Periphonic Synthesis: A New Challenge

Periphony brings a. new completeness of spatial definition to reproduced music.The addition of height information to an already impressive surround-sound capability in the horizontal plane enlarges and fulfils the task of accurate directional reproduction first undertaken by Alan Blumlein some fifty years ago.From its earliest beginnings the gramophone industry has led on a. promise of faithful representation of living music.With the arrival of periphony that pledge would appear to be redeemed.It is now going to be possible to reproduce a musical performance in the home (or indeed. in the family car) with precise recall of an original acoustic and disposition of players.Nevertheless, the impact of periphonic audio on the listener remains a matter of some conjecture.Perception of space is itself an act of synthesis.It has to be learned.It operates along conventional lines.It is reinforced by music-a1 example.Whether the periphonic experience is perceived as more realistic or