Here, Ascendo Immersive Audio (AIA) partnered with the specialists from Barco, Screen Research and Kaleidescape to build a real room-in-room movie theater - similar to the Ascendo demo cinema in Ansbach. This special exhibition cinema space measured at least 35 square meters, suitable for all new surround formats (especially Dolby Atmos and Auro 3D) and was, of course, completely darkened. Since the speakers were all placed behind the curtains and the screen, shooting photos was a real mischief. But Stefan Köpf, the managing director of AIA, listed the individual active speakers to me. And there really were a lot: four SMSG15 subwoofers, five CCRM12 front speakers and thirteen CCRM6 surround speakers. So there were in total 22 speakers with a corresponding power of 22,000 watts RMS provided by their integrated amplifiers.
Without the visitors knowing about how much high-tech slumbered in secret there, they very well sensed what this great cinema would be able to offer. However, the entrance door permanently faced a long queue wanting to get in, and it took me several attempts to get inside. However, the wait was worth the while. Inside, Ascendo's CEOs Stefan Köpf and Jürgen Scheuring had perhaps dampened the room with a bit too much of molton cloth, since the room’s attenuation was quite strong. But, this did not restrict the experience. The image was crackingly sharp, the sound somewhat attenuated, but very direct, clear and highly dynamic.
Each demo ended with Metallica in Dolby Atmos (Through The Never in 3D). The vivid 3D imaging of individual sound events was nothing short of sensational. The power with which the bass drum and the bass were pressed into the room evolved completely undistorted. Such an experience just can't happen with stereophonic HiFi.