Audio Knowledge

DADAO's Recording Knowledge Base

Product use, recording methods, acoustics, and implementation notes prepared by the DADAO engineering team.

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6 articles

Diagram of microphone, loudspeaker, and audience coverage relationships in a meeting space.

Installed systemsSound reinforcementAcoustic design

Selecting and placing microphones in installed systems

The microphone model is only one part of the chain. Working distance, directionality, loudspeaker position, open-microphone count, and room acoustics all affect intelligibility and gain before feedback. This guide follows a practical commissioning sequence.

7 min readPublished on Jul 28, 2026

Diagram comparing stereo, horizontal surround, and three-dimensional loudspeaker layouts with a height layer.

Immersive audioSurround soundAmbisonics

Immersive audio basics: formats, arrays, and spatial cues

5.1, 7.1.4, and 22.2 describe loudspeaker layouts, while Ambisonics is a scene-based representation. This guide examines localization and envelopment through formats, microphone arrays, and decorrelation.

8 min readPublished on Jul 28, 2026

Abstract comparison of four core audio parameters: amplitude, sample-rate waveforms, 24-bit quantization steps, and a bell-shaped Q curve.

dBDigital audioReference

Audio numbers decoded: what 6 dB, 44.1 kHz, 24 bit, and Q actually mean

dB, filter slope, Q, bit depth, and sample rate often share the same specification sheet. This guide focuses on each number’s reference, limits, and common traps instead of treating rules of thumb as laws.

10 min read

Diagram of Mid and sideways Side signals entering a sum-and-difference matrix to produce left and right channels.

M/SDecodingStereo

M/S stereo: decoding two recorded signals into left and right

A conventional M/S array places a forward-facing Mid microphone as close as possible to a sideways figure-eight Side microphone. Record M and S separately, then decode them as L = M + kS and R = M − kS.

9 min readPublished on Jul 26, 2026

Top view of a Decca Tree with left and right microphones on the main bar and the centre microphone projected forward on the centreline.

XD BarDecca TreeArray

Building a Decca Tree with XD Bars: dimensions, connections, and checks

A common Decca Tree starting point places L and R about 2 m apart, with C projected roughly 1–1.5 m forward. It is a triangular array, not three points on one straight bar, and its final dimensions should follow the ensemble, room, and microphone height.

7 min readPublished on Jul 26, 2026

Diagram of direct and reflected sound paths reaching a microphone capsule near a hard surface.

D-PZMBoundary layerPlacement

Boundary-layer recording: why the capsule belongs close to the surface

Boundary-layer recording is not simply a matter of putting a conventional microphone on the floor. The capsule must sit close enough to a hard reflective surface, and the finite boundary must be large enough for the frequencies that matter.

8 min readPublished on Jul 26, 2026