Sonosphere captures immersive nature sounds with the quietest rig on Earth posted: 01/08/2020
Everyone knows that having any type of excessive noise can be troublesome when doing field recording. This especially applies to nature recording when one wants to encounter and capture as much natural soundscape as possible. Henrik Oppermann, Creative Director at immersive content specialist Sonosphere, has been building up the company's already extensive immersive sound library by collecting everyday nature sounds in Hessen in his native Germany, using his new 3-D microphone rig.
Being in lockdown in the countryside offered me a great opportunity to start capturing natural sounds and extremely fragile soundscapes, he says. The rig I'm using is very low noise, which works perfectly for capturing detailed ambiences; something like a forest in the early morning or at night oozes with a multitude of sounds.
Oppermann's rig consists of four Sennheiser MKH 800 TWIN studio condenser microphones, which feature a very low inherent noise that prevents the masking of filigree sound structures. This, in turn, ensures the depth of the acoustic can be heard more clearly. The microphones are connected to a Sound Devices 888 portable mixer-recorder, which is the company's newest recorder with the lowest noise pre-amps to date. Windshields, another important element of the rig, are Baby Ball Gag Windshield by Rycote.
This type of set up works incredibly well for recording delicate ambiences without introducing any additional noise disruptions, Oppermann explains. I call it the quietest rig on Earth.
The microphone arrangement is loosely based on the ESMA (Equal Segment Microphone Array) technique developed by Hyunkook Lee. This multichannel microphone technique attempts to capture a sound field in a 360-degree sphere without any overlap between the stereophonic recording angle of each pair of adjacent microphones. This, together with the Sennheiser's AMBEO cube, a larger set-up consisting of nine MKH 800 microphones, were the inspiration behind Oppermann's rig.
Recording anything from black swift birds to bats and infrequent passing cars has been a new experience with this set up, continues Oppermann. In the current situation, as many of us are going at a much more decelerated pace, many finally have time to appreciate nature with a calm mind, which you have to have to notice all the miniscule sounds that a forest buzzes with.
This unusual microphone set up is perhaps not familiar to most field recordists. It comes with a higher price tag than a standard set up, but the quality of recordings speaks for itself.
They sound absolutely phenomenal, exclaims Oppermann. The externalisation effect and depth when you render to binaural or multi-channel speaker systems is just beautiful and has a particularly wide soundstage. The detail you can capture is stunning and that's what is so special about this rig - the purity of the sound is unprecedented.
Another advantage is the ability to break the microphone arrangement down to any format, from an A-B Stereo or QUAD recording, to using the microphones in omni, cardioid, or any other kind of polar pattern.
It took me a while to realize what you can do with it and how to post-produce immersive recordings, Oppermann says. You need quite a bit of knowledge about 3-D sound in general and how it functions. But once you have done your post work, what comes out the other end is awe inspiring.
Interestingly, the post-production process absolutely dictates the workflow on set. In order to know what Im capturing out there, I need to know how I will be treating it in post. You need to make yourself very familiar with all the tools that are available. Based on that, you can go outside and create 3-D recordings, says Oppermann.
Oppermann's technology of choice is Ambisonics, a full-sphere surround sound and channel-independent format. Using this format, it is possible for the sound sphere to decode the recording into stereo, 5.1, 9.1 or even 22.2 arrangements.
Like in any recording, being true to the sound source when capturing sounds in nature is the key. Setting up microphones carefully is vital, as everything needs to be precise.
One must always do research beforehand to see which particular recording technique will work for the specific situation, notes Oppermann. It's useful to ask yourself questions like What technique will deliver the most accurate sound?', What delivers the most cinematic audio experience?' and What is the middle ground of all these techniques?'.
Oppermann reveals that recording nature is a recent passion.
I've always been interested in field recording, he says. However, capturing nature sounds for the International Dawn Chorus Day earlier this year really made me feel like going back to the roots of recording. That experience also taught me to be silent. When you make a lot of noise in a forest, the wildlife is disturbed. If you stay completely still, within half an hour it will build up to nearly its full soundscape. That's magical.
Speaking of magic, Oppermann offers a final word of advice on how to capture nature's wondrous sounds and translate them into real-life immersive listening experiences.
Do as much research as possible and try to get your hands on an ambisonic microphone, or any kind of microphone rig that you can build yourself, he concludes. It's always a good idea to experiment as much as possible with different recording techniques so you are fully immersed in this world and are familiar with spatial sound. The rest will follow.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
15/05/2026
Daniel Roher attends the Tuner Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Theatre on January 22, 2026 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Neilson Bar...
Sonosphere captures immersive nature sounds with the quietest rig on Earth posted: 01/08/2020 
