Neumann creates immersive audio for mediaHyperium studio

The AV production company mediaHyperium has installed eighteen monitors Neumann KH and the Ambeo soundbar of Sennheiser in a renovated auditorium converted into a studio.

Early 2020, seeing the coronavirus pandemic spread through Southern California, Herbert Waltl, producer, musician and an innovator in spatial audio (in the image below), moved the operations of its audiovisual production company mediaHyperium to an abandoned music school.

This process involved the equipment of an old auditorium with a monitoring system composed of eighteen speakers from the range Neumann KH, whose products it markets magnetron in the Spanish market.

This monitoring system easily switches between immersive music formats Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio, no need to change the position of the speakers, thanks to the combination of nine teams in height and three of soil with distribution 7.1.

This monitor configuration 7.1 consists of seven Neumann KH420 triamplified midfield and a pair of subwoofer KH870 with bass management. Five teams KH310 near-field triamplified mounts mounted on brackets (three at the front and the left and right channels in height) reproduce the aerial channels of the system, object-based 360 Reality Audio de Sony.

Hanging from the ceiling and located a little closer to the mixing position, as recommended by Dolby Laboratories, four near-field biamplified speakers Neumann KH120 reproduce the aerial zone of dolby atmos mixtures.

As this producer points out, "I had never used the big monitors, the KH420, only the 310. In this room I'm more or less a 2,5 meters of the speakers. What I like most about the system is that it has a great level of detail and you don't have to play it at full volume to hear it. I work with a fairly moderate gain most of the day”.

Faithful reproduction

Until now, initiatives to introduce formats beyond stereo have failed at a commercial level - says this expert- due to the reluctance or inability of consumers to install many speakers in their spaces

However, today, manufacturers offer simple, low-cost solutions, such as soundbars and smart speakers, able to offer an immersive reproduction.

As Waltl explains, "We have another room, in this case hearing, in which we have put a soundbar Ambeo of Sennheiser. Now we hear how the audio plays in a soundbar".

Although Sony's immersive format, technology-based MPEG-H of Fraunhofer, was initially conceived to play 3D music on headphones, "Sennheiser's Ambeo soundbar is now compatible with Sony 360, and there are receivers that will send the signal to a speaker system”.

The Sony format “it demands three speakers on the floor at the front, he adds., but it is impossible to obtain an accurate and faithful representation if there is furniture or mixing tables in between. That's why we set up this room., specifically created for immersive sound".

This space has only the essential furniture to place the mixing controls and display screens Pro Tools of Avid.

"Mixing immersive music in a stereo control room is a challenge, because there is a huge console between the subwoofer and you," explains Schilling.. Not that it's impossible, but it requires much more work to determine where to place each thing. This room looks much more like a mastering room, because my controller takes up very little space".

One of the initial approaches was “install a bar system in which we could move the aerial speakers, but it's more efficient and faster to have different speaker sets".

That's why, Schilling has created templates to quickly route and switch between Dolby and Sony immersive formats in the mediaHyperium mixing room.

"The room was practically ready for use," waltl says.. The walls and ceiling already had acoustic treatment, because it had been an auditorium. With additional treatment that included bass traps, now the sound of the room is magnificent".

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