The facilities at SARC include the state-of-the-art Sonic Laboratory, multi-channel studios, Broadcast Studio, Interaction Lab and computer labs. The nearby Music building is home to the Harty Room concert hall equipped with two full-concert Steinway grand pianos, a double-manual harpsichord, chamber organ and many percussion and specialist instruments.
SARC's Equipment Store contains an extensive amount of audio and video equipment including studio microphones, portable audio recorders, documentary cameras, and VR cameras.
3D Audio
Sonic Laboratory
SARC is home to the world famous Sonic Laboratory. Often remarked as a 'cinema for the ear'. The Sonic Lab is a specialist acoustic space designed to provide a unique and exciting listening experience, in fact, the auditory equivalent of an IMAX cinema. Forty-eight loudspeakers, strategically located, will project and move sounds throughout the space, including underneath the audience. No other auditorium for sonic art performance and experimentation currently exists with this revolutionary feature. The provision of this facility gives Northern Ireland a unique and pioneering role in a rapidly developing field.
This facility enables research teams to develop and implement cutting edge initiatives in the creation and delivery of music and audio.
The Sonic Laboratory's uniqueness is vested in the degree of flexibility it can provide for experiments in sound diffusion (the relaying of sounds through a large complex of loudspeakers) and for ground-breaking compositional and performance work within a purpose-built, variable acoustic space.
The configuration of the space has been recently upgraded to allow the mixing and playback of Dolby ATMOS surround sound mixes; used in film, music and virtual reality.
As an engineering research facility, the Sonic Laboratory will provide unparalleled opportunities to develop and test new ideas relating to loudspeaker design, loudspeaker placement, music perception, music interaction, delivery and diffusion.
Please note if visiting the Sonic Lab:
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The ground level is a metal grid that allows sound to come from the basement level. It is therefore advised not to wear heels. |
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Food and drink is not permitted in the lab |
View the specifications of the Sonic Laboratory
