Boom, Belgium (April 8, 2026)—Spatial audio mixing outside of traditional studio environments is on the rise, and Belgian immersive audio specialist Areal is launching a new tool to answer the needs of those mixers on the move. The result of five years of development, the SR1 is a new professional spatial reference headphone system that uses multiple drivers to create its immersive field.
Using a quad-driver architecture inside each earcup, the SR1 works in conjunction with the company’s Acoustic Image Mapping (AIM) technology. Surround information is physically distributed across dedicated drivers for front, rear, and height channels rather than use binaural emulation or Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF) personalization.
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Processing for SR1 is handled by an 8-output companion controller with rotary level control and switches for moving between stereo, 5.1 and 7.1.4 formats. The unit can also be used as a high-specification headphone amplifier and incorporates a high-resolution 24-bit DAC. Connecting via USB-C to a Mac or PC, the controller appears as a class-compliant multichannel soundcard for integration with the user’s preferred software.
Areal co-founder Pieter Doms noted, “With SR1 and your laptop, your setup becomes self-contained. When you return to the studio, your mix is already structured and ready for refinement. This is also a fantastic tool for anyone seeking to develop their immersive mixing skills without the luxury of 24/7 studio access.”
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The SR1 headphones are Areal’s second product, following the launch of its Upmix Engine real-time upmixing hardware earlier this year.