Although I have not been a regular columnist in these pages the past two years, it’s great to be back this month. As longtime readers of FRONT of HOUSE may recall, five years ago, our fearless editor commissioned me to edit/write a monthly series of three dozen Tech Feature articles. Seven of those were on immersive sound system design — more than any other topic — and each included substantial input from several leading specialists in the immersive field. (Note: All of these articles can be viewed at fohonline.com).
The interest in immersive sound has grown rapidly and significantly since my last article on the subject in August 2020, so I was again commissioned to survey the industry and write an update article for this month’s issue, this time working with Michael Garrison.
An Internet search of terminology and technology related to immersive audio/sound, 3-D sound, and spatial audio, turns up a wide range of markets and products, predominantly: recording, and consumer audio products. Several very significant manufacturers are competing for dominance in these markets, including: Apple, Dolby, Microsoft and Sony, amongst others — each with their own competing terminology. It is likely that the recording and consumer electronics industries will influence terminology in live-immersive sound.
For example, Dolby — beyond its notable presence in the cinema and home entertainment markets — also offers Dolby Atmos for Live, its adaptation of Dolby Atmos for the live market. “Dolby Atmos for Live is a very active and exciting area for us right now, and it’s continuing to open up a range of opportunities for innovative live immersive entertainment,” said Jed Harmsen, Dolby’s head of cinema and group entertainment.
“In 2021, we launched Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas, the first performance venue of its kind to offer artist residencies and live concerts in Dolby Atmos.” And this year, Dolby Atmos made its debut in live theater with Kenneth Branagh’s King Lear at The Shed in New York City. “It’s very exciting for us to collaborate with artists across diverse mediums in rallying around Dolby Atmos and creating truly inspirational live experiences.”
A most noteworthy immersive system is Holoplot’s formidable loudspeaker and processing technologies that power Sphere in Las Vegas and other live audio venues. But this has received abundant coverage in the press, including this magazine (see the July and August 2023 issues), so we will not repeat it in this article.
Modern immersive sound is a broad subject, so I want to make clear that the general focus of this article is immersive sound technology for live music and speech events in medium-to-large sized stage-centric performance venues. We are specifically excluding the discussion of similar immersive sound technologies, such as cinema and home theater surround (Dolby, DTS, THX), museums, theme Parks, dance clubs or sports facilities or other Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality applications.
Like most of you — I don’t work with immersive technology on a regular basis — so, rather than research the subject and interview the experts on my own, I asked Michael Garrison, my good friend and associate of many years to take the lead on this one.
Garrison is the founder and owner of Michael Garrison Associates, which has been in operation for over four decades. “MGA” has provided design, integration and support services related to performance-grade audio, video, lighting and acoustic systems for venues across the U.S. and Central America. Michael has had a personal interest in active acoustic systems since 1981, when his company supplied the sound system for the newly constructed 2,531-seat Silva Concert Hall, in Eugene, OR. This facility was the home to one of the earliest electroacoustic enhancement system deployments in America, which was patented by renowned acoustician J. Christopher Jaffe.
Garrison has since learned about this technology from other pioneers and experts like Steve Barber of LARES, Ben Kok of SIAP and — more recently, Hugo Larin of FLUX:: Immersive (now owned by Harman) — he has been generous with his time over the past year to expand him on the current state of immersive sound technology.
Michael Garrison Speaks Out
David Kennedy and I were reminiscing about the EAW Immersive Adaptive Seminar at Arizona State University that we both attended in December, 2019. Parnelli Award-winner Robert Scovill (then senior specialist for live sound at Avid) and Hugo Larin directed a very impressive demo. They first played a 2-channel mix of vocals and instruments through two of the five EAW ADAPTive main arrays. Next, they played the same mix through the immersive processor and all five of the mains. We were amazed by how much more distinct the instruments were in the immersive mix. And after they added in the 15 surrounds — we immediately understood that this audio technology would change our worlds. (See Fig. 1.)
Immersive Sound is currently the overarching marque for this relatively new technology (as compared to the invention and development of loudspeakers in the early 1900s); but there are other terms in use: 3D sound, spatial audio, object-based audio and others — with multiple iterations. Sometimes these are used interchangeably — other times, the context indicates they have distinct meanings. And though it will be a while before our industry adopts some standard terminology (formally or otherwise), I thought it would be helpful to share some insights on the matter from true experts in the field.
I inquired to the several vendors of immersive products that are most prominent in the U.S. market. I also requested input from AFMG — the developers of EASE (a worldwide standard for electro- and room acoustic simulation software). Here are their responses:
Immersive or Spatial — Audio or Sound?
Steve Ellison, director, spatial sound at Meyer Sound Labs, is succinct and to the point: “We typically think of ‘Immersive Sound’ as relating to the quality of the experience rather than the technology used to achieve it. ‘Spatial Audio’ technology, design and practice are critical components to delivering an immersive experience.”
