Introduction - Soundfield SPS200 User Manual

SoundField SPS200

INTRODUCTION

The SPS200 microphone has been developed for high quality music recording, both in
studio environments as well as on location, and is ideally suited to the capture of live
performances in acoustically compatible venues, both in stereo and 5.1 surround. The
SPS200 is the first SoundField microphone in the company's history that doesn't require
a dedicated microphone control unit; it outputs the four discrete capsule signals without
any decoding, what we refer to as A-Format. Instead of decoding hardware, the SPS200's
A-Format output is processed by means of the included post-production 'SPS200
Surround Zone' software to create the desired mono, stereo or surround format and with
the ability to effectively 'steer' the microphone and adjust its pickup pattern after
recording.
All the parameters normally controlled by a dedicated hardware control unit are available
from within your DAW at the post-production stage in the form of a software plug-in that
currently supports both TDM and VST hosts. The 'SPS200 Surround Zone' offers all the
functionality of the highly regarded "Surround Zone" but also incorporates the capability
to deal directly with the A-Format signals generated by the SPS200 microphone. This
makes the SPS200 microphone ideal for use with high-end DAW systems such as Pro
Tools HD and Nuendo.
The SPS200 microphone ships with a dedicated microphone cable terminating in
standard XLR connectors allowing it to be connected to four standard mic-pre's of the
user's choice. To find out more about suited mic-pre's and how to connect the SPS200
read the "Interfacing the SPS200" section of this manual.
The SPS200 is designed to function as either a single variable pattern mono microphone,
a variable pattern, variable width coincident stereo microphone or to generate full
surround. Because the A-Format signal is recorded to four separate audio channels, future
decoding to any conceivable surround format is possible, including those that incorporate
height information.
To derive any of these output formats the A-Format signals generated by the microphone
need to be processed either at the post-production stage using the 'SPS200 Surround
Zone' plug-in or in real-time using the DSF-3 hardware Digital Surround Processor. By
utilising SoundField's four-capsule proprietary array and adding or subtracting the
outputs from these four capsules in varying proportions, all of these output formats may
be generated with comprehensive control over all microphone parameters.
Introduction
User Guide
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