Sparta Ambisonics

[Rodulf]

Shout out to the updated SPARTA suite of plugins. Works very well with ReaSurround and O3A.

[Kewl]

http://research.spa.aalto.fi/projects/sparta_vsts/

[Kewl]

Big update today.

[Rodulf]

Just downloaded the latest...real nice.

[aswath]

Originally Posted by Rodulf

Shout out to the updated SPARTA suite of plugins. Works very well with ReaSurround and O3A.

Sparta Plugins themselves have a panner so how are you using reasurround with Sparta and o3a plugins?? ... Just curious!!!

[Rodulf]

Originally Posted by aswath

Sparta Plugins themselves have a panner so how are you using reasurround with Sparta and o3a plugins?? ... Just curious!!!

I was given the suggestion by someone on this forum to use SPARTA Binauralizer in conjunction with ReaSurround. I route the speaker outputs (I've done up to 20) from ReaSurround to SPARTA, setting SPARTA to 20 inputs and letting it convert it all to binaural.
The reason I use ReaSurround instead of SPARTA's panner is that I have a bigger workspace and control of diffusion. The Mighty Lucas re-designed his Luna SE theme to allow an expanded embedded Plugin GUI on the track and now I can expand the ReaSurround GUI to almost full screen.
This works great and now I do almost all of my mixing this way.

[aswath]

That is interesting... i too shall try and see how it works it... but then how would you render the file if you did not want it as binaural?? because from Reasuurround there is no way to render into ambisonics... or is there a way???

[jm duchenne]

If your outputs can be roughly placed along a sphere you can easily convert your ReaSurround outputs channels into ambisonics with IEM's MultiEncoder : just tell him what are the ideal positions of the speakers, set the order to the higher value you can afford to transmit if you don't want to loose too much spatial precision (minimum 3, better 5), and render its output :-)

[aswath]

Ok.. sounds interesting.. i will try it and see... maybe if i have any questions, will ask... or if i find something new, will tell !!

[Rodulf]

Originally Posted by jm duchenne

If your outputs can be roughly placed along a sphere you can easily convert your ReaSurround outputs channels into ambisonics with IEM's MultiEncoder : just tell him what are the ideal positions of the speakers, set the order to the higher value you can afford to transmit if you don't want to loose too much spatial precision (minimum 3, better 5), and render its output :-)

That about what I do with ReaSurround/SPARTA....I make the S{PARTA Binauralizer outputs reflect the ReaSurround outputs and it seems to work fine.

[dadada]

Very interesting. Since I am new to ambisonics how would I get reasurround output into the multi encoder?
I guess for 3OA I'd create a 36 channel track with reasurround on it to pan my source and then route that track's 36 channel output into another 36 CH track that has the multiencoder inserted? That channel would be my master out, right?

[Rodulf]

Originally Posted by dadada

Very interesting. Since I am new to ambisonics how would I get reasurround output into the multi encoder?
I guess for 3OA I'd create a 36 channel track with reasurround on it to pan my source and then route that track's 36 channel output into another 36 CH track that has the multiencoder inserted? That channel would be my master out, right?

SPARTA seems to work better at 64 channels.

I use the Binauralizer. Set at whatever channel count is coming from ReaSurround. I arrange the SPARTA outputs in the same configuration as ReaAurround.

I have an audio track with content going straight to RS, 10 tracks = to channels 1-10. From RS it all goes to SPARTA Binauralizer then to master track.
If you need I will try to post a template.

I've found that O3A doesn't really need SPARTA. Seems to work fine with it's own native decoder.

[mozart999uk]

Hadn't heard of sparta before. Looks very interesting!

Could I use it (or combine it with reasurround) to place virtual instruments in various places on a virtual recording sound stage in stereo?

[Kewl]

Originally Posted by mozart999uk

Could I use it (or combine it with reasurround) to place virtual instruments in various places on a virtual recording sound stage in stereo?

I would have said yes until "in stereo": ambisonics can of course be decoded to stereo, but it's a byzantine way to do it if you know that your production will end up *only* in stereo.

[mozart999uk]

Originally Posted by Kewl

I would have said yes until "in stereo": ambisonics can of course be decoded to stereo, but it's a byzantine way to do it if you know that your production will end up *only* in stereo.

Fair enough :-)

[Rodulf]

Originally Posted by mozart999uk

Hadn't heard of sparta before. Looks very interesting!

Could I use it (or combine it with reasurround) to place virtual instruments in various places on a virtual recording sound stage in stereo?

