Trinnov’s diverse team of over 55 passionate people across 6 time zones shares a deep commitment to audio excellence, bringing hundreds of years of audio engineering and musical experience, extending across all departments of the company.

ORIGINS

Before launching Trinnov Audio in 2003, our founding partners began working on fundamental research into high spatial resolution audio in the year 2000, well before today’s immersive audio formats were even conceived. This took place after they met at IRCAM in Paris, one of the world’s leading public research facilities dedicated to musical creation and acoustics.

Our name stands for 3D Innovation, derived from a combination of “Tri” and “Innovation.” With a passionate dedication to advancing sound quality, Trinnov brings more experience in the fundamental research and practical implementation of immersive audio than any other manufacturer.

TRINNOV TODAY

Now represented in 70 countries, with over 10 000 high-performance installations worldwide, Trinnov is uniquely involved in all aspects of audio production.

Trinnov processors are found in the world’s most advanced professional music and film studios for production, mixing, and playback; in thousands of commercial cinema screens; and in the finest residential home theater and stereo systems.

We are partnered with many major companies in our field, most notably our global strategic partnership with Harman International to produce their JBL Synthesis immersive audio processor.

Trinnov processors are found in the laboratories, demo rooms and trade show presentations of many of the industry’s top manufacturers.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

Our vision has always been to maximize control over what we do and to focus on what truly improves audio performance.

This requires that we make as much as we can in-house. We do not merely assemble pieces from 3rd parties into a chassis.

We create our own path through innovation with pioneering technologies. This is how we add value for our customers, this is what truly sets Trinnov apart.

TECHNICAL AUTHORITY

More than just a manufacturer, Trinnov is a technical authority, with 20 years of involvement in research programs and as the author of numerous scientific publications. These ongoing efforts are in close partnership with industry organizations such as the Audio Engineering Society and CEDIA.

Trinnov’s five main inventions are protected by over 50 international patents. Among our many technologies is a unique, four-element 3D calibration microphone, which measures and identifies the location of all speakers in the room in three dimensions, and our world-renowned loudspeaker/room Optimizer that is recognized as best-in-class by users and reviewers from the professional, cinema and high-end home audio worlds.

MADE IN FRANCE

Trinnov’s unique hardware platform is built around a multi-core Intel processor and our Trinnov OS operating system.

Having much greater onboard computing power enables Trinnov to be first to market with new technologies and virtually eliminates obsolescence by making future upgrades available through software downloads.

Trinnov processors are designed and manufactured in France, with reliability forged through fourteen years of experience serving the most demanding professional audio environments.

WORLD-CLASS SUPPORT

Because world-class products deserve world-class support, we are committed to providing customer support at the same high level as our technology.

Our innovative ability to connect to our products remotely through the network allows our support and sales teams to provide off-site assistance to all Trinnov customers, including for setup, calibration or post-installation help.

AWARD WINNING PLATFORM

Trinnov’s exclusive, award-winning software platform is at the heart of Trinnov Altitude processors. Industry organizations and publications have honored it for its new features and continuous improvements, delivered to owners at no cost. Over time, this effectively makes their Altitudes new products.

DESIGNED FOR PERFORMANCE AND LONGEVITY

Historically, the decoding, processing and operating functions of an AV Processor have been distributed across multiple, specialized DSP chipsets, in rather complex and rigid architectures.

These architectures are developed and made available to consumer electronics brands by a handful of OEM manufacturers. In a market that is driven by fast-changing technologies, this approach inevitably leads to short product lifespans and early obsolescence. Unfortunately, this paradigm is ubiquitous… except for Trinnov’s unique Processor range.

Determined to push the boundaries of immersive audio and to fight obsolescence, Trinnov chose to develop its own platform, exclusive to Trinnov products and JBL Synthesis top-of-the-line processors.

Instead of repeatedly integrating third-party, short-lifespan technologies into new hardware products, Trinnov opted for true innovation, upgradeability, and longevity. Rather than following the typical multiple DSP approach described above, Trinnov created a modern and flexible architecture where decoding, processing, and operating functions are all handled by a single Intel multi-core processor. Part of this development was Trinnov’s own 64-bit operating system to host the software: TrinnovOS.

The benefits of Trinnov’s unique approach are perfectly illustrated by a typical development cycle.

