AES Europe 2025

“Spatial Audio - Practical Master Guide” is a free online course on spatial audio content creation. The target group are persons who have basic knowledge on audio production but are not necessarily dedicated experts in the underlying technologies and aesthetics. “Spatial Audio - Practical Master Guide” will be released on the Acoucou platform chapter-by-chapter all through Spring 2025. Some course content is already available as a preview.

The course comprises a variety of audio examples and interactive content that allow for the learners to develop their skills in a playful manner. The entire spectrum from psychoacoustics via the underlying technologies to delivery formats is covered. The course’s highlights are the 14 case studies and step-by-step guides that provide behind-the-scenes information. Many of the course components are self-sufficient so that they can be used in isolation or be integrated into other educational contexts.

The workshop on “Spatial Audio - Practical Master Guide” will provide an overview of the course contents, and we will explain the educational concepts that the course is based on. We will demonstrate the look and feel of the course on the Acoucou platform by demonstrating a set of representative examples from the courseware and provide the audience with the opportunity to experience it themselves. The workshop will wrap up with a discussion of the contexts in which the course contents may be useful besides self-study.

Course contents:
Chapter 1: Overview (introduction, history of spatial, evolution of aesthetics in spatial audio)
Chapter 2: Psychoacoustics (spatial hearing, perception of reverberation)
Chapter 3: Reproduction (loudspeaker arrays, headphones)
Chapter 4: Capture (microphone arrays)
Chapter 5: Ambisonics (capture, reproduction, editing of ambisonic content)
Chapter 6: Storing spatial audio content
Chapter 7: Delivery formats

Case studies: Dolby Atmos truck streaming, fulldome, ikosahedral loudspeaker, spatial audio sound installation, spatial audio at Friedrichstadt Palast, spatial audio in the health industry, live music performance with spatial audio, spatial audio in automotive

Step-by-step guides: setting up your spatial audio workstation, channel-based production for music, dolby atmos mix for cinema, ambisonics sound production for 360 film, build your own ambisonic microphone array, interactive spatial audio

Links:
https://spatial-audio.acoucou.org/
https://acoucou.org/

This tutorial proposal presents a comprehensive exploration of spatial audio recording methodologies applied to the unique challenges of documenting Eastern Orthodox liturgical music in monumental acoustic environments. Centered on a recent project at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph in Warsaw, Poland, the session dissects the technical and artistic decisions behind capturing the Męski Zespół Muzyki Cerkiewnej (Male Ensemble of Orthodox Music) “Katapetasma.” The repertoire—spanning 16th-century monodic irmologions, Baroque-era folk chant collections, and contemporary compositions—demanded innovative approaches to balance clarity, spatial immersion, and the venue’s 5-second reverberation time.
Attendees will gain insight into hybrid microphone techniques tailored for immersive formats (Dolby Atmos, Ambisonics) and stereo reproduction. The discussion focuses on the strategic deployment of a Decca Tree core augmented by an AMBEO array, height channels, a Faulkner Pair for mid-depth detail, ambient side arrays, and spaced AB ambient pairs to capture the room’s decay. Particular emphasis is placed on reconciling close-miking strategies (essential for textual clarity in melismatic chants) with distant arrays that preserve the sacred space’s acoustic identity. The tutorial demonstrates how microphone placement—addressing both the choir’s position and the building’s 19th-century vaulted architecture—became critical in managing comb filtering and low-frequency buildup.
Practical workflow considerations include:
Real-time monitoring of spatial imaging through multiple microphone and loudspeaker configurations
Phase coherence management between spot microphones and room arrays
Post-production techniques for maintaining vocal intimacy within vast reverberant fields
Case studies compare results from the Decca/AMBEO hybrid approach against traditional spaced omni configurations, highlighting tradeoffs between localization precision and spatial envelopment. The session also addresses the psychoacoustic challenges of recording small choral ensembles in reverberant spaces, where transient articulation must coexist with diffuse sustain.

