Spatial DJ enables real-time control of spatial audio in varied speaker setups
Spatial DJ: Spatial Audio Control for Arbitrary Loudspeaker Layouts
SoundHuman-Computer Interaction
Summary
Playing 3D or spatial audio in different rooms is tricky because each space has a unique speaker setup, and creators usually have to imagine the sound through headphones instead of the real speakers. The authors created Spatial DJ, a tool that uses augmented reality glasses to map the actual speaker positions and let creators adjust spatial audio live while hearing it through those speakers. In tests with 18 speakers and listeners, this system improved feelings of immersion and energy in the sound compared to simpler audio effects. They also showed how Spatial DJ could be reused in different speaker configurations beyond their test environment.
What this means in practice
- •For sound engineers: Map loudspeaker layouts on-site and adjust spatial audio positioning live during performances or installations.
- •For event production teams: Deploy the same spatial audio control system across multiple venues with different speaker setups to ensure immersive sound experiences.$Commercial implications: Allows companies to sell a flexible spatial audio solution adaptable to diverse event spaces.
Authors
Anastasia Geleta, Margarita Geleta
Abstract
Object-based spatial audio promises render-anywhere playback, yet deploying it in a new venue still requires two tasks that are rarely addressed together: acquiring the physical loudspeaker geometry and enabling creators manipulate spatial audio while listening through the target loudspeaker system rather than a headphone proxy. We present Spatial DJ, a system for on-site loudspeaker layout acquisition and real-time spatial audio rendering and control, using head-worn AR in a coordinate frame aligned to the physical loudspeakers. In an 18-loudspeaker room, we evaluate calibration accuracy, repeatability, and control latency, and conduct an 18-participant listener study comparing diffuse and orbiting point-source rendering configurations applied to vocal and instrumental layers. Orbiting point-source conditions received higher ratings of perceived immersion, energy, and novelty than the diffuse baseline. Beyond this controlled setting, four representative deployments illustrate reuse of the same system across heterogeneous loudspeaker venues.