2 posts tagged with "Spatial Audio"

Multi-speaker systems demand upmixing solutions that spatialize sound while preserving tonal balance and artistic intent. HSR (High Space Resolution) meets this challenge by transforming stereo for setups with up to 64 speakers, without relying on FFT. Designed for post-production, live events, car audio and home theaters, HSR ensures natural immersion and faithful reproduction of the original mix. Unlike traditional FFT-based tools, HSR avoids phase artifacts and respects original dynamics. This presentation explores HSR's upmixing philosophy, compares it to stereo content processed through spatialization systems (e.g., IRCAM's Spat), and demonstrates how combining both approaches enhances stereo reproduction on multi-speaker systems — delivering precision, flexibility, and artistic integrity.

This presentation is part of IRCAM Forum Workshops Paris / Enghien-les-Bains March 2026

The audio industry has developed a peculiar contradiction: Dolby Atmos is celebrated as the future of immersive audio, while upmixing — the very process that makes Atmos rendering possible — is dismissed as illegitimate. This article asks a simple question: can you actually make Dolby Atmos without upmixing?

The answer, examined through five decades of Dolby's own technology and the published physics of spatial audio rendering, is no.