Path of Miracles - SURROUND

Surround Left and Right (DPA 4006)

Surround Left and Surround Right microphones were placed 2.5 meters behind the main Decca Tree system and another 0.5m higher in elevation. Much like the movies, audio information from surround capture points provides mostly ambience, while the main action happens in the front of the space. In the stereo recording, these sources were mixed into the left and the right as room reverb, but in the multichannel reproduction, these channels provide a sense of acoustic space that extends behind the listener, mimicking the feeling of the church's long, rectangular shape. The DPA 4006 microphone is a small-diaphragm condensor with an exceptionally flat frequency response. Originally developed by B&K as a measurement microphone, the 4006's omnidirectional pickup pattern stems from its fixed pressure capsule. Omnidirectional microphones are more sensitive to low frequencies than directional microphones, making them the most complete single-point capsule. Not only is the DPA 4006 favoured by classical engineers on Earth, NASA's Perseverance rover was equipped with a 4006 on its 2020 mission, making it the favoruite microphone on Mars.

Download the uncompressed audio excerpt here, or stream the mp3 below.