Spatial Audio

What is it?

Spatial audio is any audio system that positions sound in three-dimensional space around the listener. In the fulldome context, it means audio that matches the immersive visual environment — sounds can come from above, behind, below, and all around.

Spatial Audio Families

• Channel-based — fixed tracks for fixed speakers (5.1, 7.1, 7.1.4)
• Ambisonics / HOA — mathematical sound field encoding, decoded to any layout
• Object-based — individual sounds positioned as spatial objects (Dolby Atmos, d&b Soundscape)
• Wave Field Synthesis — physical wavefront reconstruction using dense arrays
• VBAP / DBAP — vector-based panning methods for arbitrary speaker layouts

The DFW Forum transcripts reveal a community actively debating these approaches — with 3rd order HOA emerging as the most portable delivery format, while venues like the Satosphere (SAT Montréal, 98 speakers) support all formats simultaneously.

Why It Matters for Dome

As Monica Bowles noted in the DFW Innovative Sound Strategies forum: "Audio is 50% of the experience" — citing George Lucas. The dome is one of the few environments where full-sphere spatial audio makes physical sense: the visual hemisphere wraps around and above you, and the audio should match.

Key Tools

• IEM Plugin Suite — free, open-source HOA tools from Graz
• Spatial Audio Designer — Tom Ammermann’s tool with binaural monitoring for 70+ venues
• SpatGris — open-source from SAT R&D lab
• SPAT Revolution — IRCAM’s professional spatial audio engine
• dearVR — now free via Sennheiser

See also: Ambisonics → · HOA → · Wave Field Synthesis → · Binaural →

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