Ambisonics decoding to stereo is now completely symmetrical, means what exactly?

Question

In the changelog for 2019.2.0 it sais;
"WG-47232 Native ambisonics decoding to stereo is now completely symmetrical regardless of whether sounds come from the front or the back. Previously, sounds coming exclusively from the back were silenced.".

Does this mean that sounds positioned behind you will always play as loud as sounds in front of you? If that is the case, how will you be able to differentiate what is up and down in the 3d space anymore, or get a feel for what's behind you and not? I hope I got this completely wrong, otherwise I would very much like to have the option to choose between this new ambisonics decoding and the old one.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hi Johan,

You understood correctly. The former implementation was not ideal because sounds coming directly from the back were completely silent.

For front-back differentiation in headphones, the preferred solution is to use a binaural decoder such as Google Resonance or Auro HP. Independently, whether you use a binaural decoder or rely on built-in decoding to stereo, you may use the Listener Cone built-in game parameter and map to volume in any way you like. You can even replicate the former behavior.

Hope this helps