Immersive audio formats promise sound that surrounds the listener from all directions, including above. Delivering that experience typically requires ceiling-mounted speakers or up-firing drivers that bounce sound off the ceiling — hardware that increases BOM cost, complicates industrial design, and depends on room geometry that varies from home to home. The content itself must also be encoded in multi-channel formats to drive those additional speakers.

PRISM Stratos creates immersive sound from a standard 2-channel stereo signal on ordinary TV speaker systems. It extends the sound stage horizontally beyond the physical left and right speaker positions and vertically above the TV picture height — producing the perception of width, depth, and overhead presence without additional hardware or special content formats.

How it works

PRISM Stratos combines two processing stages: a spatial rendering engine and PRISM equalization.

The Stratos spatial process uses Eilex's proprietary Spherical Head Model (SHM) to model how sound propagates around the human head, paired with crosstalk cancellation (XTC) that prevents the sound from each speaker from reaching the listener's opposite ear. Together, these create virtual sound sources that the listener perceives as originating from well outside — and above — the physical speaker locations. SHM is more versatile than conventional Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) measured from a specific dummy head, delivering consistent spatial accuracy across listeners with different head shapes.

The PRISM equalization stage corrects the speaker system's Acoustic Power Volume Density (APVD) frequency response to a natural, flat baseline. This tonal correction is essential — without it, frequency-dependent coloring from the speakers would distort the spatial rendering and undermine the immersive effect.

Width, height, and centered dialog

Stratos expands the stereo image in two dimensions — horizontally to approximately double the perceived width, and vertically above the screen. This creates a sense of envelopment and scale that standard stereo playback cannot achieve from closely spaced TV or soundbar drivers.

Dialog and center-channel content remain firmly anchored in the center throughout. The spatial expansion applies to stereo elements — ambience, effects, instrumentation — while mono content stays locked in place. No sound mode switching is required across content types.

No special content required

Unlike hardware immersive audio systems that depend on multi-channel encoded content, PRISM Stratos works from any standard 2-channel stereo source. Broadcast television, streaming services, music, and gaming all benefit from expanded staging — regardless of how the audio was originally mixed.

Where PRISM Stratos fits

PRISM Stratos is designed for TVs and soundbars where immersive audio is a product differentiator but additional speaker hardware is not feasible. It delivers the spatial impression of a multi-speaker immersive system from the existing 2-channel speaker configuration, integrating directly with the PRISM equalization pipeline.