Near-Field Effects
When sources are far away from the listener, the binaural cues (i.e. the interaural time- and level differences) are almost independent of the source distance. However, when sources are close to the listener, the binaural cues are strongly dependent on the source distance. This is the reason why very close sources, such as the sound of a voice whispering in our ear, sound very distinct and evoke a special feeling of intimacy. More precisely, the lower frequencies of close sources are amplified, the interaural level differences are increased, and the sound color for each individual ear changes due to the parallax effect.
The atmokySpatializer plugin mimicks these effects in order to make the spatialized sound sources more realistic. The following parameters control the impact of the near-field effect:
- Start Distance: defines the distance at which the near-field effects start to to kick in.
- Gain: defines the maximum broadband gain in dB that is applied
- Bass Boost: defines the maximum gain in dB that is additionally applied to the low frequencies (< 500Hz)
Note that with the nearfield effects enabled, sounds near the listener will be boosted by the dialed in amount and can become prone to clipping. Please consider adjusting the overall volume or prevent loud sounds by adding a compressor/limiter after the renderer.