<off-topic> Charles, I think you can do pretty well with 3 speakers - but you do need at least 3, if you want really good depth effects.
The first generation of surround-sound processors (I have one - a Yamaha) drove two speakers in the rear, but with the same signal. Prior to the processors, there was a lot of experimentation (not counting "quad", rememember that?) and 3 speakers seemed to be a common set-up. If I'm not mistaken, there is a Brian Eno LP (have it somewhere) that has instructions on how to set-up a rear speaker on the back of the jacket.
Anyhoo, DirectSound conceptually works in a 3-D space. How it comes out - 2 speakers, 3 speakers, 6, or 20, depends on the sound card and the sound card drivers. Internally, all the calculations are done in full 3-D space.
Still, there's a lot you can do with two speakers. If you want to see an application that will blow your mind, check out:
onlive.com
and download Traveler. It's a 3-D avatar-based voice chat. The pirate to your right sounds to your right, and, amazingly, the fish behind you SOUNDS like it's behind you! Everyone in the room is positioned in sound space the same as they are positioned in the room. I beleive that this uses either Microsoft's DirectSound or Intel's RSX. |