David Haydon, commercial director at TiMax Spatial, states: “Immersive Sound describes an outcome, objective or aspiration achieved by spatial audio content and processes that result in an engaging and immersive experience for the listener, either on its own, or in conjunction with other media such as light, video, scenography, odors, etc. Spatial Audio refers to audio technology that creates a three-dimensional sound environment, simulating the perception of sound coming from various directions, distances and heights.”
Zach Brady, business development manager at d&b audiotechnik, takes a different approach: “While the idea of “immersive or spatial” has come to mean different things to different people, we usually lump these terms together to basically mean a ‘non-traditional’ P.A. system. The idea of immersing the audience or giving space to a mix is great, but we are mostly focused on one goal: fixing what is wrong with a traditional stereo or mono loudspeaker system.”
Luke Vogel, immersive market development manager at Fulcrum Acoustic, says: “We tend to think of the term Spatial Audio as the placement of sound sources in specific physical locations relative to the listener, like you see in our Object-Based Mixing technology. Immersive Audio places the listener inside the sonic experience. In our world, this is further enhanced by our Active Acoustics technology, which gives you the ability to superimpose one or many virtual acoustic spaces around the listener.”
Scott Sugden, director of product management at L-Acoustics, said: “You know, it’s a common mix-up. Spatial sound is about placing audio around you — think of it like panning with extra steps. But at L-Acoustics, we’re all about immersion with L-ISA. We use spatial techniques, of course, but it’s more than just that. It’s about the density of the sound field, the hyperrealistic localization, making you feel like you’re in the rainforest, not just hearing it. And with L-ISA, we can give that experience to a wider audience, not just the person in the perfect center seat. That’s the difference.”
Hugo Larin, senior manager of business development at FLUX:: within Harman adds: “There is indeed some confusion around terms like 3D Audio, Spatial Audio, and the more recent term, Immersive Audio or Sound. Immersive Sound is fundamentally about the audience’s sensation and qualitative experience. Spatial Audio is the technology that allows us to create dynamic soundscapes with an object-based audio approach, advanced perceptual tools, and acoustic simulation, all to enhance the experience.”
Bruce Olson, managing director at AFMG Services North America, confirmed their considered use of these terms by pointing out a statement in their website: “Sound system installations for spatial audio and immersive sound continue to gain more and more presence in modern event venues.”
Object-Based Audio or Sound?
Zach Brady says, “d&b’s Soundscape En-Scene software is Object-Based Audio with a graphic user interface making it easy to ‘place the object’ and make it sound as though coming from exactly where we want it.”
Hugo Larin explains, “Object-based audio is an approach where the audio elements and their description (i.e., positional information) are to be rendered to a reproduction system (or format) by various technology. In the case of SPAT Revolution, multiple techniques are possible, each with its strengths, weaknesses and use case. SPAT’s primary method for performance venues is Wave Field Synthesis (WFS), which allows for very accurate localization and perception of a sound object’s origin — when used with a properly designed loudspeaker system.”
David Haydon notes that “Object-based spatialization generally refers to multipoint panning in either 2D or 3D and typically across more pan locations than handled by traditional panpots or joysticks. It usually manifests as on-screen blobs representing mics, instruments, FX or tracks that we shuffle around to place or pan audio sources in and around a space. This enables sound engineers and creatives to produce immersive audio mixes by representing sound as discrete audio objects rather than traditional channels. In object-based audio systems, each sound element in a scene — whether dialog, music, effects, or ambience — is treated as an individual object with its own metadata, including positional information, level (and in some cases relative delay) being applied to various speakers.”
Luke Vogel states, “Fulcrum’s Venueflex processor powers our Object-Based Mixing. When you combine OBM with the appropriate loudspeaker design, you can spatially position sources across a stage or throughout the room in 2D or 3D space. By expanding your spatial palette, Object-Based Mixing can make a complex mix more accessible for the creative, the mix engineer and the listener.”
Scott Sugden says that “we tend to use ‘object-based audio’ when discussing the technology. It’s about treating each sound element as an individual object with its own metadata, allowing for precise placement and movement within the soundscape. But honestly, ‘object-based sound’ is perfectly valid too. The important thing is the concept: giving sound engineers the tools to create these incredibly detailed and immersive experiences, which is exactly what L-ISA is designed for.”
This is certainly not an exhaustive study. And with other informed opinions from our industry still to be heard — plus the continuing trickle-down influence from the consumer world that David Kennedy mentioned — it is too early to declare a consensus on these key terms — and though incomplete, the following may be reasonable placeholders:
- Immersive Sound is the experience of being enveloped by realistic sound.
- Spatial Audio is the technology that delivers the immersive sound experience.
- Object-Based Audio is the technology to localize sound in a 3D space.
System Performance Fundamentals
There are two primary functions that a Spatial Audio System serves to achieve:
Localization: The goal here is to enhance the connection between audio and visual elements, i.e., “what you see is what you hear.” This requires systems specifically engineered to achieve excellent reproduction, dispersion and best-possible “density” to encompass as much of the audience area as possible. This is crucial to provide the precise audio localization that engages listeners. The crucial point is: Spatial Audio localization dramatically enhances mix separation and makes mixing easier for system operators!
