ADITI SARAWAGI
8D AUDIO
Music is ever evolving as is technology and when
both of these come together, they literally create
(sound) waves! 8D Audio has taken the internet and
music world by storm and there is no escaping it.
Technically you only have two real sound sources-
the left and right earphone, but 8D audio makes it
seem like the origin of the sound is above or beside
you. It resembles the feeling of being present at a live
concert with you swaying to the music all around
you!
8D audio is basically an effect applied to a
soundtrack where it is edited to make it seem like
the audio is moving in a circle around your head and
this experience is mainly effective with earphones.
It gives an impression that the audio is coming
from different directions and different distances.
Sometimes, different echo types are combined
with this and the experience becomes completely
immersive.
Some credit to the increasing popularity of 8D
Audio can be given to VR games, 3D installations
and 360° videos which have become dependent on
full-immersion 360° audio. This is where 8D audio
comes in. The most popular audio standard for such
tunes is Ambisonics and a number of professional
level tools are available to audio engineers these
days. Ambisonics is a method for recording, mixing
and playing three dimensional 360° audio. The
format used is a 4-channel format called Ambisonics
B-format, which uses only four channels to reproduce
a complete sphere of sound. It spreads the sound
evenly throughout the 360° sphere. Along with the
horizontal plane, it covers sound sources above and
below the listener as well.
There aren’t any actual 8D recordings but it is
basically 8D mixing of pre-existing recordings or
songs. 8D music creators use various software’s to
manipulate a song’s different stereo parts, moving
and positioning them within a virtual 360-degree
space. Many pop, hip-hop and rock songs have been
remixed in this format like Thunder by Imagine
Dragons and Castle on the Hill by Ed Sheeran along
with a virtual barber shop 8D audio piece which have
become sensationally viral.
This technology has existed since the 1970’s but never
really took off until now where young millennials
have created 8D audio sounds with the help of
various software’s. This viral trend has made a
success story of a number of young millennials.
The most popular 8D channel is ‘8D Tunes’ which
has more than six million subscribers and around
200 million total views. Another popular channel is
Trillion with around two million subscribers.
There have been numerous reactions to 8D audio.
Though some people find it distracting, some people
say it is similar to a feeling of an ethereal high. Some
reports have also come in where people have claimed
it has helped them fall asleep and calm down their
anxiety as well. Others claim that 8D audio is an
out-of-body experience for them, actually helping
them forget their physical pain. It has become
almost therapeutic for some people-be it relaxation,
or sleep. There is no scientific evidence to prove
the connection between these binaural beats and
physical relaxation, but the responses by listeners
make it hard to deny the positive effect of 8D audio.
With software’s becoming increasingly easily
available and the frequent launch of new social media
mediums, 8D Audio is the latest viral trend which
looks like it is here to stay. The technology is getting
more and more sophisticated with every passing day
and listeners sure look like they are in for a treat.
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
25