Serving the live immersive audio community since 2016 with its L-ISA platform and the immersive music-creating and mixing communities since 2021 with L-ISA Studio, L-Acoustics makes investing in spatial technology even easier with its upgraded L-ISA 3.0 software, offering powerful new features. L-ISA technology offers a unique multichannel sound experience for live performances, replacing conventional left/right and LCR PA systems. L-ISA combines L-Acoustics loudspeaker systems in a multi-array configuration with spatial processing hardware and software-based audio tools to manage every step of an immersive audio project from the design through to the show itself.
High-profile artists have already deployed L-ISA technology across various musical styles, including Ennio Morricone and his orchestra, Adele, Katy Perry, Mark Knopfler, ODESZA, Lorde, Aerosmith, and many more. It has also been deployed in many temporary and fixed installations, including cultural venues and major music festivals. L-ISA can be experienced in the Las Vegas residencies of Katy Perry, Adele and more.
As audio professionals seek to leverage spatial audio technologies in live, professional, and consumer audio, L-ISA 3.0 mixing software makes immersive audio more accessible. Working dynamically in real-time has always been a core philosophy for L-ISA. The new FX Engine now allows designers to create reactive movements and trajectories of any kind: reactive to the designer and reactive to other objects within L-ISA to create true organic movements. The powerful FX Engine includes fully customizable controls and behaviors that can be additively applied to unlimited objects, allowing even the simplest of mixes to come alive in new and complex ways.
While an increasing number of venues around the world already possess L-ISA immersive audio configurations and 3D mixing capabilities, visiting artists may not have their content ready in an immersive format while on tour. For those artists, the new Stereo Mapper feature in L-ISA 3.0 maps existing stereo content to an immersive speaker configuration — without changing the original artist’s mix. Stereo Mapper distributes stereo content to an L-ISA configuration while conserving a similar power distribution as traditional left/right array configurations to retain the original stereo image and overall mix.
Stereo Mapper allows L-ISA venues to welcome artists who prefer to perform in stereo without the need to change their L-ISA configuration. Another benefit of Stereo Mapper is that low-frequency coverage is increased throughout the venue — reducing or even improving the stereo image while maintaining or improving low-frequency directivity. Any out-fill speakers can be time aligned to either stereo or immersive, making switching between stereo and spatial content seamless or even achievable on the fly. Sound engineers and artists who perform in venues equipped with Stereo Mapper will find it easier to step into spatial audio with a stereo-mapped mix—the new functionality makes it easy to widen one or two sound objects beyond the traditional left/right positioning. Step by step, moving up to a fully spatialized mix will be easier than ever, using Stereo Mapper as a starting point.
The entirely updated Snapshot Engine provides increased granularity and scope of what can be stored in snapshots, allowing users to choose which sources are visible at any given moment in time, with features such as source processing, delay, reverb, and more. This affords unparalleled precision and control over spatial mixes for both live sound and studio applications.
Meanwhile, a powerful new Edit Mode allows users to visualize the position of audio sources in each snapshot, making it easier to follow an object's position across the soundscape at a specific moment in time. The brand-new Preview Mode, available for both online and offline use, makes it possible to visualize the position of specific objects in different snapshots or an object's position throughout every snapshot. If changes are needed, users can make on-the-fly adjustments in Preview Mode without any interruption or downtime.
L-ISA Mixhalo Integration
To make immersive experiences even more accessible, L-Acoustics is expanding the L‑ISA ecosystem, making it possible to install qualified third-party applications and technologies on the L-ISA Processor II. The first application to natively leverage the processing power of L-ISA is Mixhalo, a ultra-low latency networking technology that unlocks high-fidelity, augmented audio for fans at live events, which is now fully integrated into the L-ISA 3.0 platform.
Mixhalo offers audiences multi-channel audio streaming via their own phones and headphones. Fans can hear the full band mix with studio quality sound at a concert or focus on a guitar mix or drum solo. Or they could tap into a binaural mix powered by the L-ISA Processor. While at a soccer match, users can listen to a home radio broadcast or tap into a celebrity broadcast. At a conference, they can listen to a keynote speech by a foreign language interpreter. All in low latency and dynamically synced to the PA. Coupling Mixhalo with the L-ISA Processor II allows show designers to natively control Mixhalo augmented audio content directly from the processor and stream directly to mobile phones. L-Acoustics and Mixhalo will start a public Beta phase with a select number of qualified Certified Providers this month.
"As consumer audio platforms such as Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music continue to make spatial audio more ubiquitous, having the ability to create and perform in immersive is now a necessity and accessible to all — regardless of skill level or format," explains Scott Sugden, Director of Product Management, Software, and Electronics, L-Acoustics. "The new L-ISA 3.0 platform brings more value to our immersive technology platform for those who’ve chosen to use it in their venues and for those who choose to create their content with it."
When mixing FOH for live productions, L-ISA 3.0 is an efficient platform to achieve high-quality, immersive audio experiences. In addition to the various new functionalities in L-ISA 3.0, the L-ISA Studio desktop processor has gone from 12 outputs to 16, giving on-the-go sound designers more options for their immersive sound content.
L-ISA 3.0 will be demonstrated at Infocomm Booth 5751, Level 2 and Demo Room W320, Level 3.
L-ISA Studio can be downloaded for free here.
www.l-acoustics.com
