ABSTRACT
This chapter presents general ideas about the sound field approach and its development, starting from coincident stereo microphone recording techniques introduced by A. D. Blumlein to Ambisonics and High Order Ambisonics (HOA). It then discusses capture methods, recording formats and reproduction of sound fields. The chapter was dedicated to sound field, which means that the main concern was the reproduction of an acoustic wave over an extended listening area. Three main questions were investigated: how to record, how to represent and how to reproduce a sound field. After an overview of the general concepts, these investigations were illustrated in the specific case of High Order Ambisonics (HOA) technology (microphones, format, encoding, decoding matrix, loudspeaker setup). Sound field recording techniques lead to a full and accurate representation of sound waves. Sound field properties are linked to all of the acoustic phenomena encountered by the sound wave from its point of origin to its point of observation.
