There are two anniversaries to be celebrated! Exactly five years ago the Soundscape- & Environmental Media Lab (SEM) started to explore 3D audio in close collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institut Ilmenau, plus on Dec 12, 2017, our SEM-Lab’s main contribution to the latest “Die Drei Fragezeichen” 3D audio series was premiered all over Germany. All this was complemented by further collaborations and research projects with e.g. the Planetarium Jena, ZKM Karlsruhe, Hessischer Rundfunk, Synotec, Sony Music et al. – This lecture aims to draw up an interim balance of the research projects’ scientific findings, to direct attention to critical aspects of 3D audio, and to elucidate the stratification of perspectives in regard to strong, convincing and novel creative applications of 3D audio technology, and – an important question – its essence and identity. – After the lecture the 3D audio SEM lab will be open to listeners.