The present paper describes the conception and field trial of a recording system designed for three dimensional audio acquisition of complex acoustic scenes. In this regard, the pursued objective is to create audio signals which are generic enough in order to be used with highly diverse playback devices. Therefore, within the scope of the EU funded research project ROMEO, a hybrid audio recording system, based on familiar spatial recording techniques, was designed and implemented. The audio signals and metadata created by the system are versatile enough to be processed by and transmitted to various end user terminals, such as mobile devices, set-top boxes and tablet computers. A practical test recording at the bavarian broadcaster (BR) in Munich enabled a validation of the concept and at the same time provided audio testing material for the further ROMEO research work