Areal’s UPMIX ENGINE hardware was deployed across nine stages over two weekends at the Tomorrowland 2025 festival in Boom, Belgium. Attracting an estimated 400,000 visitors, Tomorrowland is the world’s largest electronic music event and is renowned for elaborately themed stage designs and immersive experiences.
Noizboyz, the global audio specialists behind some of the biggest festivals and tours, brought their expertise to the festival’s sound design. The Areal system was chosen for its ability to transform stereo signals from DJs into rich, multidimensional output in real time, allowing audiences to enjoy greater consistency of audio coverage and enhanced spatial depth.
CORE STAGE
loudspeakers - d&b GSL series
configuration - Half circle
The reception from performers and engineers was overwhelmingly positive. Artists who had seen Areal’s technology develop over previous Tomorrowland events were quick to embrace the spatial improvements, with many remarking how naturally their mixes translated through the system. Meanwhile, engineers valued the FocusField feature for its precise control over perceived placement and spread of sound, helping them preserve each stage’s sonic identity while improving clarity and cohesion.
NoizBoyz
The UPMIX ENGINE seamlessly integrated into engineers’ creative and technical processes, freeing them to concentrate on the performance. Its internal stereo and double mono bus structure permitted bypassing of the upmix algorithm when clean unprocessed routing of vocals was required. Behind the scenes, the product’s extensive connectivity proved invaluable in accommodating analog, AES, Dante, and AVB I/O.
ATMOSPHERE STAGE
loudspeakers - L-Acoustics L series
configuration - 270°
PLANAXIS STAGE
loudspeakers - d&b KSL series
configuration - 4-point frontal
The UPMIX ENGINE was used with L-Acoustics systems on the Freedom, Library, Atmosphere, and Mesa Garden stages as well as with d&b arrays in the Rise, Core, Planaxis, Rose Garden and Crystal Garden zones. These stages presented a mix of 270o, half circle, 4-point frontal, and 6-point stacked configurations, showcasing the product’s ability to support all loudspeaker brands and formats.
The UPMIX ENGINE performed flawlessly on the nine stages it served. Preliminary measurements suggest the systems also contributed to reduced noise pollution in these locations. By improving intelligibility and perceived loudness through spatial distribution, several stages reported lower overall SPL without compromising the energy of the mix. These early findings are still being validated, but the initial data is promising and aligns with Areal’s broader goal of enabling better sound through smarter system design.
NoizBoyz