RENDERING IN DEPENDENCE ON THE NUMBER OF LOUDSPEAKER CHANNELS

A method for rendering an audio output based on an audio data stream including M audio signals, side information including a series of reconstruction instances of a reconstruction matrix C and first timing data, the side information allowing reconstruction of N audio objects from the M audio signals, and object metadata defining spatial relationships between the N audio objects. The method includes generating a synchronized rendering matrix based on the object metadata, the first timing data, and information relating to a current playback system configuration, the synchronized rendering matrix having a rendering instance for each reconstruction instance, multiplying each reconstruction instance with a corresponding rendering instance to form a corresponding instance of an integrated rendering matrix, and applying the integrated rendering matrix to the audio signals in order to render an audio output.