The culmination of more than five years of development, a new spatial reference headphone system is the second launch from Areal, following the unveiling of its Upmix Engine real-time professional upmixing hardware.
The SR1 is a professional multi-driver headphone designed for accurate immersive monitoring beyond the postproduction, mixing or broadcast studio environment. The design combines a quad-driver architecture in each earcup with Areal’s Acoustic Image Mapping (AIM) technology. Surround information is physically distributed across dedicated drivers for front, rear and height channels, preserving spatial separation. Unlike systems relying on binaural emulation or Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF) personalisation, SR1 reckons to present a repeatable spatial image across users and sessions.
Processing for SR1 is handled by an eight-output companion controller with rotary level control and switches for instant toggling between stereo, 5.1 and 7.1.4 formats. The unit doubles as a high-specification headphone amplifier and incorporates a high-resolution 24-bit D/A converter. Connecting via USB-C to a Mac or PC, the controller appears as a class-compliant multichannel soundcard for integration with the user’s preferred software.
Early SR1 systems are in use with engineers, producers and artists engaged in immersive workflows. The SR1 system is distributed by POLAR in Great Britain, with additional partners to be announced throughout 2026 as the company expands its international footprint. SR1 is also available in selected territories via the company’s website.
See also:
Areal Upmix Engine