A cool experience overall.Im a perfectionist audiophile, so below are my thoughts on where it falls short. Stop reading now if you want to go in without biasing your experience. Id say its worth hearing.-Acoustically, I wasnt that blown away. I could perceive the speakers, whereas I was hoping their positions would be transparent. I think the experience is probably also designed to be experienced in stereo, somewhat, so the circular chair arrangement means some listeners probably get a better/different experience than others.Bass notes rattled some of the old fixtures in the room, which distracted from the piece. And some speakers also sounded like they were being overextended or maybe theyre just old. That said, it WAS still impressive.I could also hear the artist pushing buttons on the tape console which, again, distracted from the artwork.

This is a unique immersive audio art performance in a unique custom performance space. Father and son Stan and Dave compose unique blends of audio (train noises, footsteps, music, street sounds, water, nature sounds, etc,) that you listen to in the dark. Underscore Unique (some would say Odd). Its art. Not for everyone. I wasnt high, but that would definitely help the experience. Facility was built in 1975 and is showing its age.

What can I say... we where in a dark room and the DJ? Play a bunch of random sounds. I could here the sounds of buttons being pressed. Click, click, click. It was about as random as the sounds coming out of all of the random speakers in the room. It was... different. Thats about as good as I can give it. This place has so much potential. If they could find a way to make it work it would be an awesome place. I dont know enugh about the internal working of the place to give any good advice. I just think there needs to be some structure in the way the sounds are used or something.

This was an interesting experience, but not one I can easily recommend. If you know the music genre called Noise then you will like it. Otherwise its a challenging experience that I found bewildering at best, frightening at worst. Its an SF institution, but soundscaping is now a common part of the entertainment experience, so its difficult to compare it to, say, Dolby Atmos and not find Audium sounding a bit antiquated.

It’s a different type of experience for sure. You can feel sound moving. It’s more about noise and different sounds than music.

It was a beautiful, mind-blowing experience. After it was over, the whole audience sat mesmerized for a long time. No one wanted to leave.

A very calming and relaxing experience set in a small theater immersed in near total darkness. Sounds flows over and through the audience providing a very personal experience. Because its dark and meditative, Audium may not be a good event for babies or young children.

Dont be mistaken, this is not a musical experience. This is sitting in uncomfortable chairs in a dark room with off-putting noise.

Audium is definitely worth trying once. A different kind of experience - youre sitting in the dark listening to a soundscape, curated using different local sounds from around San Francisco, mixed with natural sounds and a surprising amount of drums. I found myself going into a pretty deep meditative state - lost track of time and just let the sound carry me.

Out of date. The experience doesnt embrace anything new from the past few decades and seems to be holding onto sounds and feelings of the past. It is almost as if it is trying to express ideals from the musique concrète days, but refuses to use any of the new techniques that have been developed in audio engineering and music since. The experience is more about hearing a random cacophony of sounds and less about the narrative which it leaves it up to the audience themselves to make.From the beginning to end, the audience sits in the dark for an hour which is unfortunately disturbed by rustles of clothes and jackets, squeaky old chairs, and the clicking around of the engineer switching modules. Like someone else has mentioned in their review, the bass frequencies rattle items in the room as well which add to the distraction. I found it hard to become immersed and connect with the sounds but maybe it is simply because it was just not my taste. I had much higher hopes for this but I hope they revitalize and rethink the gem of a space they have.

Quirky SF audio exhibition experience. Over 100 speakers used in a dark room to help experience sound in an immersive manner. About 1 hour, shows usually on Thurs, Fri, Sat.

It could be really interesting. The quality of the sounds was good, but for me there didnt seem to be a theme or story. To me it could have been much better.

I was anticipating a great show and was extremely disappointed! The facility is old, dim, dusty, and smelled like a dirty basement. The musical production was extremely low vibe and poorly executed. Its sad because it seems like it could have had so much potential. :/

It is definitely not what you think it is. You go in a pitch dark room with a bunch of strangers while a socially awkward guy and his dad who may or may not exist play horror movie soundtracks to you. Its sold as an experience where the music moves over and through you. It does not and its not music.

This was so interesting - I really loved it & will definitely be back again!

Absolutely incredible piece! Definitely more soundscape than musical performance. Feel sounds both familiar and constructed swirl above and below you in total darkness, and walk out feeling inspired to make some audio work of your own.

Not sure what I was expecting. This was very weird and not worth the time or the $20. It smelled like old carpet in there. Maybe I just dont get art? I would describe this as an underground tourist trap.