Immersion: The goal here is to transport the audience into the sound environment. By surrounding the audience with a reproduction system, you can use simulated acoustic spaces, reverberation engines, and object placement to add width and depth to the mix.
Spatial Audio technology provides the tools to sound designers and mixing engineers to foster and unleash artistic freedom and creative innovation to craft unique and immersive soundscapes. This transition from a flat to a multi-dimensional canvas allows creators to enrich the audience’s experience with sounds and effects, exploring new possibilities to captivate their listeners.
Loudspeaker Coverage
David Kennedy last wrote on prediction mapping & analysis programs for FOH magazine in the December 2019 issue. L-Acoustics’ Soundvision was the only program at that time that could perform simulation and analysis to assist in the design of multi-channel Spatial Audio loudspeaker systems. (See Fig. 2.)
As of this writing, there are three immersive-capable speaker coverage modeling programs; AFMG’s EASE 5, d&b audiotechnik’s Soundscape and L-Acoustics’ Soundvision. We searched the internet and found a total of 19 makers of loudspeaker coverage programs — most of them developed by loudspeaker manufacturers. But based on what I’ve read, only the three programs listed above have internal tools to graphically map at least some of the objective qualities needed in immersive-spatial loudspeaker systems.
Paul Henderson, Ph.D., VP, software & immersive at Fulcrum Acoustic says about its product, “Fulcrum’s immersive perceptual analysis and mapping toolset is in development and this functionality will be available to our Fulcrum One customers in 2025.”
Bob McCarthy, director of system optimization at Meyer Sound Labs, relates about the company’s MAPP 3D program, “To my knowledge, the threshold of ‘immersion’ is not yet settled math. We evaluate the extent of ‘immersive’ coverage by mapping the coverage of individual systems and observing the areas that are mutually covered. More overlap corresponds to the potential for more stereo or immersive experience if the channel content provides the proper conditions for this.”
AFMG’s EASE 5 provides features to help with analyzing and predicting the performance of immersive, spatial or 3D sound systems. Loudspeaker coverage, loudspeaker density, spatial localization of sources, content perception direction, and more acoustics characteristics are now included. However, they are careful to point out that this is just a first step — further steps are planned for the future.
Closing Words by David & Michael
Obviously, loudspeakers play an important role in the delivery of an awesome Immersive Sound Experience. But unfortunately, we’ve used up our “word budget,” so that subject will have to be for another time.
But we do want to share this parting thought from Robert Scovill, a highly lauded 40+ year veteran of the professional concert sound industry who is now working for EAW. He states, “In the burgeoning immersive movement, the loudspeaker role would be best served by wide horizontal coverage, but conversely precise and extremely controlled, adaptable vertical coverage. This is a new frontier in speaker design. The ability to cover tall, often steep vertical geometries with significantly shorter arrays is central to that need. Very few modern mechanically articulated line sources or point sources can actually meet that criterion.”
Our industry faces new and exciting opportunities to help people engage like never before; it looks like a rewarding journey lies ahead for all involved!
The Immersive Church: A Personal Perspective
By Jacob Pierce
My wife and I took our first trip to Music City in Summer 2024. The highlight was sitting in the Ryman Auditorium’s Soul of Nashville theater watching an immersive presentation with songs, sounds and effects moving 360 degrees around me. I said to my wife, “I can do this with the system in our sanctuary…”
I am not naive enough to think that I could reproduce that same “immersive experience.” However, creating an immersive object-based mix for our congregation? That we can do.
Unlike the Ryman, which is known for its outstanding acoustics, our humble auditorium was not even designed for live music. But that’s not all that unusual for many church facilities. Bad acoustics, worn-out speakers, unreliability, multiple functions and ease of use for the volunteers were just a few of our challenges. Oh, and did I mention, budget?
Lucky for us, we had Michael Garrison Associates (MGA) in our corner. I had already bought my second EAW ADAPTive system from MGA, and while scheduling the install of this LCR system, the word “immersive” came up in the conversation.
While the immersive “thing” sounded cool, it was difficult to see the value it could bring to Faith Community Church. The ability to create dramatic special effects anywhere within the audience area is essential for cinema, theater performances or concerts. But these effects are not critical for our mission.
So why did we move forward with an immersive sound system? We realized a spatial audio system gave us the ability to achieve a higher sonic clarity than we could with a traditional system. While this is truly something that you have to hear to experience, there’s no doubt this technology allows us to “create space” within our mix that we previously could not.
The first comment I keep hearing from visiting churches is: “It’s amazing how much space there is between all the instruments and the vocals.” The second comment regards how easy this system is to use. The object-based mixing process is surprisingly straightforward; allowing all of our volunteers to quickly come up to speed and create clear, full mixes on a consistent basis.
Still not convinced? What if I told you, our 19-point system was within the same budget as our LCR system? The teams from MGA, EAW and FLUX:: SPAT Revolution by Harman made it all happen.
Don’t take my word for it. Next time you’re looking at buying a system, give immersive a listen. Come on out to Tucson. I think you’ll be impressed.
Jacob Pierce is the administrative pastor at Faith Community Church in Tucson, AZ