When confronted with the need to update their products, other manufacturers must wait for the availability of a new chipset and/or OEM board, and then go through a long hardware integration cycle, possibly forcing them to abandon an existing model and create a new one. By contrast, Trinnov achieves the same (often better) result faster, by simply incorporating the new feature or capability into a simple software update for the Altitude platform.

In 2020 at ISE, Trinnov consolidated its leadership with the first official production release of DTS:X Pro, a full year ahead of competition - as a free software update to all the owners of our 3D Codec package. 

LEVERAGING THE POWER OF MODERN CPU

Our focus has always been on the improvement of audio quality, with specific attention to spatial resolution, acoustic correction and immersive sound.

From day one, our initial research on 3D Sound requires a lot of computing power to perform advanced signal processing on a high number of channels. This is why we made the decision to rely exclusively on the increased processing power of computers…

Since then, the processing requirements kept on increasing across the entire audio industry with the emergence of digital audio, high sampling rate and immersive sound.

Today, most movies and music tracks are essentially produced "in the box": Digital Audio Workstations running on computers.

Yet, in the consumer market, Digital Audio Processors still use DSP, forcing them to choose between high channel count and processing resolution. Simultaneously, we can maintain full processing resolution across all channels up to 64 channels, from theatrical dubbing stages to research labs or exclusive private theaters.

All of our processing is performed with 64 bits floating-point precision, like the most demanding mastering plugins. 

Our processors run our own Linux-based operating system, tailored specifically for professional audio applications: lightweight, efficient and most importantly extremely stable. We installed the first Trinnov Optimizer Processor in 2005. It has been running 24/7 and is still operating without a glitch.

OUR ICONIC 3D MEASUREMENT MICROPHONE

The measurement microphone is one of the most critical components of any loudspeaker/room calibration system.

Trinnov’s sophisticated algorithms rely not only on extremely accurate acoustic measurements but also on the ability to localize the speakers’ positions and to detect early reflections. 
Our 3D microphone uses four mic elements in a precise tetrahedral arrangement. Each capsule is individually calibrated at the factory (±0.1 dB from 20 Hz to 24 kHz)

The resulting microphone calibration file is included in the microphone’s box on a USB stick. This file is installed in the Trinnov product being employed and all subsequent measurements are filtered through the calibration coefficients to ensure accuracy.

As each speaker is measured, the resulting sound waves pass through this array of microphones, hitting each one at a slightly different time. Based on this timing, we can triangulate the location of the speaker from which the sound arrived. By testing each speaker in turn, we build a three-dimensional map of where the speakers are relative to the mic (which is placed at the main listening position).

We can do this to within 2° of azimuth, 2° of elevation, and less than 1 cm of distance. We use this information to enable our proprietary Remapping technology, in which we translate from the theoretical rendering of the soundtrack to the specifics of your particular room. Remapping uses the two or three speakers closest to the intended location of a sound to create a phantom image of the sound coming from the correct direction.

Among other things, Remapping serves as a bit of a “Universal Translator” between the various audio formats. This is especially important in home cinemas since all three Immersive Audio formats disagree about the specific details of where you should place your speakers. We can solve that problem for you.

MEASUREMENT POSITIONS

The following illustrations show a relevant and an irrelevant measurement areas for a single listening position. The idea is to perform measurements inside a volume that include head movements.

The instructions for the microphone placement concern the main measurement position, called reference point. 

Additional measurements can be made ahead, aside and above the reference point within the volume described below. 

For multi seats measurement, it is recommended to choose measurement locations included in the center area and avoid the positions the furthest away from the reference point.

Our world-renowned Loudspeaker/Room Trinnov Optimizer technology is recognized as best-in-class by users and reviewers across the professional, commercial cinema, and high-end home audio worlds. Introduced to the pro audio market in 2006, its revolutionary solution was quickly embraced by many of the most demanding music, broadcast, and post-production sound engineers.

Optimizer technology is now used in nearly 2,000 studios across the globe with nearly 10,000 high-performance installations worldwide.

This same technology, enhanced and refined over the years, is at the heart of Trinnov Altitude. To this day, the Optimizer remains the most powerful and flexible calibration system available.

