If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent a fair bit of time trying to find a pair of the best stereo speakers or best headphones, in search of the most faithful reproduction of actual live music. Historically, I’ve found myself imagining my perfect home sound system as standard stereo system – but a recent visit to a cutting edge 3D audio suite has me thinking that it could be time to start thinking beyond two channels.
I was recently lucky enough to join a listening session for Max Cooper’s new album On Being at L-Acoustics Hyperreal Immersive Sound Space – or HYRISS – showroom. An acclaimed composer and producer of electronic music, Cooper has long sought a sense of dimension in his work, employing binaural techniques and psychoacoustic trickery to give his stereo mixes more depth. Though his tracks do feel wider and deeper than typical dance music on a stereo system, within the walls of the HYRISS suite a new level of space was unlocked.
