Areal has appointed Koil Corporation as distributor for the SR1 spatial reference headphone and Upmix Engine in South Korea. The appointment marks Areal’s first distribution partnership outside Europe and represents the next step in the company’s international expansion.
Based in Seoul and established in 1984, Koil has more than four decades of experience across professional audio, broadcast, cinema production and digital cinema. The company combines distribution with technical application support, system design, installation and customer service across broadcast, live performance, film production and cinema applications.
Developed at Areal’s headquarters in Belgium, SR1 is a portable spatial reference system designed for professional immersive monitoring on headphones, supporting multichannel sessions up to 7.1.4. The Upmix Engine is a real-time hardware processor for live sound that expands stereo sources across multi-speaker systems while allowing artists and engineers to retain their existing stereo workflow.
Koil has already begun putting the partnership into practice, recently supporting an Upmix Engine deployment for Hypnosis Therapy on Sync Next 26 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, working alongside Sejong’s audio team and production partners. The project has since provided a platform for customer demonstrations, product presentations and technical engagement with local industry contacts.
‘South Korea is an important market for us, with a strong culture of technical excellence and innovation and growing interest in spatial audio technologies,’ says Areal Commercial Director, Kristof Jeuris. ‘From the very beginning, Koil has been exactly the kind of partner we were looking for: technically capable, proactive and close to the market. They’ve already taken the technology into real projects, brought customers in for demonstrations and started building some great local references. We look forward to developing this market together.’
‘We see strong potential for Areal’s technology in the Korean market,’ says Lian Choi, Manager and System Designer at Koil Corporation. ‘The Upmix Engine gives live productions a practical way to get more from multi-speaker systems while retaining familiar stereo workflows while retaining familiar stereo workflows, while SR1 offers a new approach to professional spatial monitoring. Our work at Sejong has already given us valuable hands-on experience with the technology, and we look forward to introducing both products to more customers and developing further projects together.’
Koil will support sales, demonstrations and applications for both SR1 and the Upmix Engine across South Korea. Further local activity is already planned, including new live projects, trade media coverage and a range of other market-development activities.
The appointment comes as Areal continues to build a selective international partner network focused on technical expertise, local customer support and long-term market development.
More: www.koil.co.kr