Germany’s prestigious Folkwang Universität der Künste has adopted Astro Spatial Audio’s Sara II Premium Rendering Engine for its object-based audio instruction.
The university has been engaged in electronic and experimental composition since the early 1970s, leading to the inception of the Institute for Computer Music and Electronic Media (ICEM) in 1989. A multi-purpose electronic studio and facility, comprising recording spaces and performance areas, the ICEM’s professors and staff have consistently sought to stay ahead of the tech curve in terms of the equipment made available to students.
Now those students can experience the power and flexibility of true object-based audio courtesy of the Sara II system, creating immersive projects as part of their course work. ‘Our approach here is definitely an artistic one and we wanted to be able to explore immersive sound with regard to composition,’ says Professor Thomas Neuhaus is Artistic Director of the ICEM. ‘Whether it is in connection with immersive video or not is a secondary consideration. As opposed to fairly simple 8-channel sound and panning, our aim was to provide students with the chance to explore the full possibilities of immersive audio.’
The university team investigated a number of immersive technologies, but were drawn to Astro Spatial Audio by its high-profile references as well as the Sara II’s ability to work over the studio’s Dante media network.
‘The Astro Spatial Audio solution has been implemented during the remodelling of this one studio, and part of our aim for the space is to make it as easy to reconfigure as possible for different applications and projects. The Dante network supports that objective and, of course, the Astro Spatial Audio Sara II processor is Dante compatible.’
The 3U-high rackmount Sara II supports 3D audio in live entertainment and installation projects, plus room acoustics and other processing. The engine converts audio signals into audio objects, attaching metadata to each object, including its position in 3D space and acoustic characteristics. It then renders the position of each audio object in real time within 3D space (depending on the user’s choice of room shape) up to 40 times per second. The result is a seamless, phase-free, three dimensional audio canvas.
Boasting a 2.8-inch touchscreen display, the Sara II includes ultra-low noise cooling, redundant on board SSD drives and up to 128 Madi or 128 Dante configurable network pathways, all of which are assignable to at least 32 audio objects. Browser-based access to a user-friendly GUI ensures ease of operation with simultaneous control from up to 10 devices. Crucially, the Sara II premium rendering engine is also entirely brand agnostic.
The system is being used in conjunction with the studio’s DAW-based 20-plus strong loudspeaker system. In keeping with the modern studio layout, there is no large-format console in the revamped studio, while the classic analogue synths that were formerly housed there have also been removed to give students more space to realise their 3D projects.
‘In terms of what you might call classic studio equipment, there is none except for a handful of audio interfaces and controllers,’ Neuhaus explains.
Tweaks to the remodelled studio are ongoing, but students have already had the opportunity to engage with the Astro Spatial Audio technology. ‘It is a very different experience and requires students to get away from the idea of having tracks that you simply place in the stereo or multichannel panorama,’ notes Neuhaus. ‘Instead, they need to consider the whole space as something that can be incorporated into the composition.
‘Being able to create a mix that replicates the experience of being immersed in sound is very powerful, and I think we are going to see some students create some highly innovative work,’ he concludes.
More: www.astroaudio.eu
