Audio Specialist Alex Solano Details His Dolby Room

Trained by the late Recording Engineer Bruce Swedien and inspired by his early adoption of stereo mixing, immersive specialist Alex Solano, founder of AlexProMix, was determined to be on the forefront of the music industry’s next biggest technology: Dolby Atmos. Seeing a window of opportunity as an independent mixer, Solano relied on his industry experience, network of contacts and intensive research to design a brand-new immersive studio fit for his professional mixing and educational work.

“When I made the decision to go from stereo to Atmos, I realized that none of my stereo equipment was compatible,” Solano explains. “I completely gutted my old studio and started from scratch; even my computer was replaced. When I started with Dolby in late 2021 it was just being adopted by the music industry. With the help of my colleagues from Avid and Dolby, I decided to pick a digital audio workstation, and then selected the additional equipment from there.”

For his DAW, Solano chose Avid Pro Tools, with the Avid MTRX Studio acting as his audio interface. “The thing about the MTRX Studio is that it has built-in EQ and time alignment,” Solano shares, “so when it came time to align and tune my speakers, the feature was already built into my interface.” Solano also had a Dolby engineer visit and tune his studio to ensure and verify that it was accurate before he started working in and completing any Dolby Atmos projects. Also, from Avid, Solano chose the S1 Control Surface and S1 Dock. With three total units, 16 faders and the control, Solano can isolate specific speakers to dissect the spatial audio mixes he previews from Apple Music.

To meet Dolby’s SPL requirements, Solano stocked his studio with Bowers and Wilkins monitor solutions, including the B&W 801 Series 1 Tower speakers for left, center and right channels, as well as six B&W 865 S2 speakers, which are placed in pairs of two on the sides, in the rears and in the overheads. Solano additionally relies on LEA Professional Connect 704D and 168D amplifiers, chosen for their support of Dante. With the ability to support Dante, Solano was able to create three networks for his studio: one for Dante, one for his Avid workstation and another for user interface control of the amps and his Eventide H9000.

Also found in his studio are two Genelec 7070A subwoofers that act as bass management and as an LFE send. “Bass management with Dolby is really important,” he says. “You need to be able to pan an instrument above you and not lose any low end. It’s not practical to have full range speakers over you, so you need that bass management.” Additional gear includes Solano’s choice for software: immersive audio plug-ins from NUGEN Audio and Sound Particles.

Today, Solano’s studio acts as a homebase for both his professional and educational work. Solano is a certified mixer with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, and AlexProMix has quickly become the go-to Atmos mixing company for various record labels, including Atlantic Records, Photo Finish, CINQ Music and M.A.D Solutions.

When Solano is not mixing, he is filming and educating aspiring audio professionals. From online mixing and mastering webinars to courses and masterclasses, Solano aims to share his passion for audio technology and inspire up-and-coming self-taught producers and mixers.

Welcome to issue 7 of Audio Media International

Top Ten Spatial Audio Music Albums

Photos: Brynne Hosea

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d&b audiotechnik has introduced a number of new features to its Soundscape immersive audio technology.

The new software updates are designed to improve ease of implementation and offer greater flexibility and predictability in performance.

The En-Scene object-based positioning software has been updated with sound object routing control, which brings individual level adjustment and mute for each sound object within each section (Function Group) of a loudspeaker system, such as mains, front fill, outfill. This option adds flexibility for a wide range of acoustic settings and audience areas. This update also ensures that a sound designer or mixer has complete control over the imaging and sound object performance as they relate to each Function Group in a distributed or immersive system.

Meanwhile, En-Scene has received two new function group modes in the form of ‘delay line embedded’ and ‘outfill embedded’. These address the growing number of installations that use delay lines for the audience areas within a surround (360) Soundscape setup. These 360 set ups use these delay lines either to distribute a higher number of small loudspeakers, or to enable immersive sound for larger audience areas.

You may also be interested in:

• EXCLUSIVE: Inside Martin Audio’s first constant curvature array and 3D prediction software
• d&b launches new Direct e-commerce platform 
• A roaring success or a muted affair?: Pro audio biz gives its verdict on NAMM 2021 
• ‘Our best value Quantum yet’: DiGiCo takes us inside new Quantum 225 console 
• ISE 2021: Pro AV Industry gives its verdict on Barcelona show plans
• What does the Sennheiser restructure mean for the business? Co-CEOs Daniel and Andreas speak out

Elsewhere, the En-Space room emulation software now fully supports delay lines delivering room emulation on all loudspeaker function groups in a Soundscape system. The impulse response (IR) assignment has been optimised for simultaneous use of multiple instances of the same function group mode [e.g. Delay line] within one loudspeaker system. This development is deisgned to make it easier to use En-Space in a wider range of applications with multiple delay lines, from theatres with several balconies to large open-air events.

