What is media player WOW effect? How's it work?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.opinion,rec.audio.tech (More info?)

On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 16:01:18 -0600, Jim Kroger <jimkk@umich.edu>
wrote:

>Does anybody know how the Windows Media Player's WOW effect works? I
>use Monsoon flat panel (ribbon) speakers with my computer, they have
>pretty good imaging. When I turn on the WOW effect, the effect is no
>less than amazing. Though my speakers sit about 2 feet apart, suddenly
>I hear things coming from a soundstage at least three times as wide
>(and taller).
>
>How do they do this?
>
>Thanks for any hints,
>Jim

WOW is based on Hughes SRS technology:

http://www.avahifi.com/root/audio_ [...] -05-06.pdf

From the paper:

"Ears and microphones do not respond to sound in the same manner and
the Sound Retrieval System corrects come of these differences so that
the end result is closer to reality...
1. Our hearing varies with azimuth (the angle between the sound source
and our ears) due to the complex shape of the outer ear (the Pinna),
2. The ear canal is resonant at approximately 2.5 kHz,
3. Our hearing response to in-phase sounds is very different from 180
degrees out of phase sounds,
4. It is difficult to determine the direction of sounds having wave
lengths close to the ear to ear distance (1.3 to 1.5 kHz).

ff123

Archived from groups: rec.audio.opinion,rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Sander deWaal <nononsense@citroen.demon.ln> wrote in
news:fklqe0h108kes2i47bq2s1pr091v4tcrhq@4ax.com:

> Jim Kroger <jimkk@umich.edu> said:
>
>>Does anybody know how the Windows Media Player's WOW effect works? I
>>use Monsoon flat panel (ribbon) speakers with my computer, they have
>>pretty good imaging. When I turn on the WOW effect, the effect is no
>>less than amazing. Though my speakers sit about 2 feet apart, suddenly
>>I hear things coming from a soundstage at least three times as wide
>>(and taller).
>>
>>How do they do this?
>
> Probably cross-talk out of phase in a certain frequency range.
>

I listened to the "WOW" effect here and as near as I can tell they detect
the out of phase information, raise its level and eq it a bit.

I haven't decided if I like the effect or not.

The demo version of the SRS plugin for WMP has adjustments for height.

r


--
Nothing beats the bandwidth of a station wagon filled with DLT tapes.