3-D Sound

Using DirectSound, you can create a 3-D world for sounds that can be integrated with 3-D graphics. You can locate sound sources and the listener in space, apply Doppler shift to moving sounds, and control physical parameters such as the rate at which sound attenuates over distance.

DirectSound can creates virtual 3-D effects on two speakers or a set of headphones. It will also take advantage of multichannel systems with WDM drivers if the user has selected a surround sound speaker configuration in Control Panel. For more information, see DSBUFFERDESC.

The following topics cover some general aspects of 3-D sound:

• Coordinates of 3-D Space
• Perception of Sound Positions

Information on how to use 3-D sound in an application is found in the following sections:

• DirectSound 3-D Buffers
• DirectSound 3-D Listeners