There is a lot that can be said about what this is about, but also what this isnt.This is not a modern day experience you would expect from an audio show. There is no theme, or anything that ties any two notes of music together.This is a show, where 50 people can sit in a room in a circle (on ordinary chairs), in a dark room, and the performers play random musical effects like sounds of trains (lot of trains in first half), birds, rain etc. Most of these you cam hear on YouTube at home.The speakers are really nice, but the presentation of music is not, at least not for me. I am a musician and play all musical instruments, I was expecting at least a nice demonstration but it was nothing even close.The owner seemed like a nice person, very polite and sharp, but the concept didnt really cut it for us. Save the $$ and go watch an IMAX movie instead, those are a thousand times better.

The best way to describe the experience for me is auditory art. Such a neat little gem in such a vast city, very glad I found it and went inside to see and hear it all. Mostly heard of course!

A place shrouded in mystery. An experience that should be best portrayed by action. CHeck it out

Great idea but it needs to be updated

Good concept, pretty good execution. worth a visit.

Unconventional performance, a sensory-stimulating trip back in time

Amazing, close your eyes and let your imagination take you away with the sounds

If youre the type of person that likes experimental films and performance art with no real structure and cohesion, random blips and bloops here and there, by all means go. If not, dont even bother. Avoid this place like the plague.

The experience here is unique. Certainly worth a try for audiophiles and fans of installation pieces. Atmospheric and stimulating sounds give a sense of calm. This experience was more meditative than I expected, but I found it very enjoyable.

Where to start…In text, the Audium in San Francisco sounds cool. The venue description lists it as, “Audium is the only theatre of its kind in the world, pioneering the exploration of space in music. The theatres 176 speakers bathe listeners in sounds that move past, over, and under them. Sound sculptures are performed in darkness in the 49-seat theatre.”You walk in and there’s a small waiting area. It’s got some abstract sounds, some odd projection, and a few seats. Everything smells like a musty unfinished basement. You walk through an angular hallway and end up in a round room with seats presented in a circle. There’s no assigned seating, you just sit wherever you want. Once everyone is seated, the sounds start and the lights turn down low. Twenty minutes, a short intermission, and then twenty more minutes.Unfortunately, the sound isn’t that interesting and the sound quality isn’t great (or loud). The show starts off with sounds from the BART station and it only gets weirder from there. When the description says “music”, it’s using that term pretty loosely. I’m guessing that in the 70’s, this place was a lot more impressive. As it is now, I can get much more impressive sound at a movie theater, with 3D headphones, or with an Atmos setup at home. Want to really hear immersive sound? Go check out the Magnolia sound room at a Best Buy.The abstract “show” was pretty lame. We bolted during the intermission. If we wanted to hear sounds of the BART station and feet walking in mud, we can do that at the Bay Point/Pittsburg line. Twenty minutes was all we could take. Luckily, our night was saved by a local brewery called Hammertime just a mile or so away where we were able to get a bite and a brew.Bottom line here is: this may have been pretty special in it’s early years, but in 2019, don’t waste your time. We were not impressed.

If you were to try and turn the city of San Francisco, with all its quirks and contrasts, into an audio experience, youd end up with something not unlike Audium. This is definitely not one for the difficult to impress. Fortunately I was in a mellow, open-minded frame of mind when I went, so I quite enjoyed it. Sitting there in complete, and I do mean *complete* darkness, unable to even see my hand in front of my face, was both calming and liberating. Ill confess I even found my body eager to move in response to what I was hearing, and felt safe doing so knowing no-one in the room could see me. Some of the sounds are are quite grating, the audio quality isnt actually that great, and I kept finding myself desiring a pattern to emerge in the sound, but perhaps thats the point. Its meant to challenge, and it does so very well. At the very end of the performance the lights come up slowly and just enough that you can make out the others in the room and make your way out. However, a gently melodic sound continued and we were all so mellowed by the experience that the lady from the ticket booth had to come into the room and announce the performance had ended. Funny. Id say drink a large glass of red wine before going in as I think that will help relax into it. As others have said, I wont be going again, but Im glad I experienced it for myself.

Interesting place. Very small and intimate. The music was very abstract. Left me wanting a bit more. Maybe my expectations were off.Its definitely a one time thing.

A one of a kind experience at the intersection of music performance and art installation. The show takes place in a darkened room covered floor to ceiling in speakers, where you are enveloped in total darkness and immersed in sound. I could take or leave the commentary from the creator but the show is worth the price of admission. Its a quirky only-in-SF-experience that it makes for a memorable date (maybe a second date).

This was awesome! It’s exactly as described: experimental sound art thru a 1960s setup of 150+ speakers in a round room with 50ppl. The whole thing lasted about an hour and was a mix of abstract and musical sounds that change quickly. If this sounds cool to you, you will definitely enjoy it!

