This Friday, UK-based Sensaura will unveil a new technology, which it calls "Virtual Ear." Virtual Ear lets gamers with capable 3D sound cards tweak a game's audio environment to mimic those produced by the human ear.
"There are considerable physiological variations in the sizes of our ears and heads," explained Sensaura principal scientist Dr. Alastair Sibbald. "Sensaura Virtual Ear technology enables the listener to 'tune' the 3D signal-processing HRTFs precisely so as to match their own head and ear characteristics."
Virtual Ear will let gamers select from 25 preset listening protocols and adjust the concha depth, concha openness, head size, and ear size parameters to fine tune their own listening experience. This and other Sensaura technologies are supported by a number of chip companies, including ESS and Aureal. Currently, the upcoming Santa Cruz from Voyetra Turtle Beach will be the first sound card to incorporate the virtual-ear technology.