Rethinking Immersive Recording: Compact, DIY-Friendly MS and ORTF3D Arrays

Ryckebusch J. Rethinking Immersive Recording: Compact, DIY-Friendly MS and ORTF3D Arrays. In: Express Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2025. Paper 356. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23030

@inproceedings{Ryckebusch2025_23030,
  author = {Ryckebusch, Jules},
  title = {{Rethinking Immersive Recording: Compact, DIY-Friendly MS and ORTF3D Arrays}},
  note = {Paper 356},
  year = {2025},
  month = oct,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23030}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Rethinking Immersive Recording: Compact, DIY-Friendly MS and ORTF3D Arrays
AU  - Ryckebusch, Jules
M1  - Paper 356
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/10/14
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23030
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Symmetrical ORTF3D is an immersive microphone technique that utilizes eight cardioid microphones arranged within a 17 cm cube. Capsules face forward and backward at 45, with additional pairs angled 55 vertically. This compact array offers spatial realism without the complexity of larger non-coincident arrays traditionally used in immersive capture. Mid-Side (MS) microphones are another well-established stereo recording method, valued for their mono compatibility and adjustable stereo width in post-production. Rotating the side capsules enables height capture, and deploying multiple MS microphones in strategic positions supports the construction of flexible, immersive microphone arrays. This paper provides a concise overview of current immersive recording techniques, including coincident ambisonic microphones and non-coincident arrays. It introduces a compact, single-body MS microphone design built from off-the-shelf components, facilitating the deployment of multiple units. Specific immersive configurationsQuad MS and Penta MSare presented, along with decoding strategies compatible with common Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) to allow spatial flexibility in post. Finally, the paper explores the Symmetrical ORTF3D array as a DIY-friendly alternative, highlighting a simple 3D-printed housing that enables accessible construction and precise capsule placement. Both MS and ORTF3D approaches offer compact, scalable solutions for immersive audio capturecontrasting with the complexity and scale of traditional large-format arrays.
ER  -