1 Pair of Headphones, 2 Ears, 8 Dimensions?!

Hey Guys,

Our favorite music transports us to new worlds. Away from the humdrum of Planet Earth, on Planet Music there are no work deadlines, no pandemics, and everyone is happy. It’s just a shame we ever have to come home.

Perhaps it would be unrealistic to stay on Planet Music forever, but what if there was a way to make the journey even more immersive and memorable? Of course, any Soundcore headphones or speakers will do that for you (shameless plug :innocent: ), but is it possible to transform the music itself?

Typically, music is engineered for listening in stereo, i.e. with a left and right channel. Producers will select certain sounds (or instruments) to feed through a specific side to make the audio feel more spacious and realistic as if you’re watching a performance on a stage. Recently, there has been a trend to take advantage of this stereo separation to create 8D tracks. 8D?! What happened to all the ‘D’s in between?!

8D songs are specially engineered to gently phase the entire sound from the left to the right channel and back again. The resulting effect is an experience in which the music appears to circle around your head. Yeeah, maybe it’s better for you to just listen to one. Remember, the effect only works with headphones. So get your Liberty 2 Pro, sit back, close your eyes, and give yourself a couple of minutes to enjoy.

The Weeknd - Blinding Lights (8D)

Depending on the type of music, the effect may offer a totally different experience. For slower vocal-led tracks it tends to add a dreamlike quality; for more powerful songs it

can add further layers of intensity.

Here are a few more songs presented in 8D which I think do a great job of showing just how powerful it can be:

  1. Juice Wrld

Thanks to its bass-heavy kick drum, Juice Wrld’s Lucid Dreams is the perfect illustration of just how much raw feeling 8D can add to a song.

  1. Billie Eilish

For a gentler track, like Eilish’s Ocean Eyes, the dreamlike swells are taken to even higher plains. This track also gives an eerie sense of the sound circling your head.

  1. Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons’ iconic vocal range seems to extend to new limits when presented in 8D. It sounds like a dark and emotionally intense performance recorded in a cavernous venue.

  1. Marshmello

Even the sweet beats of Marshmello can be heard in a new light when played in 8D.

  1. Eminem

Finally, mum’s spaghetti can actually be tasted through your headphones! All thanks to 8D. OK, perhaps it isn’t that mindblowing, but it definitely adds a new dimension (or 6) to Eminem’s classic Lose Yourself.

What do you guys think? Annoying gimmick or musical revelation? Let us know in the comments below. Feel free to share any other tracks that work well in 8D as well!

5 Likes

Not such new.
Can be “remastered” by software. :smile:

“Old song” -> New technique! :rofl:

3 Likes

It’s definitely a cool effect!
Challenge: Try to get through an entire 8D song without looking over your shoulder. :rofl:

3 Likes

I like it. I have tried it on a few of the tws earbuds but feel the liberty 2 pro are the best.

I have to say that I was listening to the Liberty 2 Pros with a movie. The movie had a clock tick tock during a quiet moment in the film and I turned my head to see where that sound came from. LOL

2 Likes

I love this effect, its as if your fully immersing yourself into the music. One your eyes, free your mind and just listen to whats all around you. Its invigorating

2 Likes

The best 8D audio I heard to date were this one (and its @Loz who first intro’d this to me )

Tried this on Liberty 2 Pro, it sounded just awesome :clap::+1:
Felt as if I was in an auditorium with sound moving from left to right and right to left, engulfed in music!

Have tried it later on Life Q10, which was equally good, but enjoyed better on L2P :slight_smile:

2 Likes

It’s totally a different experience but I love it!

1 Like

Dang I’m listening to a couple songs on Spirit X and it’s definitely quite different. Might have to test 8D songs while I’m testing these lol

2 Likes

I had my whole family trying it out today and my mom said she thought she was going crazy and that it was all in her head with how it felt like the music was moving about the room

2 Likes

I did the same, but I was listening to a podcast and I thought someone was behind me haha

I should try this out, but to me it mostly sounds disorienting. I have trouble seeing the attraction.

This kind of technique was used in the 1970/80 to produce radio dramas.
Called Kunstkopf-Stereophonie (Dummy head)

I don’t often listen to 8Ds so much, but this one is among the nicest I’ve heard.

I love stuff like this, I’m sure a few bands have tried to replicate this with their live shows too with different PA speaker placements in venues etc

First time trying this out. Like others have said it’s a completely different experience. I definitely can’t do other tasks while listening because my mind tends to follow the music in a circle around my head. But this obviously makes the music more demanding of my attention and makes for a more engaging and immersive listening experience.

2 Likes

Wow what an awesome experience. I have never heard anything like it. My brother he is very hard to make smile but when he used my liberty 2 Pros to listen to it. I could see how amazed he was and he actually was smiling. He said after it sounds so realistic don’t it :joy: :slight_smile:

1 Like

Tried it on my dot 2s. Better than I expected.

1 Like

But have you ever heard of 64d audio😂

1 Like