From Tomorrowland to Broadcast: Pieter Doms & Mark Gittins on Building the AREAL SR1 Headphones, Upmix Algorithms & Why Binaural HRTFs Are Limiting

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Mark Gittins, immersive audio engineer and owner of SenSound studios, currently working on broadcast for a major international football tournament, and Pieter Doms, co-founder of AREAL Technologies from Belgium. Together they discuss the invention and development of immersive audio monitoring technology, the AREAL SR1 headphones, and how spatial audio is transforming professional audio production.Pieter shares the fascinating origin story of how AREAL Technologies was born during the pandemic, starting as a Tomorrowland festival request to convert stereo music to immersive audio in real time. Mark discusses his experience using the headphones for remote mixing during high-pressure broadcast work, and both explore the challenges and opportunities in immersive audio adoption.In This Episode:The Origin of AREAL Technologies — How Pieter Doms and his team created an upmix algorithm during the pandemicThe SR1 Headphones Development — The creative journey from a joke about building a studio in a headphone to a functioning solutionNon-Binaural Immersive Monitoring — How the SR1 achieves 3D soundscape representation without relying purely on HRTFsRemote Mixing for Broadcast — Mark's experience using the headphones while working on tournament broadcastsChallenges in Getting Started with Immersive Audio — Infrastructure requirements, learning curve, and barriers for engineersBinaural Monitoring Limitations — Why traditional binaural platforms struggle with height representationRoom Simulation & Personalization — Head width parameter optimization, EQ customization, and virtual room simulationThe Chicken-and-Egg Problem of Adoption — Why immersive audio adoption is slow and the role of content availabilityImmersive Audio in Mainstream Media — Dolby Atmos prevalence in streaming, TV, and filmThe Future of Spatial Audio — Wearable and augmented reality applicationsAbout Our Guests:Mark Gittins:Immersive audio engineer and owner of Sensound, a professional mixing studio specialising in immersive projects. Originally from Birmingham, England.Pieter Doms:Co-founder of AREAL Technologies from Belgium, with over 20 years of professional sound engineering experience. As a live sound engineer for major events including Tomorrowland, his technical expertise in algorithm design led to the creation of AREAL Technologies during the pandemic.About Our Host:Ashea is a platinum-selling songwriter, music producer, and audio engineer from the UK. With credits spanning notable artists, major labels, and prestigious broadcasters, Ashea brings authentic conversations between industry professionals to the Production Expert Podcast. Instagram: @iamasheaResources & LinksAREAL Technologies — https://areal.world/SenSound Studios — https://www.sensoundaudio.com/Megatone Studios — Birmingham-based tracking and control roomTomorrowland — Festival featuring immersive audio experiencesDolby Atmos — Immersive audio format for streaming and broadcastVirtuoso — Binaural monitoring softwareGenelec UNIO — genelec.com/unioSponsorshipThis episode is brought to you by Genelec. If you've ever been disappointed with the way your mixes sound on other playback systems, check out Genelec's UNIO monitoring ecosystem. Visit genelec.com/unio to learn more.