DEVELOPMENT

From 2003 onwards, Trinnov Audio have been developing its own Loudspeaker/Room Optimization technology, inventing the term acoustic Optimization and redefining audio calibration standards across multiple applications in the professional audio industry as well as in consumer environments. 

The Optimizer was primarily intended for studios. Trinnov built its reputation with this technology while winning the trust of some of the most demanding sound engineers in broadcast, music, and post-production studios around the world.

The Optimizer has been gradually refined over the years and is now the only “digital room correction” system widely used throughout the production chain, from studios to some of the finest commercial and private cinemas. It is used daily in over 2000 studios worldwide to produce some of the content you enjoy every day.

HOW IT WORKS

Unique in many ways, the Optimizer relies on Trinnov’s iconic 3D Microphone to localize speakers and capture sound in three dimensions.

This microphone is designed by and unique to Trinnov, and each one is individually calibrated for accuracy to ensure the most reliable acoustic measurement. Indeed, because Trinnov feels nothing should be left to chance, they keep the entire signal path within a Trinnov-controlled environment (in their processor) rather than relying on external software, operating systems and audio interfaces.

The Optimizer captures a huge amount of acoustic information in each measurement and performs time/frequency analysis to better understand and characterize the behavior of the speakers in the room. (Indeed, without the time domain, frequency response alone shows irregularities in response but doesn’t provide enough information to correct the errors properly, with the appropriate method.)

The highly detailed information is then processed using Trinnov’s proprietary algorithms, providing a full acoustic analysis of the room and revealing more information than any other automatic system. As an example, the acoustic graphs generated by the Optimizer for each measurement point include the phase response, group delay, and impulse response of each speaker, all of which are important to understand what is occurring in the room over time.

Most people understand that time-aligning speakers is important; but the point Trinnov has made since 2005 is that time-aligning frequencies is also essential for improving sound staging and transient reproduction. This is an area where passive acoustic treatment, although critical, cannot help.

The sophistication of acoustic analysis performed by the Optimizer may sound like overkill for the consumer world. However, Trinnov is understandably proud of its pro audio background and believes consumers deserve no less. The Optimizer simply can solve problems that other systems cannot, and this is an area where Trinnov reigns supreme. Fortunately, Trinnov introduced a setup wizard to simplify the initial measurement and calibration process.

Trinnov really shines regarding the level of integration of the Optimizer within their products. The Optimizer doesn’t require external equipment beyond the microphone. It takes only a few clicks to make any system sing, whether you do it locally or remotely over the internet. Since the measurement data resides in the machine itself, subsequent tweaks are easily made, all with 64-bit floating-point precision.

All Trinnov products include the Optimizer technology.

PATENTED 3D LOUDSPEAKER REMAPPING

Sound designers and mixers of major films have carefully constructed listening environments whose only purpose is to allow them to perfect the soundtracks on which they work.

By contrast, smaller studios are often quite challenged in terms of space and must place the speakers where they can. On the residential side, even the most luxurious home cinemas must contend with limitations like doors and windows, not to mention HVAC, lighting, and other architectural details that preclude “perfect” loudspeaker placement. Moreover, the three major movie soundtrack formats cannot themselves even agree on where the speakers should be placed. It’s a challenging situation.

Enter Trinnov’s patented Remapping technology: using a proprietary 3D microphone, the calibration process of a Trinnov processor builds a detailed, three-dimensional map of precisely where your speakers are located in the room.

The recording itself provides information about where various sounds should come from; we also know where your speakers actually are.

We can then translate from the theory of the soundtrack to the reality of your particular space.

This process minimizes the spatial distortions found in even the best studios and home cinemas, allowing you to hear what is actually in the recording.

In a league of its own, Trinnov Altitude has no peer when it comes to immersive sound decoding and playback.

Our pure, uncompromised implementation of 3D Codecs, made possible through our own software, enabled us to deliver the full specifications and channel count of both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X Pro years ahead of the competition.

DOLBY ATMOS

Trinnov Altitude32 remains the only AV Processor on the market capable of decoding and rendering Dolby Atmos Home content in its full 24.x.10 channel count. It has been capable of doing so since 2015, years before competition. With the Altitude48ext and its extra processing power, it can support up to 64 outputs.

