Faulkner Phased-Array System

 
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Notes and review of Tony Faulkner's
'Phased Array' microphone system

As a main microphone setup the Faulkner Array belongs with the spaced array
stereophonic recording systems, where only the time of arrival difference is involved in
the distribution of phantom sources across the loudspeaker base-line.

Two figure-of-eight microphones, parallel to each other and spaced 20 cm or 7.87
inches apart, are used. However this is not like a modified ORTF because level
difference plays no part. There is no microphone angled outwards.

What worries me is that I find it hard to imagine how the full stereo stage from left
loudspeaker to right loudspeaker can ever be filled using this microphone array.
With the Faulkner Array only the time of arrival differences can have an effect, given
the narrow microphone base-line of 20 cm (8 inches), since level differences with
bidirectional microphones will be, at best, marginal. Lateral (from the side) sound
sources are always strongly attenuated by the characteristic figure-of-eight pattern.

The following sketch shows the microphone setup in front of an orchestra.

review 1

In this case, at most, only half the loudspeaker stage width will be filled.

review 2

Even with this large orchestra range (±90° = 180°) the maximum stereo width of direct
sound can only ever be half the loudspeaker stage width.

That is strange. The time of arrival difference, Δ t, is 0.58 ms (milliseconds) at most,
and the level difference is below Δ L = 1 dB. There must be a strong center signal.

If you have any thoughts on this, mail me please:

eberhard@sengpielaudio.com

Scott Astill from Australia has tried the Faulkner phased array,
and he does not get results quite as good as the originator.

More references to Tony Faulkner's Phased Array microphone system:
(The pdf files are readable with Adobe Acrobat Version 6 and later)

Tony Faulkner Phased Array 1 - Introduction

Here you get the original 3-pages article in English from
Hi-Fi & Record Review, July 1981:

Tony Faulkner Phased Array 2 - article page 1
Tony Faulkner Phased Array 3 - article page 2
Tony Faulkner Phased Array 4 - article page 3

StereoEight

Visualization of Microphone Systems - Faulkner's Phased Array

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