Polygon Live LDN

Context

The Team

L-ISA and L2: A New Era for Live Immersive Sound at Polygon Live

Since its inception, Polygon Live has been on a quest to redefine the live music experience by asking a simple question: “What if listeners could be completely enveloped by sound from all around them, including overhead?” This vision culminated at Crystal Palace Park, where Polygon Live LDN delivered the UK’s largest outdoor 360° immersive sound festival. The event transformed the park into a sonic epicenter, leveraging Polygon’s iconic hemispherical dome—a space where music wasn’t just performed, but lived. This debut represented the boldest statement yet in a journey that began with the first integration of L-ISA technology at Thailand’s Wonderfruit Festival in 2018, steadily refining the art of placing audiences inside the music, rather than just in front of it.

The Challenge

Bringing a vision of this scale to life was no small feat. Creating an outdoor, three-dimensional audio environment within a sculptural dome required meticulous planning and precision engineering. The challenge was not just technical; it was artistic. The team had to ensure the complex loudspeaker configuration and structural design would align with Polygon’s core value of creating emotionally transformative audio environments. Every detail, from the placement of a single speaker to the orchestration of the entire sound field, had to work in harmony to effectively immerse the audience and enhance the artists’ performances. This required a level of foresight and accuracy that went far beyond traditional sound design. 

The Solution

To meet this challenge, Polygon collaborated closely with L-Acoustics, utilizing Soundvision software to model sound coverage and optimize speaker placement with incredible accuracy long before the first piece of equipment arrived on-site. The entire system was supplied by L-Acoustics Certified Provider Britannia Row, which expertly installed a sophisticated 12.1.4 system. The main stage’s Scene System was built with four L2 speakers, while immersive surround sound was delivered by eight hangs, each with two A15 Focus speakers and one A15 Wide speaker. Four A10 Wide speakers were strategically placed for overhead coverage, and eighteen KS28 subwoofers delivered the low-end in an end-fire configuration. The dome’s creative potential was further unlocked by the new Sound Spaces feature in L-ISA 2025, which allowed for a seamless, simultaneous delivery of unique immersive mixes to the main audience, the engineers at Front-of-House, and the artists on stage. The result was a meticulously engineered soundscape that put the audience at the center of the music.

The Result

The festival was an overwhelming success, validating Polygon’s decade-long belief in the power of spatial audio. The audience’s enthusiastic response proved that transforming how people experience music creates lasting memories. This sentiment was echoed by the artists themselves, who embraced the new creative possibilities. The event marked a new beginning for immersive live music, showcasing that a full 360° audio experience is not only technically feasible but artistically vital for the future of the industry. The team is already planning its return to Crystal Palace Park in 2026, confident that this is only the beginning of what is possible.

Project photos