Sound Retrieval System

The Sound Retrieval System (SRS) is a patented psychoacoustic 3D audio processing technology originally invented by Arnold Klayman in the early 1980s. (The original SRS patents are US patents 4,866,774, 4,748,669, and 4,841,572, which expire in 2006 and 2008 depending on the patent. Patents may also apply in other countries.) The SRS technology applies head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) to create an immersive 3D soundfield using only two speakers, widening the "sweet spot," creating a more spacious sense of ambience, and producing strong localization cues for discrete instruments within an audio mix. SRS is not a Dolby matrix surround decoder but works with normal stereo recordings.

Initially Hughes Aircraft, for whom Klayman was doing acoustic consulting at the time, offered a standalone SRS audio processor, as well as licensing the technology to Sony and Thomson (RCA) for inclusion in their products. In the early 1990s, Hughes sold off its non-aerospace-related holdings, and a group of entrepreneurs formed SRS Labs to acquire the SRS technology.

Many TV sets employ built-in SRS to make their built-in audio systems sound "bigger." An article in the November 1994 issue of Consumers Digest magazine tested several SRS-equipped sets from Sony and other manufacturers and concluded that the circuit was essentially a gimmick in these products due to their small, close-set speakers and low-wattage amplifiers. SRS is not a panacea for audio systems that are marginal to begin with and works best with full-range, high-fidelity sound reproduction.

The company (now publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol SRSL after a 1996 IPO) has since developed or acquired several additional audio technologies, including SRS Headphone, TruSurround XT, TruBass, FOCUS, Circle Surround, SRS Wow, Dialog Clarity, and VIP, most using psychoacoustic principles similar to those employed by the SRS technology. SRS or one of its derivatives is offered in products from a wide range of professional and consumer audio manufacturers as well as in SRS's own small stable of products. The company derives most of its revenue from licensing its technologies, which it does in both silicon and software form.