Music

What is 8D music?

A quick overview of how it creates a unique listening experience.

Aurélie Giraud
4 min readApr 1, 2020

8D music sounds like we are talking about a new kind of audio technology coming straight from the future. In reality, this technology along with ambisonics existed since the ’70s, but never really took off.

But all of a sudden, a message promoting the new music of the Pentatonix composed with 8D technology got viral on WhatsApp. Maybe you already received it from some friends, if not yet, don’t worry it will come:

The viral message on Whatsapp promoting both 8D music and Pentatonix sounds.
Source: Author

Why now?

  • Maybe because the technology used to simulate the sensory experience is getting much better now.
  • Or perhaps because now that we are almost all lockdown at home we desperately need some entertainment to tackle down boredness.

But first things first….

What is 8D Technology Audio?

Let’s set it clear, there is no 8th dimension (at least not when it comes to audio production). The term 8D refers to the effect producers and audio engineers are using in the post-production process. It’s actually a special case of editing a stereo track with a special reverb that makes it sound like the audio is moving around your head. True audio engineers will most likely refer to 8D music as spatial sound or 3D audio.

The illusion only works when you’re wearing headphones.

You can hear this effect strongly in the viral “Virtual Barbershop,” where a barber moves shears and clippers around your head. Watch out for your ears!

How does it work?

As it’s a post-production effect, the recording process is identical to any in the…

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Aurélie Giraud

Analytics • Data Visualization • Storytelling • Data Quality • PowerBi • Blog Writer • Mentor | https://www.linkedin.com/in/aureliegiraud9000/