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Shoot Review — Holophone H2-PRO

Mar 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Reviewer: Tom Patrick McAuliffe

5.1 surround-sound mic captures new dimensions of audio.

Things just look better when they sound better. The adoption of 5.1 surround sound by broadcasters, audio recording engineers, and consumers has been a phenomenon. But one area that has lagged is production. Traditionally, video producers could deal with surround sound only in post.

A small, innovative Canadian company called Holophone has come up with a solution. Its product, the H2-PRO surround-sound microphone system, already has an impressive record after only a short time on the market. The H2-PRO has been used on high-end productions like the 2005 Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl, by numerous platinum recording artists, and by ABC, NBC, FOX, ESPN, and many TV stations in Asia.

The Holophone H2-PRO is an 8-channel surround-sound microphone system that's great for audio recording, broadcasting, and audio for video. The groundbreaking surround mic emulates how the human head receives and experiences audio signals.

(Those looking for a smaller solution may be in luck. Around NAB time, Holophone plans to ship a much-anticipated microphone that's aimed at professional videographers who use smaller cameras. The less expensive Holophone mic system will encode 5.1-channel audio directly onto DV tape. In the meantime, I was happy to put the H2-PRO mic through its paces.)

Egghead

As the world's first surround-sound mic, the Holophone H2-PRO is blazing a new trail. It has the most accurate audio imaging of any microphone I've used. The 5.1 or 6.1 channels are compatible with all standard, multichannel audio-encoding processes — Dolby Digital, DTS, and Circle Surround. It's also the only mic capable of handling 7.1 surround without any further processing. Best of all, it's so easy to use. But the Holophone surround mic is unlike any mic you've ever seen. Designed to approximate the human head, it resembles a large egg about 8in. in diameter.

The multidirectional H2 is actually more than just a single microphone — it is eight discrete mics in one. Placed strategically around the surface of the mic head are eight DPA 4060 capsules that can correspond to the various channels of 5.1 surround sound (Left, Center, Right, Left Surround, Right Surround, and Low Frequency). When the time comes, it's ready for 7.1 surround for the IMAX format. The mics can be individually accessed via eight XLR cables. A large steel “U” holder for the mic head allows you to change the direction of pickup and mount the unit from a ceiling or on a boom.

Able to reach 134dB sound pressure level before clipping, the H2-PRO is slightly on the high side when it comes to signal-to-noise ratios and total harmonic distortion. But it captures audio that's clear and uncolored. You can also do cable runs up to almost 1,000ft., which is handy for field shoots. Despite its many capsules, the H2-PRO mic weighs only 3lbs. It comes with a heavy-duty hard plastic road case, and a windscreen and pistol grip are optional. The H2-PRO carries a one-year warranty, and Holophone handles free tech support directly via email, fax, and phone for the lifetime of the product.

Test, test

In order to use the H2-PRO with a camera, you must have a multichannel portable recording device — such as the Zaxcom DEVA V, HHB Portadrive, or the Fostex PD6 — that captures timecode so it can be properly synched to the video in post. One of the digital hard disk recorders I used was the HHB Portadrive, which records eight audio channels. The Portadrive has only six microphone pre-amps, however, so in order to get the most cohesive audio image, I needed to make sure to plug in the standard 5.1 channels of the mic to the recorder. This was easy, because each cable is clearly labeled. I was able to set up and be recording crystal-clear 24-bit surround sound audio in less than five minutes. As all the mics are in one head, placement is even more crucial than with separate microphones.

I recorded myself and my “All Air Orchestra” (a one-man keyboard band) at a local watering hole, Coconut Willy's in Waikiki. We placed the H2-PRO on a mic stand about 12ft. away from the stage center. There were four Yamaha speakers — two hung from the ceiling and two floor monitors. Recording all the surround channels was a simple affair, and, even if you don't use them all, it allows you to have lots of options when it comes to the final mixdown. From setup to breakdown, I was struck by the ease of this part of the surround sound process.

I was also very impressed with using the H2-PRO as a stereo mic. Audio recorded with just the left and right channels sounded significantly better than with any stereo mic I've used. The audio exhibited more separation and “spaciousness” than even a matched pair of high-end standalone microphones. A stereo audio feed recorded this way displayed attributes of surround sound audio. Perhaps this claim would not fly from a physics standpoint, but in my tests listeners could tell, for example, that a sound was coming from the rear left or from above. Very impressive.

Once you've used the H2-PRO to record 5.1's six channels of audio, you'll need to use a software package like Digidesign Pro Tools 7 to process it further and eventually marry it back up with its video counterpart. There are separate software meters for each channel of a multichannel track in the Pro Tools Edit and Mix windows. Any edits or manipulations of a “multichannel region” can affect all channels. The software also supports a range of third-party plug-ins such as the RTAS surround metering plug-in SurroundScope, which provides a graphical display of the signal level for each audio channel within the multichannel sound field in a Pro Tools mix. The phase meter shows coherency of your signal across the full spectrum, from perfect mono to completely out of phase.

In addition to its surround and phase displays, the SurroundScope plug-in features a multichannel level meter that supports up to eight channel tracks. (There are lots of other audio software packages and plug-ins able to deal with surround sound.)

Once your audio processing and EQ is completed, you can visually synch (using a clapper board) or use SMPTE timecode to marry the sound back up with the video in the editing application of your choice. With a little effort on my part, my video was enhanced by surround sound audio that made the final DVD more than just an also-ran.

There are only a few things on my wish list for the Holophone H2-PRO. First, a smaller unit would be nice. I also wish that there were no requirement for phantom power.

Besides that, needing to record all six channels as separate tracks is both a blessing and a curse. It was very flexible to have each surround signal as a separate track, but there is a learning curve to mixing and enhancing the tracks to provide a more immersive audio experience. Many professionals could benefit from a microphone that will encode 5.1 in realtime directly to tape so that more concentration can be placed on the visuals in the editing suite.

Holophone says it's going to address all of these requests and then some with a new product. As mentioned earlier, the company plans to release a smaller camera-top/ENG version around NAB this spring. The mic head mounts in a camera hot shoe. The Holophone PRO-MINI will have lots of new features at a cost less than half that of its big brother. This version will have internal power, multichannel microphone preamps that allow realtime 5.1 encoding, virtual surround monitoring via headphones, on-the-fly mix adjustment, and audio zoom.

We look forward to covering the new Holophone PRO-MINI in an upcoming issue of Video Systems. Rest assured you'll be hearing a lot about this product.

Almost half of U.S. homes have surround-sound systems, and more still have stereo systems that simulate surround sound. Clearly, there has never been a time when good audio for video has been more important. The cost of innovation is high — over the five-grand mark for the H2-PRO — but it is worth every penny. Units are also available for rental.

Words can't do justice to the audio I recorded with the H2-PRO. Holophone has completed the surround sound puzzle for video producers. It's almost like the H2-PRO captures audio in 3D.

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Bottomline

Company: Holophone
Toronto; (416) 703-4845
www.holophone.com

Product: Holophone H2-PRO

Assets: Realtime discrete 5.1/7.1 surround sound recording, easy to use with fast setup, solid construction.

Caveats: No realtime encoding of 5.1.

Demographic: Anyone needing to record surround sound.

Price: $6,000

© 2009 Penton Media, Inc.