In what could be described as a sound investment, the BBC's Research and Development wing is launching an Audio Research Partnership to provide viewers and listeners with better sound.

The broadcaster is currently holding a lunch event for the new project at the BBC's new MediaCityUK complex in Salford and is hoping to recruit a senior sound expert to lead the venture according to thinq_

"This marks the culmination of over a year of discussions and meetings between BBC R&D and the UK’s top universities in audio and audio-visual research," said the Beeb's Graham Thomas. "We will be working with five world-leading university partners, selected for their relevance to BBC R&D’s current audio ambitions."

The project's primary partners will be Surrey University for audio-visual research and Salford University for acoustics research. The broadcaster will also be working closely with Southampton, Queen Mary, University of London, and York.