On the island of Giske in the Norwegian Sea, Ocean Sound has quietly built a reputation as a destination recording studio of choice due to its unique setting and enviable collection of vintage and analogue recording equipment. Acts from around the world, including Arcade Fire, Swedish House Mafia, Travis and a-Ha have chosen the studio as a creative retreat where they can work free from the distractions of civilisation.

Ocean Sound producer/engineer Henning Svoren has helped define the studio’s recorded output. Eager to explore the possibilities beyond their trademark analogue signal flows, Svoren and Ocean Sound recently refitted Studio B for Dolby Atmos production, using Amphion Two18, One18, and One15 loudspeakers.

Established by Norwegian retro-pop act The Margarets, Ocean Sound’s initial remit was to offer an environment that would encourage creativity and focus. This involved assembling a collection of vintage analogue recording equipment and working in traditional ways. While the studio evolved to embrace more modern workflows and technology, it has retained this approach to creativity.

‘Although we initially catered for rock bands, we were pleasantly surprised to find how good of an environment and workflow that it was for many different kinds of artists – from pop, to hip-hop, to electronic,’ Svoren says. ‘As we’ve grown, we’ve tried to retain that “pure” approach while still being excited about the latest technology.’

Svoren has been a dedicated Amphion user since the company released its first professional line in 2015. Seeing the monitors as a natural extension of the studios’ innate sonic goals, his Two18 loudspeaker have become an indispensable part of his production and mixing workflow. ‘When you are mixing you don’t want to think about the speaker at all, you want the sound to be as natural as possible,’ he says. ‘Amphions always sound the most natural to my ear and that suits the type of sounds that we find ourselves chasing at Ocean Sound. They don’t have the speaker coloration that other brands often have.

‘When the time came to make the upgrade to Dolby Atmos, it was pretty clear to me that Amphions would be perfect for our needs.’

Svoren’s perspective on mixing in Dolby Atmos reflects his time spent at Ocean Sound. Although he shares the industry’s excitement for the possibilities inherent in layering for surround sound and more immersive listening experiences, the real opportunity, he says, is to mix music more honestly.

‘One of the realities of mixing in stereo is that recording engineers have had to invent techniques and fixes to trick the brain of the listener to achieve certain sonic phenomena – for example to make the vocals “hover” above the rest of the instruments or add layers to give width to the sound’ he explains.

‘What’s incredible about Atmos is that you no longer have to do that. You can place the sound objects wherever you want in the mix and achieve these effects naturally without any psychoacoustic trickery and the outcome is a more honest mix. It’s an opportunity to reexamine how we represent sound and create new experiences that weren’t possible previously.’

Ocean Sound’s new Studio B has a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos set-up, using three Amphion Two18s, four Amphion One18s, four Amphion One15s in addition to a pair of Amphion power amplifiers. Amphion’s use of passive design is an asset to Atmos production, Svoren says, due to how it simplifies the signal chain.

‘Setting a studio up for Atmos is very complicated – there are so many variables you have to consider and it’s easy for an 11-speaker set-up like this to turn into a complete mess,’ he says. ‘I love that Amphion speakers are passive and built with a minimum of components at the utmost quality. That means there isn’t any DSP or internal electronics to interfere with the sound. That simplicity of design allows them to perform brilliantly in this application.

‘The Amphions are a natural fit for this task because they represent sound honestly and allow you to immerse yourself in the experience of listening without worry. They work together perfectly as a unit and I didn’t consider anything else.’