Welcome to the MIT Spatial Sound Lab

The MIT Spatial Sound Lab is a community studio for making immersive sound productions. Please sign up for our email list to learn about upcoming events, workshops, listening sessions or to get involved in one of our research tracks.

Introduction

The MIT Spatial Sound Lab is a community studio for making immersive sound productions and for researching the social possibilities of immersive audio, especially for public performance.  We started in November 2019, thanks to a collaboration with d&b Audiotechnik and MIT Office of the Arts.

We are housed in the MIT Stratton Student Center at 84 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139 in room W20-429, a shared space operated by MIT Arts.  We have a 14.2 speaker system that runs the d&b Soundscape, an object-based mixing platform. 

We organize workshops, listening sessions, sound events and ongoing research, experimentation and production.

Our research themes include: Accessible Technology and Disability Justice; Soundscapes of Global Feminism; Spatial Music Performance; Spatial Justice; Sonifying Supermassive Black Holes; Interactive Spatial Design and more.

If you’re interested in getting involved or learning more, please send us an email to be added to our periodic updates.  We hope to see you! 

Contact:  Ian Condry (Professor, MIT) condry@mit.edu 

Events

Upcoming

3/8 Sat 10am – 12noon “Boston’s Birds,” soundwalk, demo and discussion with Florian Grond and Vytautas Bucionis, as part of Transcultural Exchange Conference (requires conference registration).  

3/12 Wed 6p, 7p, and 8-10pm  “Puro Spirito,” MIT Room W20-429, as part of Artfinity:  MIT Arts Festival 2025.  Ticketed performances 6pm and 7pm, & open afterparty/reception 8-10pm.  FREE.

More events and meetups to be announced. Sign up for email list for updates.

Past events

February 13, 2025 (Thu) 8pm – midnight “Fight Back Dance Party” at Cloud & Spirits, 795 Main St., Cambridge, MA 02139, 21+ / $10 / NOTAFLOF; music in quad surround by Nelly Kate, Justin Looper & Leftroman; visuals by Seth Riskin (baby light ballet) & Kris Pilcher (live painting).

Dissolve Music Oct. 3-4, 2024 (Th/Fri) Spatial sound performance and talks about spatial justice.

Sonic robot sessions with Moritz Simon Geist Oct. 7-9, 2024 (M, Tu, W).

WaveForms with MASARY Studios and others, a multimedia event including our “Spatial Mixtape,” featuring local artists in quadraphonic surround.

Unstuffy 01, June 2024, workshop on accessible tech and disability justice.