Installing an Audient Oria audio interface/monitor controller in his Haarlem studio has brought immersive audio within the reach of multi-platinum producer Max Oude Weernink.
‘I am so happy to finally be able to check if a track in Dolby Atmos is right,’ he says. ‘Before, my tracks were sent in Dolby Atmos but I wouldn’t be able to listen to them without travelling 50km-plus to someone else’s studio. Oria is great for me in so many ways.’
Weernink – aka MOW Music – is responsible for chart-topping records worldwide. His keen ear and cutting-edge productions with the likes of Tiësto, Gucci Mane, Yellow Claw, Ty Dolla Sign, DJ Mustard, Afrojack, Lil Xan and Imanbek have resulted in more than 2bn Spotify streams.
He had been looking for a way to experiment with Dolby Atmos for a while, but the costs had been prohibitive. ‘I did see producers making it possible for themselves, but I still didn’t believe that it should cost so much,’ he says. ‘The speakers they’re using, the converters – every element was expensive.’
Discovering Oria proved to be the turning point: ‘I realised that what Audient has here is the whole solution. This saves me all the money I need to save and now I can actually try Dolby Atmos for myself.
‘Oria looks great, feels sturdy and blends in with the rest of my gear very nicely,’ he continues.. ‘It was the easiest thing ever to install. You get a pop-up, install the driver and you’re good to go.’
When it came to loudspeakers, Weernink decided to go his own way, not wanting to spend too much on kit too early on. ‘I have very nice PMC speakers at the front: left, centre and right. Then – because I’m just testing this out – I bought a bunch of Alesis MK2 passive speakers and amps from Thomann for the rest of the room.
‘Of course the Alesis MK2 speakers don’t sound as good at the PMCs, so I need the DSP on the Audient Oria to do its work “ that is really helpful. To be honest, it sounds so good that I’m not going to change it. I’m almost sure I have one of the least expensive Dolby Atmos set-ups out there…’
Oria has opened up a host of possibilities for him, and Weernink is keen to get stuck in. ‘I want to explore the whole producing side of Dolby Atmos. I want to start a production in Dolby Atmos instead of adding it as an afterthought, like as a second step. I think if you can consider Dolby Atmos in the first step, it could be very interesting.’
Many artists he is working with are already curious and looking forward to trying it out as well. Oria’s ease-of-use is helping make that a reality in his studio. ‘This is plug-and-play – it just works great and sounds amazing.’
