AROS, the Loudspeaker Orchestra

Acousmatic Room Orchestration System

Acousmatic Room Orchestration is an approach to design custom-made sound moods for spaces. The associated system is called AROS. Unlike other multichannel systems, the AROS does not generate or reproduce prerecorded spatial information. Instead, it generates spatiality by incorporating the acoustic characteristics of the actual space.

In an orchestra the spatial experience results from the fact that each musician is playing their own voice in a specific spacial location and on an instrument that features a specific timbre and sound diffusion. The acoustic properties of the concert hall certainly have a great influence on the resulting sound experience as well. Based on this idea, in the AROS, each sound element or ‘voice’ of a composition has its own speaker and location within the space.

Contrary to other 3D audio systems, which usually rely on circular or spherical speaker placement, in the AROS, the speakers are distributed across the whole space, mounted on walls, the ceiling, the floor or even inside of objects. The wider the speakers are spread, the better the spatial depth.

Walking through a space that is orchestrated by an AROS, each individual position offers a different sonic perspective. It is, therefore, an ideal solution for listening applications in which the listener is expected to move within the space, namely exhibitions, fairs or theme parks. 

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More about AROS:

AROS on Wikipedia
Publication about AROS