This selection bar gives a direct link to

3 Ch (FSSC). - 3 Channel (Front Sound Stage Coverage)
4 Ch (FSSC). - 4 Channel (Front Sound Stage Coverage)
4 Ch (SRND) - 4 Channel (Surround Sound Coverage)
5 Ch (FSSC). - 5 Channel (Front Sound Stage Coverage)
5 Ch (SRND) - 5 Channel (Surround Sound Coverage)
6 Ch (SRND) - 6 Channel (Surround Sound Coverage)
7 Ch (SRND) - 7 Channel (Surround Sound Coverage)

The Cyan colouring of a selection box indicates your present selection of the number of channels and the array coverage.
The FC angle values coloured in black are not yet available - all other values that have links are of course underlined.

3Ch (FSSC) - 3 Channel (Front Sound Stage Coverage) :

Microphone arrays using three microphones to cover the front sound stage. These arrays can be used as a main microphone array system for multichannel sound recording using the left, centre and right channels. First reflections and reverberation can be electronically generated, or with a second array normally placed in the reverberant field. This array system can also be used in a three-channel / three-loudspeaker reproduction system as an improvement on 2 channel stereophonic reproduction.

This chapter is not yet available, however for initial experimentaion with three channel microphone arrays, the Front Triplet configuration from a 5 channel array plan may be used simply be eliminating the Back Pair of microphones. Obviously the Front Triplet set of microphones has been chosen as part of a 5 channel system, and therefore only those arrays that can be "Critically Linked" to the Back Pair are shown. However Critical Linking in the centre of the Front Triplet is always achieved (by Microphone Position Offset) so no electronic offset is required.

4 Ch (FSSC) - 4 Channel (Front Sound Stage Coverage) :

Microphone arrays using four microphones to cover the front sound stage. The center channel of the multichannel configuration is not used, and Critical Linking between the Lateral Segment Coverageand the rear or Back Segment Coverage is not taken into account.

Only ROOT arrays are shown for the time being, where the angle between each microphone pair corresponds to the corresponding segment coverage angle.

This array recording system is particularly useful as a compatable stereo / multichannel recording. The four channels L,R, Ls and Rs are used for multichannel reproduction, whereas stereo reproduction is possible using either the front facing pair or by using a twisted quad mix i.e. the Ls microphone is mixed into the right hand stereo channel, and inversely the Rs microphone is mixed into the left front stereo channel.

4 Ch (SRND) - 4 Channel (Surround Sound Coverage) :

Microphone arrays using four microphones to cover the complete surround sound field. Reproduction can be either the quadraphonic loudspeaker configuration or the L, R, Ls and Rs of the multichannel loudspeaker configuration.

5 Ch (FSSC) - 5 Channel (Front Sound Stage Coverage) :

Arrays using 5 microphones to cover only the front sound stage - Critical Linking between the Lateral Segment Coverage and the rear or Back Segment Coverage is not taken into account.

Only ROOT arrays are shown for the time being, where the angle between each microphone pair corresponds to the corresponding segment coverage angle.

In cases where surround sound array recording is not possible, two array systems may be used, one 5 Ch FSSC array to cover the main sound source, and a second array to pick up reverberation. The 5 Ch FSSC main array is to be prefered to the 3 Ch FSSC main array due to much improved recording of the first group of reflections in the Lateral Segments. This use of a main array system and a reverb array also allows a balance to be achived between the direct and reverberant sound without recourse to changing the position of the main array, as would be the case if only a single main surround sound array were used. This two array recording technique is to be prefered in the presence of unfavourable acoustics, when the reverbaration array can usually be replaced with electronically generated reverberation.

5 Ch (SRND) - 5 Channel (Surround Sound Coverage) :

Microphones arrays using 5 microphones to cover the complete surround sound field. Segment Steering is applied, where needed to achieve Critical Linking, using both Microphone Position Offset and Electronic Offset. For the time time being no selected arrays are shown for Natural and Root array designs.