This article is not meant to be a tutorial, but a short review of what the combination of Audacity and Ambeo Orbit can offer to make 8D sound. Before reading it I think it is essential that you read the previous entry What is 8D audio? Origin, examples of 8D and the technology to create it. In it I tell you essential concepts of 8D sound. Although it would be more correct to call it 3D sound or binaural sound. I also give an introduction to the ways to create it, among others, the one I propose to you today. The best of all is its price: zero dollars.
The best way to obtain binaural sound is through a binaural microphone that imitates the structure of the human body. But maybe you want to start right now quickly and at zero cost. So the alternative of using software is valid, although it doesn’t provide the same quality. If you’ve already worked with Audacity you’ll get most of the work done, because Ambeo Orbit is simply a very easy to use plugin.
Here are two examples of 8D classical music I have made. With them you will get an idea of the limitations of the combination of these two programs:
As you can hear the surround effect in the horizontal plane is noticeable, but that the sound comes from above or below is almost more an intuition than a real perception.
I’ve had some problems in Windows 10, and I’ve seen that in the end the best option is to work with the live sound as it’s playing. A user on twitter asked us how to solve the difficulties he was having and this was our answer, which you might find useful:
The way Ambeo Orbit has worked best for us is by applying the effects live. This also allows the sound source to be moved gradually. Loads a stereo audio in Audacity. Select the audio on both tracks by clicking and dragging.
Select Effects/Ambeo Orbit. Disable the Reflections option. Press the record button to save the 8D audio and then play the selected audio. When the audio sounds you will be able to move the audio source in any direction and at the same time you hear it a new track will be created in which it will be recorded.
Conclusion
The combination of Audacity and Ambeo Orbit to record 8D sound is far from achieving a quality comparable to that of binaural microphones. However, due to the speed of installation, ease of use and zero cost, it is a good way to approach binaural sound.