Kunstkopf

(German: artificial head). A stereophonic recording system developed in Germany which employs an artificial head sitting on a resonator similar to a chest cavity. The recording microphones are situated within the head, inside an anatomically correct ear canal, at the point where the human eardrum is located. Artificial pinnae are carefully designed for accurate reflection of the incoming sound in order to achieve the good front-back and height-depth perspective for which the technique is noted. See: Binaural Hearing.

Recent imitations of the original model do not employ the accuracy of the original: no chest resonator is used, the pinnae are not anatomically correct, and the microphones are positioned at the outside of the head rather than at the eardrum position.

The playback requires the use of lightweight headphones for optimum listening. The advantage of the system is the accuracy of the acoustic space conveyed to the listener, both azimuth (directionality) and projicience (depth) being remarkably defined.

Compare: Binaural Recording, Pan, Quadraphonic, Stereoacusis.