OPINION: L-Acoustics is an audio company you’re probably unfamiliar with, but its reach extends far. At most live concerts held around the world, you’ve probably heard the sound of your favourite musician through its line array speakers. Those pop up in central London – the one that’s opposite Tottenham Court Road Station? Its speakers are there too.
The company has come up with a new trick for its 40th birthday, a system they’re calling HYRISS. I was invited over to its office in Highgate to give it a listen, and quite frankly, I don’t think I’ve heard a system quite like it.
It’s not the first time I’ve been to L-Acoustics’ offices, but this is the first time since it revamped its listening space. When I first saw the ‘old’ room, there were speakers dotted across the walls and a ridiculous number of subwoofers lining the floor. You could see the system and point out where the sound was coming from.
With its redesigned room, the speakers and subwoofers have all but disappeared, hidden into the walls. You can’t see where the sound is coming from, which makes it harder to place – audio is less directional than it seems to emanate from the walls as if the whole room were a speaker.
Within the walls is the HYRISS system (which stands for Hyperreal Immersive Sound Spaces) the next leap forward for L-Acoustics’ sound technology.
By taking away the physical form of a speaker, it wants you to focus on the sound itself – a bit like how the Samsung Music Frame is both a piece of art and a speaker.
But HYRISS isn’t all about flooding the room with sound, the aim is to start with silence – to block out any audio from the external world to the point where you’re almost experiencing a vacuum of sound – like noise-cancelling headphones – and from there on its about transforming the space you’re in.
It’s one of those sound systems that you have to hear to fully understand the effect because it relies on your sense of hearing and perception of sound. But in essence, HYRISS can dynamically adapt the acoustics of a room through the technologies it integrates, which includes L-Acoustics L-ISA speakers, plus its Ambiance and Anima technologies.
In the words of the presenter on the day, with the HYRISS sound system you could transform a room into a concert hall.
And the demonstrations were amazing. Australian pianist Belle Chen dropped in to play a piece of music but the first go around, the notes didn’t sound quite right to her (though to my ears they sounded fine, I’ll trust her nous).
With the press of a button on a remote, this small room turned into the sound of a vast concert hall, and the tone of the piano sounded different, there was reverb and echoes as if we’d been transported to a different place even though we hadn’t budged a centimetre from our seats.
With a clip of Lady Gaga singing Shallow in A Star is Born, it sounds less like a cinematic experience and more like a live concert is taking place. The clarity, detail and resolution of the sound are off the charts.
Another demonstration shows a stadium in Korea, playing the music of John Williams conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. The sensation is like being surrounded by the orchestra – you’re able to place where instruments are to the point where if you have a vivid imagination, you may be able to close your eyes and visualise what this 100-piece orchestra would look like, so high is the level information the HYRISS system can reproduce.
The last experience was that of the sound of a nightclub, and after about twenty seconds I felt if I started talking I’d have to shout and develop that hoarse ‘nightclub’ voice that you get.
So much emphasis is placed on visuals, but this HRYISS sound system makes it clear that sound can have the biggest impact.
George Lucas once said that sound is half the experience but the HYRISS felt as if it was close to 100% of the experience. It’s a sound system that can take you anywhere from the comfort of your own home with the swipe of a screen on an iPad. I have no idea how much it all costs, but if you’re thinking about the price, then you almost certainly can’t afford it.