Its time to hand over the controls to a younger more musically inclined sound engineer for a better show. The place needs digital upgrades and should be completely updated to really unleash its potential. And the show was too short, I think the 1st guy should of 2nd, and also please lose the stupid kid talking about his bubbles, and add A LOT MORE BASS!!!

If your a twitchy Millennial youll probably do better with your own headphones and a video game. But if youre someone into experiencing something totally unique and having an inter-personal experience with a live performance piece, then its well-worth at least going once. Its an historical experience that is a throw-back in many ways, but the time-capsule element is part of what makes it unique and worth checking out, especially when you consider that this guy took the time to actually build this space out and do what hes doing here, in-person. Pretty unheard of these days.

Fun, trippy and strangely relaxing. Worth checking out especially for $20

Relaxing; new experience; volume was too low; not enough darkness; very friendly atmosphere; a bit too weird; overall good!

Had no idea what the artists wanted us to experience. Random noise from multiple speakers. Probably made some sense 30 years ago. You get much richer sounds in movie theatres nowadays.

Left with the same spleen I arrived with! 5/5 would recommend.

If you dont have prebooked your tickets, try to arrive ~7h30. Its a really good experience.

Please be open minded. It was interesting but mostly aleatoric. Lots of fun discussions to have afterwards.

This is a truly outstanding listening experience. Do not read about what it is, just go, preferably in some sort of altered state.

I thought this experience was very cool, and unique. A legendary San Francisco must-do!

The best of 1970s technology. Laser Floyd without the lasers or Floyd. Hohumm!

Interesting experience. worth it for at most one time

A very neat audiophile experience. Twice a week (Fri and Sat) the son and grandfather perform an iteration of the sound experiment created here 40 years ago!

Audiums auditorium is an instrument for other composers to discover and explore. The Shaffs, its proprietors, should invite composers to extend the Audium experience beyond their too-familiar perspective. The sound sculpting I experienced 12 January 2018 was the now threadbare experience of the mid 70s. Move over, Shaffs, and invite some collaboration or hand the reins to newer curiosity, imagination, and ears.

Really interesting experience, highly recommend this. I was able to a get a ticket by waiting at the door the night of the event

This is a really unique experience, it may not be for everyone, but for those audiophiles, I think itll be appreciated. The audiomeister is a really cool guy who takes the time out after your experience to talk about his experiences. And his wife is really sweet, she handles the ticket booth up front. Like I said, really great experience. Not my personal fave, but my boyfriend loved it.

Very interesting experience. Composers are very friendly and accessible to chat.

A very strange audio experience. I would recommend going once.

I loved it!

While the venue and the technology is a bit dated, the concept is pretty cool; particularly that the guy built this place and is running it himself- unheard of in a world of franchises run by giant machines. I would recommend it to those that have an open mind to DIY and are sensitive to art. If youre expecting to see a THX like experience or something that is shiny and new youre likely to be disappointed.

I can understand why the Audium is very hit or miss and is up for interpretation. Some people think of it as art and unique. Others arent that impressed. What it is (as the name suggests) centers around sound, and only sound. In that effort you are in a room completely dark and speakers all around you. A whole lot of random sounds play from every direction. While there are times you can pick out a pattern, I often heard the sound as weird noise (not art). This is definitely a carry-over from another era and could be a cool experience, though no need to repeat it.

The art of sound. An introspective journey.

Weirdest experience Ive had in SF. Its kooky and provocative.

Unique experience where art meets surround sound. Very hokey, but it was a fun date.

Great space for Performing Arts

A wasted opportunity.The idea is excellent, but the execution...Whereas they could have done some ambient compositions, or spatialize some classical pieces (Vivaldis Four Seasons comes to mind), we are forced to endure train whistles and R2D2 beep beep noises.

Its really very interesting! Its like listening to a train wreck in slow motion.

Simply the most interesting thing you can do on a Friday night in San Francisco. A pitch dark room, 178 speakers, a true hippie freak out for audiophiles.

Worth checking out. Moderately psychedelic.

Very unique experience. Worth it.

Can I give no stars? The experience was frustrating, uncomfortable and all together a waste of time and money. The potential of an audio experience was lost in a mix of screeching, banging, water dripping sounds that was unbearable!

Weird place. Just do it

Weird and fascinating. Take a date!

A very unique experience.

Its an experience

If I dont have anything good to say, I dont say anything.

I think i got abducted by aliens

Amazing experience

Totally random music bits. No meaning at all!

#culture

Unique experience.