2. Locating sound sources in open fields

Outside its artistic context, the eye's perception of space is an innate mechanism that dates back to the dawn of time and concerns the vast majority of animal species. The same can be said for the localization of sound sources. It is, in fact, a fundamental survival issue to be able to quickly detect where the predator is coming from for some, and where the prey is for others.

• In the field of visual reproduction, on the other hand, we have seen that it was not until the 15th century that the notion of space, and in particular that of depth of field, made its appearance.

• Sound reproduction, for its part, had to wait until the 20th century for concrete realizations (Rabelais's ice cubes were no more than a literary fantasy), and we had to wait until the 1940s to be able to listen to...