations for sound quality are low. For some reason the unit,
enclosed in an aluminium case, gets hot.

Despite all that, it's worth a try.

--
Marc

Post by Augustine Leudar
Hi,
Has anyone who tried directional speakers (those that use ultrasound
etc to create audible inteference patters in a "beam of sound" etc)
-? If so what were your experiences - did they work ? Any
recommendations on particularly good ones ?
I am looking at two at the moment (soundlazer and hypersound) -
sound lazer claims to be able to make a sound seem like it is
emmiteed by the object its aimed at - if this is true then I will
have lots of fun with that - but part of me is skeptical......
http://www.soundlazer.com/what-is-a-parametric-speaker/
http://hypersound.com/pro/products/
anyone ?

Justin Bennett

2017-10-06 11:01:22 UTC

Permalink

Hi Augustine,

I have tried and heard these kinds of speakers in various situations.
Generally they are good for voice reproduction, there is very little
below about 200 Hz in my memory and the cheaper versions are not
very loud (or distort when you turn them up). Some of them sound nastier
than others. The effect of bouncing sound off an object or wall
works very well, but you have to hang the speaker so that the listener
is not in the direct beam. In a reflective (gallery) space, the beam keeps
bouncing, so that you might hear the sound somewhere else in the room
than you expect! Most of the applications I’ve heard which worked combined
these speakers with other sound sources, just adding details with the ultrasound speaker.

this one I remember sounded quite good:

http://ultrasonic-audio.com/products/acouspade-directional-speaker/

best, Justin

Justin Bennett

***@justinbennett.nl
www.justinbennett.nl
http://jubilee-art.org/

Subject: [Sursound] Directional / parametric speakers ?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Hi,
Has anyone who tried directional speakers (those that use ultrasound etc to
create audible inteference patters in a "beam of sound" etc) -? If so what
were your experiences - did they work ? Any recommendations on particularly
good ones ?
I am looking at two at the moment (soundlazer and hypersound) - sound lazer
claims to be able to make a sound seem like it is emmiteed by the object
its aimed at - if this is true then I will have lots of fun with that - but
part of me is skeptical......
http://www.soundlazer.com/what-is-a-parametric-speaker/
http://hypersound.com/pro/products/
anyone ?

Augustine Leudar

2017-10-08 11:20:59 UTC

Permalink

tx Justin

Post by Michael McCrea
Hi Augustine,
I have tried and heard these kinds of speakers in various situations.
Generally they are good for voice reproduction, there is very little
below about 200 Hz in my memory and the cheaper versions are not
very loud (or distort when you turn them up). Some of them sound nastier
than others. The effect of bouncing sound off an object or wall
works very well, but you have to hang the speaker so that the listener
is not in the direct beam. In a reflective (gallery) space, the beam keeps
bouncing, so that you might hear the sound somewhere else in the room
than you expect! Most of the applications I’ve heard which worked combined
these speakers with other sound sources, just adding details with the ultrasound speaker.
http://ultrasonic-audio.com/products/acouspade-directional-speaker/
best, Justin
Justin Bennett
www.justinbennett.nl
http://jubilee-art.org/

Subject: [Sursound] Directional / parametric speakers ?
<CABx2juo5hcnEZY-c3OETucS1YzwcF=VvxS2ErLsKzuGRQ
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Hi,
Has anyone who tried directional speakers (those that use ultrasound etc

create audible inteference patters in a "beam of sound" etc) -? If so

what

were your experiences - did they work ? Any recommendations on

particularly

good ones ?
I am looking at two at the moment (soundlazer and hypersound) - sound

lazer

claims to be able to make a sound seem like it is emmiteed by the object
its aimed at - if this is true then I will have lots of fun with that -

but

part of me is skeptical......
http://www.soundlazer.com/what-is-a-parametric-speaker/
http://hypersound.com/pro/products/
anyone ?

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https://mail.music.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/sursound - unsubscribe here,
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