Our Audio Lab is under construction. This is where emerging technologies in immersive sound and acoustic rendering will be put through their paces.
Ultimately, the lab will be capable of simulating sound fields, allowing clients and designers to hear our room designs for themselves and to better understand how adjusting acoustic design criteria or room constructions will benefit the future built environment.
For now the experience we offer is limited to binaural playback over good quality headphones.
Have a go…
Lecture Theatre C1, before …
and AFTER treatment:
2022
September
Optimising the loudspeaker layout for immersive audio rendering
We are finalising the loudspeaker layout to be installed over the coming months. This is based on a spherical t-design for 24 optimally located loudspeakers (which has been reduced to a pseudo-spherical layout and 21-loudspeaker channels) so that we can test the performance of pure Ambisonic decoding versus other methods and explore rendering accuracy.
2022
June
Success! We’re up and running. Immersive audio rendering trials.
The first full test of the equipment in our Audio Lab with James from Gilfillan Soundwork on 3rd June 2022. We were using the AllRAD VST plugin with Reaper as a quad decode setup to test its performance before scaling up to our full 24-channel system.
2022
May
Audio Lab HA Spatial Rig – Processing Board
While we are still relying on a commercial DSP platform to process signals, once issues with global parts shortages settle down, we will be moving on to complete the development of our own dedicated processing hardware based on Analog Devices DSP & audio codecs (in progress)
2022
April
Sub-woofer designs
We’ve taken delivery of David Gilfillan‘s purpose-designed sub-woofers to provide the low frequency extension needed for wide band simulation of sound sources ranging from orchestra to structureborne re-radiated construction noise. Ported cabinet: 14 Hz to 80 Hz. Sealed cabinet: 60 Hz to 110 Hz.
2022
February
Mid/high frequency point source loudspeakers
Gilfillan Soundwork have provided a design for our 20+ mid/high point source loudspeakers. Enclosures have been manufactured locally on Simon’s 3D printer, internally sealed, driver assembled, tested and FIR filters generated.
2021
October
Audio Lab construction commences….
Construction materials for the acoustic partitions, doors and glazing arrive and assembly begins. (Staff issued with noise-cancelling headphones – business as usual!)
2021
July
October
Audio DSP development and streaming
Testing commences using multi-channel USB audio streamer (by miniDSP) to our own SigmaDSP which will be used for the loudspeaker and spatial audio processing. Multi-channel Dante successfully sent to the TDM inputs on the SigmaDSP! Another step complete.
2020
October
Assembly of in-house designed power supplies and amplifiers
Mark T successfully builds his own reflow oven to solder SMDs! The first 8 channel modular amplifier is completed. Trial DSP programming using the Analog Devices SigmaDSP evaluation board successfully transmits audio signals to amplifiers.