Maurice Brings Immersive Audio Recording to the MassesImmersive audio is the new hotness in the recording world. Once upon a time, mono was good enough. Then someone realized humans have two ears, and everyone wanted stereo. For most of us, that’s where it stopped, but audio connoisseurs kept going into increasingly baroque surround-sound setups — ending in Immersive Audio, audio that is meant to fully reproduce the three-dimensional soundscape of the world around us. [DJJules] is one of those audio connoisseurs, and to share the joy of immersive audio recording with the rest of us, he’s developed Maurice, a compact, low-cost immersive microphone.
Maurice is technically speaking, a symmetrical ORTF3D microphone array. OTRF is not a descriptive acronym; it stands for Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française, the fine people who developed this type of microphone for stereo use. The typical stereo ORTF setup requires two cardioid microphones and angles them 110 degrees apart at a distance of 17 cm. Maurice arrays four such pairs, all oriented vertically and facing 90 degrees from one another for fully immersive, 8-channel sound. All of those microphones are thus arrayed to capture sound omnidirectionally, and give good separation between the channels for later reproduction. The mountings are all 3D printed, and [DJJules] kindly provides STLs.
This is the speaker setup you need to get full use of Maurice’s recordings. Now let’s see Paul Allen’s speakers.
Recording eight audio channels simultaneously is not trivial for the uninitiated, but fortunately, [DJJules] includes a how-to in his post. We particularly like his tip to use resistor color coding to identify the DIN cables for different microphone channels. Playback, too, requires special setup and processing. [DJJules] talks about listening on his 7.1.4 stereo setup, which you can find in a companion post. That’s a lot of speakers, as you might imagine.
There are high-end headphones that claim to reproduce an immersive sound field as well, but we can’t help but wonder if you’d miss the “true” experience without head tracking. Even with regular department-store headphones, the demo recordings linked via the Instructable sound great, but that probably just reflects the quality of the individual microphones.
Audio can be a make-or-break addition to VR experiences, so that would seem to be an ideal use case for this sort of technology. Maurice isn’t the only way to get there; we previously focused on [DJJules]’s ambisonic microphone, which is another way to reproduce a soundscape. What do you think, is this “immersive audio” the new frontier of Hi-Fi, or do we call it a stereo for a reason? Discuss in the comments!

Revealed Recordings Revealed Serum 2 Big Room Techno Drops Vol. 1Revealed Serum 2 Big Room Techno Drops Vol. 1 is a collection of 64 festival-powered presets, designed to deliver maximum energy and impact into your drops. Organized into 3 main categories: Acid (2), Leads (48), and Synths (14), this pack equips you with the freshest Big Room Techno sounds on the market. From blistering acid to explosive drop leads and gritty stabs & screeches, these presets are crafted to deliver high impact and cut through the mix with precision and power. Among every preset having modwheel assignments, each preset is assigned all eight macro controls, providing quick modulation options to customize and evolve your riffs. With Serum 2 Big Room Techno Drops Vol. 1, you'll have an arsenal of source sounds to create tracks built for the mainstage. Reveal Yourself. Revealed Serum 2 Big Room Techno Drops Vol. 1 - Details 3 Main Preset Categories: ACID (2) LEAD (48) SYNTH (14). Total: 64 presets. Read More

VSL introduce Synchron Prime Sections VSL's entry-level offering has just been renamed to Synchron Prime Orchestra, and is now available to purchase in six individual sections as well as a complete bundle. 

Why is an Amazon-backed AI startup making Orson Welles fan fiction?This is a bad idea.

Phishing scams cost users over $12M in August — Here's how to stay safePhishing scams continue to impact crypto and Web3 users, prompting the need for vigilance and personal online safety countermeasures.

No Plans for the Weekend? Learn Raytracing!Weekends can be busy for a lot of us, but sometimes you have one gloriously free and full of possibilities. If that’s you, you might consider taking a gander at [Peter Shirley]’s e-book “Learning Raytracing in One Weekend”.
This gradient is the first image that the book talks you through producing. It ends with the spheres.
This is very much a zero-to-hero kind of class: it starts out defining the PPM image format, which is easy to create and manipulate using nearly any language. The book uses C++, but as [Peter] points out in the introduction, you don’t have to follow along in that language; there won’t be anything unique to C++ you couldn’t implement in your language of choice.
There are many types of ray tracers. Technically, what you should end up with after the weekend ends is a path tracer. You won’t be replacing the Blender Cycles renderer with your weekend’s work, but you get some nice images and a place to build from. [Peter] manages to cram a lot of topics into a weekend, including diffuse materials, metals, dialectrics, diffraction, and camera classes with simple lens effects.
If you find yourself with slightly more time, [Peter] has you covered. He’s also released books on “Raytracing: The Next Week.” If you have a lot more time, then check out his third book, “Raytracing: The Rest of Your Life.”
This weekend e-book shows that ray-tracing doesn’t have to be the darkest of occult sciences; it doesn’t need oodles of hardware, either. Even an Arduino can do it..