This presentation focusses on side and rear channels in recordings in Dolby Atmos. At present, there is no standardised placement for side or rear speakers. This can result in poor localisation in a major portion of the listening area. Sometimes, side speakers are at 90° off the centre axis, sometimes up to 110° off axis. Similarly, rear speakers can be anywhere 120°-135° degrees off axis; in cinemas those can be located directly behind the listener(s). However, an Atmos speaker bed assumes a fixed placement of these side and rear speakers, resulting in inconsistent imaging. Additionally, placing side and rear speakers further off-axis results in a larger gap between them and the front speakers.

These inconsistencies can be minimised by placing these objects at specific virtual locations, whilst avoiding the fixed speaker bed. This ensures a listening experience which represents better what the mix engineer intended. Additionally, reverb feeds can also be sent as objects, to create an illusion further depth. Finally, these additional objects can be fine-tuned for binaural rendering by use of Near/Mid/Far controls.

Mr. Bowles will demonstrate these techniques in an immersive playback session.

Sound is one of the most powerful tools for accessibility in video games, enabling players with visual impairments or cognitive disabilities to navigate, interact, and fully engage with the game world. This panel will explore how sound engineers can leverage audio design to enhance accessibility, making games more inclusive without compromising artistic intent. Experts from different areas of game development will discuss practical approaches, tools, and case studies that showcase how audio can bridge gaps in accessibility.

Discussion Topics:

• Why is sound crucial for accessibility in video games? Audio cues, spatial sound, and adaptive music can replace or complement visual elements, guiding players with disabilities through complex environments and interactions.
• Designing effective spatial audio for navigation and interaction. Using 3D audio and binaural rendering to provide players with intuitive sound-based navigation, enhancing orientation and gameplay flow for blind or visually impaired users.
• Audio feedback and sonification as key accessibility tools. Implementing detailed auditory feedback for in-game actions, menu navigation, and contextual cues to improve usability and player experience.
• Case studies of games with exemplary accessible audio design. Examining how games like The Last of Us Part II, BROK: The InvestiGator, and other titles have successfully integrated sound-based accessibility features.
• Tools and middleware solutions for accessible sound design (example: InclusivityForge). Showcasing how game engines and plugins such as InclusivityForge can streamline the implementation of accessibility-focused audio solutions.
• Challenges in designing accessible game audio and overcoming them. Addressing common technical and creative challenges when designing inclusive audio experiences, including balancing accessibility with immersive design.
• Future trends in accessibility-driven audio design. Exploring how AI, procedural sound, and new hardware technologies can push the boundaries of accessibility in interactive audio environments.

Panel Guests:

• Dr Joanna Pigulak - accessibility expert in games, researcher specializing in game audio accessibility, assistant professor at the Institute of Film, Media, and Audiovisual Arts at UAM.
• Tomasz Tworek - accessibility consultant, blind gamer, and audio design collaborator specializing in improving audio cues and sonification in video games.
• Dr Tomasz Żernicki - sound engineer, creator of accessibility-focused audio technologies for games, and founder of InclusivityForge.

Target Audience:

• Sound engineers and game audio designers looking to implement accessibility features in their projects.
• Game developers interested in leveraging audio as a tool for accessibility.
• UX designers and researchers focusing on sound-based interaction in gaming.
• Middleware and tool developers aiming to create better solutions for accessible audio design.
• Industry professionals seeking to align with accessibility regulations and best practices.

This panel discussion will explore how sound engineers can enhance game accessibility through innovative audio solutions, providing insights into the latest tools, design techniques, and industry best practices.

