A first look at Aro, our Ambisonic decoder for macOS: first to seventh order to any layout up to 9.1.6 or to Orbit Binaural on headphones, Mid-Side and A-format conversion, and four ways to see where the sound is coming from. Coming soon.
Aro is our Ambisonic decoder for macOS, and it’s nearly ready. Here are eighteen seconds of it.
Hear the whole sphere
Open an Ambisonic recording and Aro shows you where the sound is coming from, four ways:
Sphere: where the energy sits on the sphere, right now.
Map: every direction at once, with a heat trail you can tune.
Speakers: the level at each speaker in your layout.
Head: top, front and side views around a listener’s head, with direction over time.
What it does
Decodes Ambisonics, first to seventh order, AmbiX or FuMa, to stereo, 5.1, 7.1, 7.1.4, 9.1.6 or your own OSLS layout, or to Orbit Binaural on headphones.
Converts Mid-Side, Double Mid-Side and A-format recordings into sound you can place.
Turns, tilts and rolls the whole scene, with beamforming and custom decodes.
Decodes in batches, so a whole set of files goes in one pass.
When
We’re finishing the last pieces now. The standalone app comes first, for macOS 13 and later on Apple Silicon. AU, VST3 and AAX plugins follow, late 2026 to early 2027.
