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Thomson Brandt of Villingham in Germany is patenting what they hope is a more
realistic approach to stereo and surround sound (W0 98/20706). When real sounds
come in through an open window, we can distinguish a car horn from a street
musician, because their sounds take different routes to the ear. Thomson Brandt
want to develop loudspeakers which behave like “acoustic windows” into a room.
When a recording is made, the sound from each instrument is processed by varying
its level depending on its distance from the microphone. When replayed these
levels are recreated producing a more realistic sound claims Thomson.

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