-- The development team behind SHAC (Spherical Harmonic Audio Codec) is pleased to announce the public open-source release of the world’s first interactive spatial audio format. Built through eight months of collaborative development between creator Clarke Zyz and Anthropic’s AI system Claude, SHAC introduces a new era of immersive sound technology that allows users to navigate three-dimensional audio environments using only standard headphones and a web browser.
Unlike traditional spatial audio, which locks the listener into a fixed point of reference, SHAC enables six degrees of freedom (6DOF), allowing users to move through three-dimensional sound environments using standard input controls such as WASD keys, game controllers, or touch navigation. The format functions in any web browser using ordinary headphones, requiring no VR headset, special hardware, or software installation.
Technically, SHAC employs third-order ambisonics with prerendered binaural audio, delivering 8.6× real-time playback performance and navigation latency under 50 ms through its optimized file format. The format supports interactive exploration of music, dialogue, and soundscapes, allowing listeners to experience “audio architecture,” which is sound as a navigable space rather than a passive recording.
The open-source release includes the full format specification, reference implementation, SHAC Studio (a cross-platform desktop editor), and a browser-based SHAC Player. Together, these components form a complete ecosystem for artists, developers, and educators to create and share spatial audio experiences freely.
“SHAC represents the kind of innovation that happens when curiosity meets collaboration,” says Zyz. “I had no formal coding background when I started, but with AI as a creative and technical partner, I could turn an abstract idea into a working technology. My hope is that SHAC helps others realize that access to advanced tools shouldn’t depend on credentials - only imagination.”
Applications of SHAC extend far beyond music. Its precise sound field modeling and portability make it suitable for game development, immersive education, accessibility design for visually impaired users, and training simulations. Potential use cases include audio-only gaming, museum soundscapes, virtual learning environments, and therapeutic sound immersion.
Zyz’s unique development journey, from self-taught experimentation to building a PhD-level spatial audio codec with AI assistance, has drawn attention to the changing nature of software creation. His collaboration with Claude underscores how AI systems can act as creative partners in complex technical development, thereby bridging vision, computation, and accessibility.
By making SHAC freely available, Zyz aims to foster a community of creators who will continue advancing the format during his absence from 2025 to 2030. “When I return, I want to be surprised,” Zyz adds. “SHAC belongs to everyone now. Let’s see what the world builds with it.”
To access the SHAC repositories, technical documentation, and example files where users can instantly test the technology through an online demo, please visit https://shac.dev/ or https://github.com/clarkezyz.
About SHAC
SHAC (Spherical Harmonic Audio Codec) is the first open-source, interactive spatial-audio format that enables six-degree-of-freedom navigation through sound. Developed through human-AI collaboration between Clarke Zyz and Anthropic’s Claude, SHAC combines ambisonic encoding, real-time binaural rendering, and web-native portability to create immersive, navigable audio experiences without specialized hardware.
Released under the MIT license, SHAC is free for personal and commercial use.
Contact Info:
Name: Clarke Zyz
Email: Send Email
Organization: SHAC
Website: https://shac.dev/
Release ID: 89175777
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