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New ‘ACOUSTICS.NET’ Web Site Lets Users Download, Share Convolution Reverb Samples
Press Release
2004-11-05

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Waves Audio Ltd., the leading provider of digital audio processing solutions for a comprehensive range of professional audio applications, today announced the launch of www.acoustics.net, an online library of Impulse Response (IR) samples to be used with the company’s convolution reverb software plug-ins. The web site is the first produced by Sound.org, an independent publisher of academic and popular books, videos, and new media about sound and music, which was recently established by Waves.

The latest in reverberation technology, the convolution reverb process captures the actual acoustic properties of a venue, such as an opera house, and then allows users to apply the venue’s reverberation to an audio signal, such as the recording of a vocalist. The result sounds as if the vocalist was recorded in the opera house. Unlike other convolution reverb products, Waves IR Series allows users to modify the sound using traditional reverb controls, which offers great control over the size and sound of the virtual venue.

The new web site, www.acoustics.net, features an online library of downloadable IR samples captured at such desirable venues as the Sydney Opera House, Santa Cecilia Concert Hall in Rome, the Birdland night club in Manhattan, the Todd-AO soundstage in Los Angeles, and many others. These samples were recorded using the most advanced techniques available, and benefited from Waves’ consultation with Professor Angelo Farina of the University of Parma, Italy. In addition, users can upload, download and exchange IRs they have created using the new capture feature in Waves’ IR products.

The site will also provide access to scientific papers and other information on convolution technology and will act as a repository for the captured impulse responses of historic and important acoustic environments, preserving them for posterity as originally proposed by the late audio pioneer Michael Gerzon. Gerzon, who helped develop many of the technologies used in Waves products, made his proposal at an AES forum almost 30 years ago. Waves will publish a biography of Gerzon in 2006 to mark the tenth anniversary of his death.

The site is divided into several sections. In the Waves IR-1 section, you can download evaluation versions and purchase authorizations for the IR series of reverberation products, with links to the entire Waves line of audio tools. The Science section includes biographies of Dr. Farina and Michael Gerzon, whose legacy is now being taken further by Acoustics.net’s mission of preserving acoustics for posterity. Visitors will find, published in full, Gerzon’s visionary AES white paper on the subject from September 1975. This seminal paper details Gerzon’s concept for the historical and technical significance of achieving accurate acoustic samples, which Waves has now made a reality using today’s state-of-the-art equipment and techniques. An extensive library of white papers on the science and technology of surround soundfield capture and reproduction is also available, including such systems as Ambisonics and Ambiophony, along with acoustic measurement techniques and other background material.

The IR Library section of the site allows visitors to browse a directory of available impulse response files, find an IR according to specific parameters, and learn more from the Waves team about the art of capturing impulse responses. The What’s New section links to new and updated IRs in the Library, as well as dates and locations for the Waves venue sampling tour. In the Community section users can meet the Waves venue sampling team, join the discussion forums, get tips on capturing an impulse response, and contribute their own impulse responses. Finally, a Contact section accesses FAQ, Download, Tech Support and sales or general contact information.