Explore Wave Field Synthesis @ EMPAC [Berkshire on Stage]

In 2016, EMPAC at RPI in Troy completed construction on a 496-speaker “wave field synthesis” audio array, one of the most extensive and precise systems of its kind in the world, and this week on February 16-18, EMPAC music curator Argeo Ascani and audio engineers Todd Vos and Jeff Svatek will present a series of demonstrations introducing audiences to this new immersive sound technology.

Introduction to Wave Field Synthesis will be offered in four sessions between Thursday-Saturday, with attendance limited to just 15 participants at each event. Please reserve your ticket in advance.

Wave field synthesis is a spatial audio rendering technique that places virtual sound sources in real space, creating a precise three-dimensional sound field that may be physically explored by the listener. This is accomplished by placing a very large number of very small speakers very close together. EMPAC’s new system is novel in that it can reach into a much higher frequency range than other such systems — the band of human hearing that is most sensitive to sound placement in space. EMPAC’s system is also unique in that it is modular in construction, allowing composers, musicians and aficionados different geometric configurations for the wave field.

Click to read the rest at Berkshire on Stage.