a tool for presenting electroacoustic music that is composed within the studio. Loudspeakers take the place of musicians upon the stage and around the auditorium, with the performer/composer sat at the mixing console, ‘conducting’ the performance. The performer sends different levels of sound to each loudspeaker heightening the space existing within the music and completely surrounding the audience with sound. The very first systems were designed to present stereo works in surround sound, but later systems can spatialise multichannel works. Famous examples are the Acousmonium at the GRM in Paris (France), BEAST at Birmingham University (UK) and the ZKM’s Klangdome in Karlsruhe (Germany).
See also Diffusion.
