Genelec technology brings Dolby Atmos space to APL

The Ones smart active monitors from Genelec They are a key piece in the critical listening room of the APL experimental center of the University of Huddersfield, recently focused on virtual acoustics for extended reality applications (XR).

He Applied Psychoacoustics Laboratory (APL), as explained by its founder and director Hyunkook Lee, is working on multiple projects related to areas such as extended reality, the development of a six degrees of freedom audio processing engine for augmented reality which led the center to develop binaural renderers.

The center is also carrying out multiple experiments with virtual reality headsets and visualization systems to study the interaction between sound and visual signals.: “It is very important to create immersive experiences. It's not just the audio that provides an immersive experience, because we see things in real life. We are investigating how we perceive the immersive experience, How can we improve it while watching movies or listening to music, and what kind of perceptual parameters actually provide this kind of experience.”, Hyunkook comments..

During the last decade, the APL has used 24 monitors Genelec 8040 combined with a couple of subwoofers 7070 to play audio on the APL critical listening room. However, In a recent update they have been replaced 15 of the 8040 via three-way coaxial monitors 8341 from the series The Ones to achieve greater tonal consistency, as well as their need to switch to coaxial monitors “because, when localization tests are done, central acoustic position is always important. With the 8040, you have to take the average between the tweeter and the woofer. but now, with the series The Ones, “We know exactly where the acoustic center is.”.

The new configuration allows APL to create a space Dolby Atmos 9.1.6, while the 8040 remaining guarantee that it can be expanded to cover formats with a greater number of channels, as the standard 22.2 at NHK. In the expanded version, nine of the 8040 deploy in ground positions, rear height and center.

GLM of Genelec in the APL

El APL, on the other hand, Benefits in your processes from the room change functions enabled by Genelec GLM configuration and management software: “We can tune the entire room with the system 9.1.6 in less than five minutes and that was an important factor. GLM makes a huge difference, especially with him immersive audio. Of course, a very significant difference is also achieved with stereo. But with a system 9.1.6 with so many monitors working together, “The fact that we can actually adjust the entire system to the room is a big advantage.”, Lee explains..

With the new system in place, APL continues its efforts to help improve understanding of immersive audio environments: "Recently, we have focused on binaural audio for virtual monitoring and augmented reality applications. And my current research focuses on what kind of roles audio plays in providing an immersive experience.. And for this, it's about understanding what content producers really think about immersive audio, and what kind of experience do users expect from these immersive systems?. We have to understand each other and try to bridge the gap and work together in a collaborative environment.. Composers, producers, engineers, “Researchers and developers need to come together to discuss what makes spatial audio truly immersive.”.