Karanyi Sounds Vapor Dimension modulation plugin is FREE for a limited time
Karanyi Sounds offers the Vapor Dimension ($39) modulation plugin for free when you sign up for their newsletter. This offer is available for a limited time Originally developed as an in-house effect for their Vapor Keys and Lofi Keys instruments, Vapor Dimension was later released as a fully standalone plugin designed to add movement, color, [...]
View post: Karanyi Sounds Vapor Dimension modulation plugin is FREE for a limited time

Larry Taylor MIDIThruMIDIThru is a simple MIDI processor audio unit that will pass through all MIDI traffic except system messages (system exclusive, sequencer start, MIDI clock, active sensing, etc.) unchanged. Read More

Remaincalm releases Gloss, a FREE 70s-inspired enhancer plugin
Remaincalm releases Gloss, a FREE “tiny enhancer” plugin for macOS and Windows. Gloss is a simple plugin that adds sheen, space, and texture to any sound. It works particularly well on keys (such as synths and electric pianos), but it’s also a handy way to enhance guitars or vocals. If you need a new synth [...]
View post: Remaincalm releases Gloss, a FREE 70s-inspired enhancer plugin

Universal Audio upgrade Shadow Hills & Maag plug-ins The latest arrival to Universal Audio’s UAD line-up delivers new and improved versions of two of their popular plug-ins.

Banking giants now forecast at least two interest rate cuts in 2025Interest rate cuts are a bullish catalyst for crypto prices, as investors increase their risk appetite during times of credit expansion.

Screw the money — Anthropic’s $1.5B copyright settlement sucks for writersWriters aren't getting this settlement because their work was fed to an AI -- this is just a costly slap on the wrist for Anthropic because it illegally downloaded books instead of buying them.

Dialing It In: A 3D-Printed Knob with Touchscreen FlairKnobs are ubiquitous in technology user interfaces, but touchscreens are increasingly replacing them for interface controls. The latest project from [upir] combines a rotating knob with a touchscreen for a stunning result. The knob-over-display design features a touchscreen where you can place and remove a spinning knob, creating an interface reminiscent of Microsoft’s Surface Dial but at a fraction of the cost.
The core functionality of this device relies on the MT6701 magnetic encoder, which precisely tracks the orientation of the surrounding magnetic field. This encoder is held in place with a 3D-printed jig behind the small touchscreen, hiding the encoder without blocking the magnetic field generated by the magnet above the display. Most circular magnets are axially magnetized, meaning their larger face is one pole. However, diametrically magnetized magnets, where opposite sides of the smaller face are the poles, are used here.
To avoid scratching the screen and ensure smooth turning, [upir] designed a knob that holds the diametrically magnetized magnet slightly above the screen, with a ball bearing connecting the outside of the knob to the center resting on the screen. All the design files needed to recreate this are available on [upir]’s GitHub page; be sure to check them out. Also, browse through our back catalog for other knob-related projects.

Tay Keith Named BMI Songwriter of the Year at 2025 AwardsMemphis native Tay Keith has built a career on hits that define the sound of today’s hip-hop. Now, he’s earned one of the industry’s top honors. At the 2025 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, the GRAMMY-nominated, multi-platinum producer received the Songwriter of the Year award.A statement from the company discloses that the recognition comes from his work on chart-dominating singles including Drake’s "First Person Shooter," Sexyy Red’s "Get It Sexyy," and Travis Scott’s "Meltdown."The honor is the latest in a growing list of milestones for Keith. A statement from the company states that he has previously been named Complex’s “Top Rap Producer in Their Twenties” and ranked No. 12 on Billboard’s list of Top Producers of the 21st Century R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart. Recently, he also celebrated his fifth Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with Travis Scott’s “4×4,” making him one of only four hip-hop producers to achieve that distinction.Beyond the charts, Keith is pushing boundaries in other areas of music. A statement from the company discloses that he founded DRUMATIZED, the first record label created to bridge country and hip-hop, and established Nashville’s second Black-owned recording studio. His commitment also extends to philanthropy through efforts like the Music For Healing Initiative with the American Cancer Society and the My Memphis Poetry Challenge, designed to inspire the next generation of creatives.Keith first rose to prominence in his hometown, producing for Memphis artists such as Yo Gotti, Moneybagg Yo, and Blac Youngsta before breaking out with BlocBoy JB and Drake’s "Look Alive." He has since collaborated with Drake on multiple tracks, with the biggest being "SICKO MODE"—a multi-platinum hit that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a GRAMMY nomination.With this new recognition from BMI, Tay Keith’s role as both a hitmaker and an architect of hip-hop’s future is firmly established.The post Tay Keith Named BMI Songwriter of the Year at 2025 Awards first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

From JYP’s AI artist venture to UMG’s Downtown deal inquiry pause… it’s MBW’s weekly round-upThe biggest headlines from the past few days – all in one place
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