DIGITAL SOUND FIELD PROCESSING (DSP)

Understanding Sound Fields

A sound field is defined as the “characteristic sound reflections of a particular space.” In concert halls and other music venues, we hear early reflections and reverberations as well as the direct sound produced by the artist(s). The variations in the early reflections and other reverberations among the different music venues is what gives each venue its special and recognizable sound quality.

YAMAHA sent teams of sound engineers all around the world to measure the sound reflections of famous concert halls and music venues, and collect detailed sound field information such as the direction, strength, range, and delay time of those reflections. Then we stored this enormous amount of data in the ROM chips of this unit.

■Recreating a sound field

Recreating the sound field of a concert hall or an opera house requires localizing the virtual sound sources in your listening room. The traditional stereo system that uses only two speakers is not capable of recreating a realistic sound field. YAMAHA’s DSP requires four effect speakers to recreate sound fields based on the measured sound field data. The processor controls the strength and delay time of the signals output from the four effect speakers to localize the virtual sound sources in a full circle around the listener.

Hi-Fi DSP Programs

The following list gives you a brief description of the sound fields produced by each of the DSP programs. Keep in mind that most of these are precise digital recreations of actual acoustic environments.

No.

Program

Features

 

 

 

 

1

CONCERT HALL 1

Europe Hall A

This is a large fan-shaped concert hall with approximately 2500 seats.

 

 

 

There is relatively little reflection from the walls, and sound spreads

 

 

 

finely and beautifully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe Hall B

This is a large shoe-box type concert hall with less than 2400 seats

 

 

 

located in Frankfurt. This hall has a very solid, powerful sound. The

 

 

 

listener’s virtual seat is in the center-right section on the first floor.

 

 

 

 

2

CONCERT HALL 2

U.S.A. Hall C

This is a large 2600 seat concert hall in the United States which features

 

 

 

a fairly traditional European design. The middle and high frequencies

 

 

 

are richly and beautifully reinforced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Live Concert

A large round concert hall with a rich surround effect. Pronounced

 

 

 

reflections from all directions emphasize the extension of sounds. The

 

 

 

sound field has a great deal of presence, and your virtual seat is near the

 

 

 

center, close to the stage.

 

 

 

 

3

CHURCH

Freiburg

This program recreates the acoustic environment of a big church located

 

 

 

in south Germany. The reverberation delay is very long while the early

 

 

 

reflections are smaller than with other sound field programs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Royaumont

This program features the sound field created by the refectory (dining

 

 

 

hall) of a beautiful medieval Gothic monastery located in Royaumont on

 

 

 

the outskirts of Paris.

 

 

 

 

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