As spatial audio shifts from a premium feature to a mainstream expectation, significant challenges remain in delivering a uniform experience across devices, formats, and playback systems. This panel brings together industry and academic experts to explore the key technologies driving the future of immersive audio for consumers. We’ll discuss the core technological advancements, software, hardware, and ecosystem innovations necessary to enable more seamless and consistent spatial audio experiences. Additionally, we will examine the challenges of delivering perceptually accurate spatial audio across diverse playback environments and identify the most critical areas of focus for industry and academia to accelerate broader consumer adoption of spatial audio.

How can Audio Augmented Reality (AAR) serve as a storytelling medium? Sound designer Matias Harju shares insights from The Reign Union, an experimental interactive AAR story currently exhibited at WHS Union Theatre in Helsinki, Finland.

This workshop addresses the challenges and breakthroughs of creating an immersive, headphone-based 6DoF AAR experience. In The Reign Union, two simultaneous participants experience the same bio-fictional story from different points of audition. Narrative design considerations and approaches are discussed and demonstrated through video clips featuring binaural sound recorded from the experience. References to other AAR experiences around the world are included to provide a broader context. A central theme is how reality anchors the narrative, while virtual sounds reveal new perspectives and interpretations.

The session also briefly examines the development of an in-house 6DoF AAR prototype platform, used for The Reign Union story as well as other narrative research conducted by the author and his team. This has been a journey through various pose tracking, virtual acoustic, and authoring solutions, resulting in a scalable system potentially suited for complex indoor spaces.

Matias, author of the forthcoming book Audio Augmented Reality: Concepts, Technologies, and Narratives (Routledge, June 2025), invites attendees to discuss and discover the possibilities of AAR as a tool for storytelling and artistic expression.

As immersive audio content becomes more prevalent across streaming and broadcast platforms, creators and engineers face the challenge of making spatial audio accessible to listeners using legacy codecs and traditional playback systems, particularly headphones. With multiple binaural encoding methods available, choosing the right approach for a given project can be complex.

This workshop is designed as an exploration for audio professionals to better understand the strengths and applications of various binaural encoding systems. By comparing different techniques and their effectiveness in real-world scenarios, attendees will gain insights into how binaural processing can serve as a bridge between legacy and modern formats, preserving spatial cues while maintaining compatibility with existing distribution channels.

As the first in a series of workshops, this session will help define key areas for real-world testing between this convention and the next. Attendee insights and discussions will directly influence which encoding methods are explored further, ensuring that the most effective solutions are identified for different content types and delivery platforms.

Participants will gain an understanding of processing methods, and implementation strategies for various distribution platforms. By integrating these approaches, content creators can enhance accessibility and ensure that immersive audio reaches a wider audience, possibly encouraging consumers to explore how to enjoy immersive content using a variety of playback systems.

In this workshop, we present the next generation of Immersive audio capture and reproduction through virtual acoustics. The aural room, whether real or generated, brings together the listener and the sound source in a way that fulfills both the listener’s perceptual needs—like increasing the impression of orientation, presence, and envelopment—and creates aesthetic experiences by elaborating on the timbre and phrasing of the music.
Members of the Immersive Audio Lab (IMLAB) at McGill University will discuss recent forays in creating and capturing aural spaces, using technology ranging from virtual acoustics to Higher Order Ambisonics (HOA) microphones. Descriptions of capture methods, including microphone techniques and experiments will be accompanied by 7.1.4 audio playback demos.
From our studio sessions, we will showcase updates to our Virtual Acoustics Technology (VAT) system, which uses active acoustics in conjunction with 15 omnidirectional and 32 bidirectional speakers to transport musicians into simulated environments. Workshop elements will include a new methodology for creating dynamically changing interactive environments for musicians and listeners, ways to create focus and “mix” sound sources within the virtual room, experimental capture techniques for active acoustic environments, and real-time electronics spatialization in the tracking room via the VAT system.
On location, lab members have been experimenting with hybridized HOA capture systems for large-scale musical scenes. We will showcase multi-point HOA recording techniques to best capture direct sound and room reverberance, and excerpts that compare HOA to traditional channel-based capture systems.