Enduring The Inevitable 3D BS Bandwagon Mentality

Guest blog by Robert Franner

When the Compact Disc debuted in the early ‘80s, it created a buzz and revitalized the audio industry. "Perfect sound forever?" Maybe not quite, but instant track access, and above all, robustness (scratches have no effect on sound, to a point) were truly revolutionary in their day.

Even if many audiophiles went on to decry digital sound as edgy and inferior to analogue for some valid reasons at the time (for example, engineers used to a lossy analog recording chain hadn't yet grasped how to voice microphones for digital systems that wouldn't soften in the same way; and especially, sloppy CD production techniques where the recording was pre-emphasized, but the flag to de-emphasize the treble boost wasn't always inserted or recognized by the player, resulting in playback that was indeed too bright), digital audio was a definite step up in fidelity for the hoi polloi.

What was became increasingly unendurable for this observer, was the stampede to capitalize on "digital" the more it captured the public's eye, for spurious reasons. For example, we soon saw the Compact Disc logo along with that deadly stupid suffix "Ready" on countless loudspeakers and headphones.

And what did Compact Disc Ready denote? That the loudspeaker and/or headphones were now engineered to cope with the massively greater dynamic range purportedly offered by digital sound; the inference being that this was either necessary or could be achieved with no compromise. ‘We could always have made super-efficient speakers that would make your ears bleed with one watt input if we wanted to, but there was little point: your record player simply couldn't supply such wide-ranging sound.'

What rubbish! Countless LPs from Wilson Audio, Telarc, and popular labels compared with the very best CDs in terms of dynamic range. There are many things to recommend the CD over the venerable LP, but nothing at all in the respective technologies that should dictate a different approach when it comes to designing a power amplifier, loudspeaker, headphones, or earbuds.

Thankfully, that ruse has mercifully faded into oblivion.

But now we need to steel ourselves for the sequel: 3D audio. A stampede of audio marketers will soon festoon their systems (most of which will doubtless be low-fi, commodity trash priced well below the $500 mark) with 3D something-or-other, once the public shows more enthusiasm for images that seem to jump out of the screen.

Now there may be a complicating factor. Some manufacturers may legitimately denote 3D audio readiness in their AVRs and processors, strictly in the sense that such products provide synchronization circuitry in the event that intensive processing required for 3D video causes the sound to precede the picture.

They're off the hook. The target of my wrath is the anticipated onslaught of low-fi peddlers claiming to have added some circuit that achieves for audio what 3D does for video.

Three dimensional audio? That's been the holy grail for audiophiles since the ‘60s. And the better systems, yes, even from that era, have been capable of far more compelling three dimensionality than the best 3D video systems this observer has seen to date.

That's not a put-down of 3D video today, or where it's headed. It's simply that audio (when properly executed) has an easier time of creating a convincing illusion than does video, all things being equal.

I think two factors ensure that this will always be so. One, is that video has to exceed the viewer's peripheral vision to overcome his feeling of looking through a window rather than experiencing reality. Front projo systems with a 120' screen? Close, but no cigar. Nothing short of IMAX for the home would compete, and even then, there would remain an obstacle.

That's because when we observe a scene, we tend to dynamically process it, focusing to infinity here, and then readjusting as we shift our gaze to objects in the near field, dilating our pupils to take in shadow areas and closing them down to view the bright stuff as needed. Then we combine all these impressions into an optimized image that can't be captured by a single video camera (two or three dimensional).

We don't tend to shift our focus with sound, certainly not to the same extent, which makes reproducing the live event more practical (even if perfection will likely always elude us).

So, even if a half-century later, you haven't yet taken in a thrilling 3D audio presentation, head down to a quality retailer and ask to audition one of the better systems. Pick suitable demo material, close your eyes (or dim the lights), and savour that convincing "you are there" illusion to the fullest.

And when you encounter el cheapo audio systems emblazoned with some sort of 3D logo, or are advertised with 3D phraseology (with the exception of the synchronization issues noted above), let that be your tip-off: charlatans after your money!

3D Audio anyone? The old groove grinder depicted here may not have been up to the task, but audiophiles have been enjoying three-dimensional sound-field recreation since the ‘60s.