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What really creates
the rich, full tones of a live instrument
are the multiple
reflections
from the walls of the room.
In
addition
to making
the sound "live", these reflections
enable
us to tell where
the player
is situated,
and the size
and shape of the room in which we are sitting.
•
Elements
of a sound field
In any environment,
in addition
to the direct sound
coming
straight
to our ears from the player's
instrument,
there are two distinct
types of sound reflections
that
combine
to make up the sound field:
Early reflections
Reflected
sounds
reach our ears extremely
rapidly
(50 ms - 100 ms after the direct sound), after reflecting
from one surface only -- for example,
from the ceiling or
a wall. These reflections
fall into specific
patterns
for any
particular
environment,
and provide
vital information
to
our ears. Early reflections
actually
add clarity to the direct
sound.
Reverberations
These are caused
by reflections
from more than one
surface -- walls, ceiling,
the back of the room -- so
numerous
that they merge
together
to form a continuous
sonic "afterglow".
They are non-directional,
and lessen
the clarity of the direct sound.
Direct
sound,
early reflections
and subsequent
reverberation
taken together
help us to determine
the
subjective
size and shape of the room,
and it is this
information
that the digital sound field processor
reproduces
in order to create sound fields.
If you could
create the appropriate
early reflections
and
subsequent
reverberations
in your listening
room,
you
would
be able to create your own listening
environment.
The acoustics
in your room could be changed
to those of
a concert
hall, a dance
floor, or virtually
any size room at
all. This ability to create sound fields at will is exactly
what YAMAHA
has done with the digital sound field
processor.
DSP programs
consist
of some parameters
to determine
the apparent
room size, reverberation
time, distance
from
you to the performer,
etc. In each program,
these
parameters
are set with values precisely
calculated
by
YAMAHA
to create a sound field unique
to the program.
It is recommended
to use DSP programs
without
changing
the values of parameters.
However,
this unit
also allows
you to create your own sound field by starting
with one of the built-in
program
and adjusting
its
parameters.
Each DSP program
has a set of parameters
that allow you
to change the characteristics
of the acoustic
environment
to create the precise effect you want. These parameters
correspond
to the many natural
acoustic
factors
that create
the sound field you experience
in an actual concert
hall or
other listening
environment.
The size of the room,
for
example,
affects the length
of time between
the early
reflections.
The "ROOM
SIZE"
parameter
provided
in
many of the DSP programs
alters the timing
between
these reflections,
thus changing
the shape of the "room"
you are listening.
In addition
to room size, the shape of
the room and the characteristics
of its surfaces
have a
significant
effect on the final sound.
Surfaces
that absorb
sound,
for example,
cause the reflections
and
reverberations
to die out more quickly,
while highly
reflective
surfaces
allow the reflections
to carry on for a
longer period
of time. The digital sound field parameters
allow you to control
these and many other factors that
contribute
to your personal
sound field, allowing
you to
essentially
"redesign"
the concert
halls, theaters,
etc.
provided
to create custom-tailored
listening
environments
that ideally
match your mood and music.
54
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