Rob Oldfield

Having completed my PhD in spatial audio at the University of Salford I stayed connected as a research fellow and later as a consultant involved in a lot of innovative audio projects.

The most significant one of these was an EU-funded project looking at immersive, personalised broadcast. In the development of the audio system for this project we created a set of AI techniques for audio source detection and localisation so that sounds could be panned around to match what the viewer(s) are looking at.  

Recognising the potential in this to help current workflows with automatic mixing and also for future applications we patented the findings and launched Salsa Sound, which meant leaving the university to became the company’s CEO.

It’s a job I love - combining my passion for science, sports, innovation and business. I love playing and watching sports and I’m passionate to see great technology make a tangible difference for audiences through truly immersive content.

Ben Shirley

I first got interested in sound as a musician intrigued by the techniques and technologies used in the recording studio. Coupled with an education in audio and video engineering, sound design, signal processing and composition I became fascinated with emerging tech and the huge role that sound plays in making TV and film more engaging and exciting.

Fast forward a few years and I had completed a PhD in broadcast engineering, and was working on a variety of research projects at the University of Salford. One of these projects found me working with Rob to develop tools for capture and personalisation of broadcast audio.

Following the project we continued working together and formed Salsa Sound in 2017. It’s been an amazing few years growing the company and working with some incredible people. I’m loving the challenge of applying creative cinematic sound approaches to make sport even more exciting to watch.