Sweetwater Studios has reopened Studio B as a Dolby Atmos-certified mix suite, featuring a 9.1.4 system designed for immersive audio mixing and mastering work. The re-opening marks the Fort Wayne, Indiana, facility’s entry into immersive audio, as well as a commitment to its vision for the future.
‘We noticed a lack of publicly available Dolby Atmos mix rooms, especially in the Midwest, and knew we had an opportunity to fill that void while also bringing to the table what we do best – creating a fun, inspiring environment to make music in,’ says Sweetwater Studios producer/engineer. Shawn Dealey. ‘Given the recent upgrades to Studio A – adding a Rupert Neve Designs 5088 for the full-on analogue experience – this is a way for us to offer the best of both worlds to our customers.’
Spearheading the redesign of Studio B, Dealey worked with PMC to equip the new mixing room with a Dolby Atmos 9.1.4 system – nine surround channels, LFE channel, and four height channels. This comprises PMC 8-2 XBD loudspeakers to handle left/right duties, with a PMC 8-2 in the centre position. Six PMC ci65 speakers act as surrounds, with another four ci65s for height. The ci65s are powered by LEA Professional Connect 704 power amplifiers. Four PMC twotwo.Sub2 subwoofers supply low end to the system’s LFE channel.
The system is controlled through Digital Audio Denmark DADman software and an Avid S6M40 control surface via EuCon, with a JBL Synthesis SDP-55s A/V receiver and a 4K Apple TV for Media Playback.
‘PMC was the obvious choice for the speakers in our set-up,’ Dealey explains. ‘We needed loudspeakers that were unobtrusive and easy to mount. The fact that PMC has the CI series that are low profile and lightweight made them perfect for this application, and in conjunction with the new 8-2 XBD from the Studio line, our Dolby Atmos room sounds and looks absolutely amazing.’
‘We have been championing immersive audio for many years and, thanks to our close working relationship with Dolby, our monitoring systems are now widely regarded as the standard reference for Dolby Atmos for Music,’ says PMC USA President, Maurice Patist. ‘The PMC monitors chosen for this system offer almost limitless headroom, power capabilities, pin-point accuracy and sonic fidelity, ensuring that they go well beyond Dolby’s minimum requirements. I’m confident that Sweetwater Studios’ customers will thoroughly enjoy working in this great sounding room, and will have a lot of fun uncovering the artistic and creative possibilities that mixing in Dolby Atmos has to offer.’
In addition to providing Sweetwater Studios’ engineering team with a world-class immersive audio space for record production, the upgrades to Studio B are also designed to meet the needs of Sweetwater Studios clients looking to expand into Dolby Atmos production. Dealey boasts that Studio B fits perfectly into Sweetwater Studios’ identity as a versatile audio production hub.
‘What makes our studio unique is how chameleon-like we are,’ he says. ‘The range of tools and talent we have access to compared to other studios gives us extreme versatility along with the ability to shift to meet the needs of any audio production project.’
This versatility also extends to Sweetwater Studios’ ongoing educational programmes. Now that Studio B is open and taking on projects, Dealey is planning a series of recording workshops aimed at artists and engineers looking to get their first taste of working in immersive formats.
‘We’re eager to make this technology accessible to our customers and clients and have exciting plans for future master classes and recording workshops,’ he says. ‘Inspiring people to make music is a big part of why we offer these educational programmes, and Dolby Atmos offers a brand-new way to do that.’
See also:
Sweetwater Studios upgrades with RND
