Give Your Audio Opinion On MP3 Surround
 

MP3 Surround provides a multi-channel listening experience with a minimum of extra bitrate and maximum compatibility.


http://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/amm/dow...und/index.html

Looks cool. The only other formats it might be compared to are Dolby Digital and DTS, and they use such high bitrates that comparing them to MP3 Surround is like comparing apples and oranges. Maybe Pro Logic II would be a better point of reference. If anything, this new format might get more people involved in the multi-channel Vorbis project that still hasn't seen the light of day. Anyway, I'll test this MP3 Surround thingy and post a review in a few days. :tu:

How can you simulate 6 speakers from 2?

Every hear of Dolby Headphones? They did some research and discovered that the angle at which a sound enters your ear canal alters the sound slightly. Your brain interprets this alteration as directional information. Dolby figured out the formula for altering sounds to make them sound like they're comming from more than just two directions and designed a set of headphones to use this formula. The headphones didn't sell very well so they stopped making them, but now they licence the formula to other companies to use. Pearl Harbor on DVD has a special Dolby Headphones audio track, and PowerDVD has a Dolby Headphones mode; if you have access to either of those then you'll know it really does work.

Other companies have tried to duplicate the results, but they're not as good as Dolby except for maybe Bose's 1-2-3 system, which uses speakers instead of headphones. I don't know whether Ensonido uses Dolby or something else.