"I always hoped that something like Envelop would exist... creating listening spaces for immersive music to be fully experienced. Envelop allows us to relax and enter into the music." - Suzanne Ciani
Today, the nonprofit Envelop announces the launch of Envelop Stream, an extended reality music venue combining virtual environments with multiple channels of streaming immersive audio. Designed for a global audience to listen together, the accessible and browser-based Envelop Stream offers live streaming events via spatial audio for headphones or multiple speakers for immersive group listening in real life.
Check out Christopher Willits' "Coast" via Envelop Stream (listen with Google Chrome for MacOS or Windows).
Envelop Stream comes five years after opening their pioneering 32-speaker listening space in San Francisco, Envelop SF, having hosted nearly a thousand events. Envelop Stream is integrated with Envelop’s free and open-source Envelop for Live software, which tens of thousands of musicians have used to compose immersive music.
Unlike existing VR music and “metaverse” experiences, which can feel chaotic or isolating, Envelop Stream prioritizes the listening experience. With up to 16 channels of streaming 2048kbps immersive audio, Envelop Stream is the first fully immersive and independent live-streaming music venue.
Using technology developed over more than a decade, Envelop Stream allows listeners using standard headphones to enjoy sound-reactive virtual environments via immersive audio. Envelop Stream also connects to any real-world multichannel sound system – such as quadraphonic or 5.1 systems – encouraging the community to gather and listen together with friends and family in their own homes.
“We founded Envelop to create a home for deep immersive listening and provide opportunities for musicians working at the forefront of sound,” says Envelop’s Co-founder and Director, Christopher Willits (Artist, Ghostly International). Envelop Stream is a natural evolution of our in-person listening spaces, allowing us to experience the collective joy and inspiration of listening together, around the world.”
