Sound Retrieval System
The Sound Retrieval System (or SRS) is a patented psychoacoustic 3D audio processing technology originally invented by Arnold Klayman in the early 1980s. 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.
Initially Hughes Aircraft, for whom Klayman was doing acoustic consulting at the time, offered the technology for sale as a standalone audio processor, as well as licensing it 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. The company (now publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol SRSL) developed several additional audio technologies, including SRS Headphone, TruSurround XT, TruBass, FOCUS, Circle Surround, SRS Wow, and VIP, most using psychoacoustic principles similar to those employed by the original 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 techonlogies, which it does in both silicon and software form.