With addition of the "+4 channels" capability in 2021, Trinnov Altitude16 joined the Altitude32 as the only AV Processors on the market capable of decoding and rendering Dolby Atmos Home content with any 20-channel speaker layout.

When it comes to channel count, the devil is in the details when it matters which channels are supported. Within its 20-channel capability, the Altitude16 supports any speaker layout, including multiple side surround speakers and high numbers of subwoofers.

DTS:X PRO

In 2019, Trinnov worked closely with DTS to introduce DTS:X Pro to the consumer market.

Altitude owners enjoyed this major upgrade a year before our competitors could offer it.

Trinnov Altitude32 is the only processor capable of native rendering and upmixing with DTS's full count of 30.2 channels, delivering the highest spatial resolution with all content.

Trinnov Altitude benefits not only native DTS:X playback, but also the Neural:X upmixer, which greatly improves immersive playback of traditional soundtracks, maximizing speaker usage and listening envelopment.

AURO-3D

The founders of Trinnov and Auro-Technologies know each other well, having been at the forefront of immersive sound research and development dating back to the early 2000s.

Auro-3D, up to 13.1 channel configuration has been available on the Altitude³² since 2015. The popular Auro-Matic upmixer is also supported for all inputs.

Trinnov Altitude owners enjoy a unique feature available on no other product. Dolby Atmos Object Viewer provides the user with a real-time view of the location and movement of sound objects in 3D space for all Atmos content.

The Bass Management solution in Trinnov Altitude gives users the most sophisticated tool available for managing low frequencies.

Complete flexibility regarding high and low pass frequencies, filter types and filter slopes is just the beginning. The low frequency content of any channel can be fed to any combination of subwoofers, and there is no limitation to the number of subwoofer channels other than the number of available outputs.

Going further, our unique intermediate bass management system is ideal for immersive systems using smaller height channel speakers. It can redirect low frequencies not just to subwoofers, but from a speaker with limited bass capability to the closest, more-capable speaker, before sending the lowest frequencies to the subs.

Trinnov Altitude processors enable up to four-way active crossovers with no limitation on channels involved, allowing for use of high end multi-way and multi-amped speakers. Versatile choice of crossover frequency, filter type and order plus automatic calibration of level, delay and polarity make the process easy and guarantees excellent sonic results.

First-time users will find the Trinnov Altitude Wizard an invaluable tool for setup and calibration.

This onboard software guides the integrator through the entire process, step-by-step. From configuring the speaker layout, setting up the input and outputs, to the microphone setup and calibration, the Wizard greatly simplifies the process of getting the Altitude up and running. 

Remotely control your processor from your iPhone or iPad with our iOS Remote application. Set the volume, switch between inputs, select a different preset or upmixer from your fingertip.

Through its Paris-based server, Trinnov enables remote access to any processor connected to the Internet.

Integrators can remotely access each processor they have installed, with full control of all parameters, thus eliminating the need to be on site to adjust a customer’s system or to diagnose problems.

In addition, the Trinnov factory support team, based in the United States and France, and acknowledged as among the best in the industry, also has remote access to provide higher-level remote assistance and troubleshooting.

In an ongoing effort to improve the current HDMI situation not only for our brand but for the whole CI industry, Trinnov has been partnering since 2019 with CYP on a new generation of HDMI boards.

This HDMI 8+2 eARC card is now integrated into all new models of our Altitude series while also being offered as an upgrade for previously manufactured processors already in the field.

This new generation of HDMI cards is the result of a long collaborative process between our R&D team in Paris and the innovative CYP based in the UK.This new card had pretty ambitious objectives from the start with extended bulletproof compatibility overall source available on the market as well as introducing eArc and securing our early adopting of Dolby Vision, 4K and HDMI 2.1

With the release of version 4.2.11 for our Altitude platform, we are confident that this will create a friendlier environment for Custom Integrators to implement the diverse offer of sources currently available on the market.

See Trinnov Audio Timeline for more information on the company history.

See Trinnov Audio Awards for a list of awards granted to Trinnov Audio products and to projects involving Trinnov Audio products.

See Trinnov Audio Case Studies for a description of state of the art home cinema projects [and others] which may be an inspiration for your private cinema.

Finally, see Trinnov Audio Blog for company and product news, technical articles, videos, events and more.