8D audio! I have been stumbling upon this term over youtube & have laughed out ever since. I believed, it was one of the clickbait techniques to make people click on the videos & then dish them out a slightly enhanced version of the song. Come to think of it, all these videos recommend that one listens to the audio with headphones. Our headphones, the most regular ones have two sound channels – the right and the left. Then just wonder how would these 8D audio sounds would be effective? Nor there is equipment (as far as I know) which can record sound in 8D. This sounded more like a marketing gimmick to me at first. Wait, there is even 10D and 20D but I am not even going into them. 8D is the rage. It has been for quite a while. If you have been a youtuber, you would have definitely came across these 8D sound tracks. Last night, out of curiosity (& perhaps little bit of irritation at seeing these on my timeline) I decided to play an 8D audio on youtube. The experience left me with quite a lot to ponder!

Before we head into details, 8D audio is nothing but normal stereo soundtrack put through a software which creates an illusion of it being coming from all around you. It is similar to those bathroom/room sound effect preset which you find in your sound card’s panel.  I plugged in my ant earphones & loaded one 8D sound track. It felt like the sound was circling around in my head. Some tracks even recommend closing your eyes. I did just that and the effect was even more immersive. It felt as if the singer was right in front of me hovering around as I stood. I was left stunned & surprised at the sheer ingenious behind this audio technique . A little echo and panning of sound via left-right channels could have such a beautiful experience. Ofcourse, not all sound tracks sounded good in 8D. Some I felt are best in their original stereo format.

After a while, I got the drift. The sound just panned from left to right(or vice-versa) at pre-determined intervals. The novelty began to wear off. I began to wonder, couldn’t those who are creating these 8D soundtracks not be so monotonous and shift the sound as per the audio’s demand? Common, how difficult it would be. Perhaps further manual work than the computer’s auto-pilot. And if you ask me, manual work which is done with utmost consideration is any day better than just applying a computer preset. I listened on and finally managed to find some where the sound looped but without any intimation or at a set interval. They sounded so rich and I was totally immersed into it. Keeping eyes closed further enhances the experience as one is not distracted by other stimuli. I went further and listened to nature sounds in 8D like thunderstorm, birds chirping and so on. They felt so natural. Ofcourse, on youtube there are countless of creators offering 8D audio soundtracks however not all of them are worth a listen. Not all songs are suited for 8D effect. Some are best left & listened in their original avatar.

My final verdict would be, 8D is definitely not a gimmick. It works & well at that. However, you need to keep aside your pre-conceived aural notions. As far as I believe, 8D audio can be more used in audio therapy. It can also be applied for meditation. 8D audio is still a niche market but sure holds the promise of a bright future with refinements. For now, let’s be happy in immersing our senses into the few good 8D soundtracks on youtube. What do you think about 8D audio? Like it or absolutely despise it, pour you thoughts in comments.