Immersive Audio Explained: What It Is & How It Works (2024)

The world of technology is constantly evolving, and alongside it, the audio industry has been pushing boundaries to create new and innovative ways to enhance our listening experience.

One such advancement is immersive audio, a multi-dimensional approach to audio storytelling that goes beyond traditional surround sound. In this article, we will explore the concept of immersive audio, its history, and its impact on various industries. Whether you're a music enthusiast, a gamer, or a movie buff, immersive audio is revolutionizing the way we all experience sound.

What is Immersive Audio?

Immersive audio is a groundbreaking technology that aims to create a fully immersive and realistic audio experience for the listener. Unlike traditional surround sound, which is limited to a horizontal plane around the listener, immersive audio allows sound to be perceived as coming from all directions. It creates a three-dimensional sonic field, enveloping the listener and transporting them to a different world of sound.

The term “immersive audio” was introduced to better describe this new audio format, which has evolved from surround sound to a truly immersive and dynamic experience. With immersive audio, sound can come not only from the left, right, front, and back but also from above and below, creating a truly immersive and lifelike audio experience.

The History of Surround Sound and the Emergence of Immersive Audio

The concept of immersive audio is not entirely new. The roots of immersive audio can be traced back to the early experiments with surround sound in the 1940s. Disney, for instance, experimented with surround sound during select screenings of “Fantasia,” aiming to create a more immersive and interactive experience for the audience.

The birth of surround sound, as we know it today, can be attributed to musician and artist Henry Jacobs, who organized audio/visual concerts in the 1950s at the Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco. These concerts utilized surround sound technology to create a more immersive and captivating experience for the audience.

It wasn't until the late 1970s that surround sound made its way into the movie industry. The introduction of Dolby Stereo Surround in films like “Apocalypse Now” and “Blade Runner” marked a turning point in the adoption of surround sound technology. From there, the movie industry embraced surround sound, and it became an integral part of the cinematic experience.

The Evolution of Audio Channels

The evolution of audio channels has played a significant role in the development of immersive audio. In the early days of audio recording, songs and soundtracks were predominantly recorded and mixed in mono, with only one channel of audio. As technology progressed, stereo sound emerged, providing a broader sound field for audio engineers to work with.

Stereo sound allowed for the separation of audio between the left and right channels, creating a more immersive and spatial experience. This shift from mono to stereo opened up new possibilities for creating depth and dimension in audio recordings.

In recent years, advancements in audio technology have led to the introduction of setups featuring additional speakers, such as 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound systems. These setups allow for more precise audio placement, with each speaker contributing to a more immersive experience. Engineers can now mix audio tracks to create a sense of directionality, where sounds can appear to come from different directions, enhancing the overall immersive audio experience.

Immersive Audio Formats and Technologies

One of the most popular immersive audio formats is Dolby Atmos. Dolby Atmos is a revolutionary audio technology that enables sound to move around the listener in a three-dimensional space, creating a truly immersive audio experience. Unlike traditional surround sound formats, Dolby Atmos is not limited to any specific speaker setup. It can be played back using up to 34 speakers, making it highly adaptable to various listening environments.

Another emerging immersive audio format is DTS:X, which provides a similar three-dimensional audio experience. DTS:X utilizes object-based audio technology, allowing sounds to be precisely placed and moved in a three-dimensional space. This format provides filmmakers, musicians, and sound engineers with greater creative freedom to design immersive audio experiences that transport the listener into the heart of the action.

Immersive Audio in Film and Gaming

The film and gaming industries have been at the forefront of adopting immersive audio technologies to enhance the overall audiovisual experience for their audiences.

In the world of cinema, immersive audio has become an essential component of the movie-watching experience. Filmmakers now have the ability to create a truly immersive sound field, where sounds can move seamlessly around the audience, creating a more realistic and engaging cinematic experience. From the subtle rustling of leaves to the thunderous roar of an explosion, immersive audio allows every sound to be precisely placed and heard, making the movie-watching experience more captivating than ever before.

Immersive audio has also made its mark in the gaming industry. Game developers are leveraging immersive audio technologies to create more immersive and realistic gameplay experiences. With immersive audio, gamers can hear every footstep, gunshot, and explosion as if they were happening right beside them. This heightened level of audio immersion adds a new layer of depth and realism to gaming, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.

Immersive Audio in Music Production

The world of music production has also embraced immersive audio as a means to revolutionize the way music is created and consumed. Immersive audio allows musicians and producers to create music that transcends the limitations of traditional stereo recordings, providing a more immersive and lifelike listening experience.

With immersive audio, musicians can place instruments and vocals in a three-dimensional space, creating a sense of depth and dimensionality. This opens up new creative possibilities for artists, allowing them to experiment with spatial effects and create a more engaging musical experience for their listeners.

Immersive audio has gained recognition in the music industry with the introduction of the “Immersive Audio” category in the Grammy Awards. This category acknowledges the growing importance of immersive audio in music production and celebrates artists who embrace this innovative format in their work.

Artificial Intelligence for Immersive Audio Mixing

Using AI-powered tools for immersive mixing can enhance the quality and depth of audio production. LALAL.AI is one such tool – it’s an online stem splitting service that allows you to extract different parts of songs like vocals, background music, drums, piano, synth, wind instruments and more.

As Manchester Music said in their video review of LALAL.AI, Adobe and Rip X:

“I think as far as the stem splitting goes, it's true that as a negative, you can't simultaneously download stuff, but I think they've made up for it with a pretty good preview and new algorithm section where you can do, you know, synthesizers and strings and stuff which I think is going to be really beneficial for people that want to do immersive mixing.

So, this is the idea of taking a stereo mix and placing it around a 3D sound stage for like an Apple immersive format or whatever. And the reason this is helpful is because right now a lot of what most of the guys can do is bass drums vocals and everything else, but with LALAL.AI, you can get a couple more little stems in there to place around the stereo field.

This is important because in immersive mixing you often don't have the multi-tracks to go back to you just have a stereo file from like Aerosmith 40 years ago that you have to extract somehow and then move around in the stereo field. I think it’s an interesting advantage that LALAL.AI has for people doing this kind of work.”

The Future of Immersive Audio

As immersive audio continues to evolve, we can expect to see further advancements and wider adoption of this technology. The possibilities for immersive audio are vast, and its impact will extend beyond film, gaming, and music. Industries such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and live events are also exploring the potential of immersive audio to create more immersive and interactive experiences for their audiences.

Immersive audio is not just a trend but a revolution in audio technology, and its impact will shape the future of how we perceive and experience sound. So, sit back, put on your headphones or step into a surround sound system, and let immersive audio transport you to a world of sound like never before.