The rapid mainstreaming of spatial audio has created a need for design frameworks that translate research into production-ready practice. This roundtable brings together contributing authors from Immersive Sound Volume II: The Design and Practice of Binaural and Multi-Channel Experiences for an open, cross-disciplinary conversation about where the field stands and where it is headed. Participants will draw on the text's core themes: perceptual grounding, system design, and the creative practice of building immersive sound experiences. The session is structured to encourage dialogue between contributors and attendees, surfacing points of debate, unresolved questions, and divergent perspectives across binaural and multi-channel workflows. Through case studies and cross-disciplinary perspectives, the session offers a practical roadmap for audio engineers, sound designers, and researchers navigating the evolving immersive audio industry. Attendees will leave with concrete frameworks applicable to both studio production and real-time XR deployment.
Multi-channel compact linear loudspeaker arrays combined with Crosstalk Cancellation (CTC) can deliver binaural audio to a user by directing sound precisely at the listener’s ears. This enables the reproduction of binaural, and thus all given spatial audio formats, without the need for headphones. The technique traditionally suffers from a small sweet-spot, which can be overcome by combining real-time head-tracking and position-adaptive beamforming. This workshop introduces the concept of CTC and beamforming combined with user head-tracking, covering both its theoretical foundations and the practical considerations of incorporating head tracking. A live demonstration will showcase head-tracked binaural audio delivered through a position-adaptive CTC soundbar.
