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VIA Vinyl Audio and QSound Technologies - The State of the
Audio Art |
The current state of the audio art is a curious mix of
high-fidelity and low-fidelity market forces. On one hand, developments
such as high sample rate digital audio formats and computer-aided
speaker design have enabled even modest audio entertainment systems
to provide reproduction of very high quality. Yet, the widespread
distribution of audio via the Internet is routinely characterized
by the sacrifice of audio quality in return for more compact data
storage and reduced bandwidth demands.
The two extremes of the quality spectrum pose two very different
questions for the advancement of the art. At the upper end, further
improvements in quality per se (low noise, low distortion) would
be lost on mainstream listeners. Instead, consumers and producers
now demand improved spatial realism, with more immersive and engaging
acoustic environments. As a result, in both desktop PC and consumer
entertainment devices, three-dimensional (3D) audio technologies
and multi-channel surround sound formats have become commonplace.
 Far
from being mutually exclusive technologies, 3D audio can both enhance
surround reproduction and serve as a translator, effectively reproducing
mono and stereo content on surround systems, or surround content
on stereo systems including head- phones. At the lower end of the
spectrum, the problem of Internet bandwidth is systemic and fundamental,
and change will take time. In the interim, there are significant
opportunities for any signal process that can help the listener compensate
for less than stellar source quality. Spatial enhancement, mono-to-3D
synthesis, dynamic range manipulation and adaptive high and low frequency
emphasis are all well-suited to the task.
QSound Labs signal-processing technologies are employed in the enhancement
of audio signals for a broad range of applications which are primarily
entertainment-related. The company has specialized in the development
of high-quality yet efficient and economical 3D audio technologies,
and has been the leader in practical 3D implementations. From the
application of its flagship process in the professional recording
industry, to the success of its enhancement software for Internet
audio, QSound Labs has developed unique enhancement solutions across
the audio spectrum.
» Read on about the benefits of QSound-Technologie. |
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