Genelec Deploys Multi-Channel Immersive Audio at the PHI Center

This Canadian art center has equipped its studio with sixteen monitors 8020 of Genelec to create a public listening environment, Multi-channel and flexible, in which to reproduce immersive commercial formats and for artists to work and experiment.

Founded in 2012 in Montreal, the PHI Center He is dedicated to innovating in creative production, Encouraging design, Development and presentation of a wide variety of disciplines, especially in digital technologies, as well as promoting the work of local artists.

As Your Creative Sound Supervisor Explains, Phil Rochefort (in the image below): "PHI is made up of three distinct entities: the PHI Foundation Para Arte Contemporáneo is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the public with impactful experiences in this discipline and free exhibitions; the PHI Center It hosts concerts and exhibitions in virtual reality, augmented and mixed, and PHI Studio It has earned a reputation as a cutting-edge talent incubator and a catalyst for the conception and implementation of immersive multidisciplinary projects.".

With the aim of "fostering access to the arts through a variety of media, taking a very pluralistic approach", Rochefort points out, The centre has opted for the Immersive audio of Genelec to bring new experiences to your public space and analyze how to create them through your studio.

Designed with Sixteen monitors 8020 and known as Habitat sonore, The public listening environment was created first, Multi-channel and flexible, at the IHP Center "for the reproduction of various Immersive Business Formats -Rochefort points out., which can also be used as an 'instrument'’ for artists to explore the possibilities of spatialization".

As a soundproof and acoustically treated space, Rochefort describes Habitat sonore "Like stepping into a 'cocoon' of sound. It's about helping to adapt the audience to their environment; Not so much of objects, it's about reactivating people's sense of hearing and the way they listen.".

No visuals to distract visitors, Habitat sonore Attracts people in unexpected ways. "There aren't many public listening spaces like this in North America," he says. We designed this room to be flexible enough to Play Commercial Renderings and allow artists to mix in it directly".

Designed as a traditional follow-up studio when the building opened ten years ago, Rochefort wanted the space to offer new possibilities and serve as a commercial entity and laboratory for adapting works.

"There's a lot of things you can do in the studio to help Prototyping and exploring creative possibilities of the work we were already doing in the development of virtual and augmented reality, And we didn't get it with the existing study," he explains. In addition, Montreal has a very active new media scene and we wanted to give those artists a space as well, as many of them work with immersive audio and need places to try things out. So we created an ecosystem that meets both needs.".

Based on Genelec Smart Active Monitors, The study uses Seven three-way coaxial monitors 8341 in front and wrap-around positions; four 8330 Two-way for the high channels and a pair of subwoofer 7360 that are controlled with the GLM software.

"Genelec was already our preferred loudspeaker, But when I did a demonstration of the 8341 in the studio, they were unlike anything I'd ever heard before," Rochefort says. Immersive setup requires images that are perfectly aligned in time and true accuracy, And the studio was never designed as an immersive room. Having the GLM software to correct those challenges in such a difficult space proved invaluable.".

In the same way that visitors regain their connection to sound at the PHI Center, Rochefort stresses that the studio provides another, stronger creative with the work that is produced there.

"It's fascinating to see artists who have never experienced immersive environments push their boundaries. Most of the artists we work with love how it allows you to collapse or expand the space or use it to introduce tension and surprise. I set up his music and start throwing things around the room and, suddenly, You can see them interacting with her and exploring different possibilities.", Concludes.

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