Did it work for you?

[mozart999uk]

Originally Posted by Rodulf

Did it work for you?

I didn't pursue it. After Kewl's comment it seemed like the wrong tool for the job :-)

[Kewl]

Updated to 1.5.1 and new website. https://leomccormack.github.io/sparta-site/

[sguyader]

I think I found a combination of plugins that suite me well for music mixing and rendering to binaural:
- IEM plugins for encoding/panning the track
- IEM plugins for signal treatment (reverb, EQ)
- Sparta plugin for binaural decoding

To me the Sparta binaural decoding plugin sounds the least colored.

[sguyader]

I also found that the Sparta ambiBIN decoder works well with DearVR Pro set to TOA ambiX format output (I really don't like the DearVR binaural output, which I find heavily coloured). The advantage of using DearVR Pro is the virtual acoustics, reflections and disatance effects.
So far, Sparta's binaural decoder sounds the best to me.

[heda]

not working in Manjaro ...
following this issue https://github.com/leomccormack/SPARTA/issues/42

[plush2]

Sparta just got updated to v1.5.2 including an implementation of a 6 degrees of freedom plugin. Just when I start feeling smart...

[jameslo]

Is ambiBIN's default HRIR set available in 44.1khz (perhaps as a SOFA file)? It looks like the author baked in the 48khz responses directly into his code saf_default-hrirs.c (part of his Spatial Audio Framework lib).

[plush2]

Originally Posted by jameslo

Is ambiBIN's default HRIR set available in 44.1khz (perhaps as a SOFA file)? It looks like the author baked in the 48khz responses directly into his code saf_default-hrirs.c (part of his Spatial Audio Framework lib).

It certainly seems to be. You can download other SOFA files at 44.1kHz and they will load in just fine. Does the author make it clear what the default HRIR set is?

[jameslo]

From saf-default-hrirs.c:

* This default HRIR set is a Genelec Aural ID of a KEMAR Dummy Head (@48kHz).
* Kindly provided by Aki Mäkivirta and Jaan Johansson

[plush2]

Originally Posted by jameslo

From saf-default-hrirs.c:

* This default HRIR set is a Genelec Aural ID of a KEMAR Dummy Head (@48kHz).
* Kindly provided by Aki Mäkivirta and Jaan Johansson

I have not been able to find any public server with that HRIR set on it. Maybe I'm searching for it wrong but it seems it is an in-house (and possibly proprietary) impulse for Genelec. I suppose if you could get an email or contact for either of those two you could ask if they can send you a 44.1kHz version of the SOFA file.

You are more likely to be redirected to the Aural ID site where you can pay 500 EUR for a version of it customized to your head.

[jameslo]

Originally Posted by plush2

I have not been able to find any public server with that HRIR set on it. Maybe I'm searching for it wrong but it seems it is an in-house (and possibly proprietary) impulse for Genelec. I suppose if you could get an email or contact for either of those two you could ask if they can send you a 44.1kHz version of the SOFA file.

You are more likely to be redirected to the Aural ID site where you can pay 500 EUR for a version of it customized to your head.

Thanks for looking, that was my conclusion too. I wrote the SPARTA author a while ago but got no reply. If you were mixing a 44.1khz project but wanted to use the ambiBIN decoder, how would you resolve the fs mismatch? Are there other SOFA HRIRs that you've used that seem to be effective for a wide audience?

[Kewl]

https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/marl/rese...s-repository-0

https://www.york.ac.uk/sadie-project/database.html

[sephirious]

yep sparta / compass ... these are this best that i can find

i especially like the compass binaural decoder.

hoping they make a 7th order version soon!

[sephirious]

Originally Posted by Kewl

https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/marl/rese...s-repository-0

https://www.york.ac.uk/sadie-project/database.html

.

[jameslo]

Originally Posted by Kewl

https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/marl/rese...s-repository-0

How does one use MARL-NYU format HRIRs with ambiBIN?

[plush2]

This suite has been updated again to 1.6.0.

Changes

• Added hades_renderer (thank you @jananifernandez)
• Added sparta_binauraliserNF plug-in (thank you @mtmccrea and @SebastianJiroSchlecht)
• Added sparta_6dofconv plug-in (thank you @rapolasd @nmkahlen and @thomas-mckenzie)
• Overhauled the Ambient rendering for the compass_binaural, compass_binauralVR, and compass_decoder plug-ins
• A number of bug fixes and optimisations

[mmmoth]

It would be nice to know why the previous sparta ui seems to crash reaper in linux.