“At d&b we are planning ahead and ensuring the Soundscape platform is not only easy to deploy and accessible, but significantly advanced for when it’s possible to have events again,” said Georg Stummer, product manager, d&b audiotechnik. “The features released today not only significantly increase the predictability and flexibility of Soundscape, but also the ease of implementation from small theatre productions to large, complex applications. We are constantly driven by customer feedback and these updates reflect the markets leading requests, ensuring we can further embed Soundscape as the industry standard in immersive sound and deliver further capabilities to our customers creative endeavours.

“These latest Soundscape software updates are a significant step forward for designing and installing Soundscape systems. They ensure this immersive technology is designed to cater to the large variety of applications and audiences we expect to see at socially-distanced events this summer season and well into the future.”

Last week, Audio Media International exclusively revealed that d&b audiotechnik was introducing a brand new e-commerce platform under the banner d&b Direct. You can read our interview with CEO Amnon Harman here, in which he discusses what the new direct initiative means for the business.

Available from now to customers in Austria, Germany and the UK, d&b Direct is designed to provide a faster and more efficient way for customers to access the company’s solutions and allow d&b to interact with customers in a more targeted and personalised way. The online platform can present system configuration examples for installation sector buyers and is supported by a streamlined inquiry functionality that connects customers directly with a partner.

“We want to stay in touch with our customers beyond Zoom!”
Read the Audio Media International partner plan. 

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The AES (Audio Engineering Society) has announced details of its first ever Immersive Audio Academy, which will explore technology and solutions in immersive and binaural audio.

Registration is now open for the one-day online event, taking place on Thursday, February 11 from 12:00pm to 9:00pm ET.  The event will launch a series focusing on the latest production and emerging technologies in immersive and binaural audio. 

The programme’s Workshop and Master Class sessions will take on diverse applications of immersive audio production, from live events, to gaming, movies, and beyond. Participants will receive a certificate of achievement after completing the sessions. 

The AES Immersive Audio Academy will open with Introduction & Immersive Audio Past, Present & Future with event co-chairs Steve Martz and Andres Mayo, followed by the Genelec partner session Immersive Audio for Music: A practical session to develop from stereo to immersive. 

Immersive Audio for Live Events follows, with insight to the challenges and opportunities in immersive sound reinforcement hosted by Etienne Corteel and Scott Sugden of L-Acoustics.

Further implementation of immersive audio practices will be discussed by Scott Selfon of Facebook Reality Labs in the session Audio Futures: Technologies for Games, which looks at the immersive worlds of virtual, mixed, and augmented reality and their implications for current games, both screen- and head-mounted-display-based. 

The following session, Immersive in Recording / Conversion to Dolby Atmos, will take an in-depth look at the GRAMMY-winning album Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? by Fantastic Negrito (Xavier Dphrepaulezz), who will take part in the discussion, along with the album’s engineer, Nahuel Bronzini, and mastering engineer Michael Romanowski, who handled the Atmos mixing and mastering.

A workshop and masterclass session – Producing High Quality Immersive Audio – follows, presenting an intensive hands-on session exploring 360 audio production, hosted by Andres Mayo (@360MusicLab) with Brian Glasscock (Sennheiser) and Achim Fell (Dear Reality). 

The afternoon concludes with a look at Immersive in Movies, with John Kellogg and Brian Slack of Xperi/DTS, who will demonstrate a system whereby an immersive audio mix can be acoustically encoded into a 5.1, then decoded back to an immersive environment.

Registration is $49 for AES members ($99 non-member), with members also receiving access to on-demand playback of the Academy sessions. Register at aesshow.com/immersive, and make plans to join us for the first event in AES’s series dedicated to immersive audio and related technologies.

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Tate Liverpool and National Museums Liverpool, with a little help from The Beatles and Dolby Laboratories, have launched a unique experiential presentation of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in Dolby Atmos, as a Christmas gift to the city.

This worldwide first, immersive experience will be presented daily at the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building at the Royal Albert Dock Liverpool until Thursday 9 January 2020.

Helen Legg, director, Tate Liverpool, said: “We’re excited to be working with National Museums Liverpool to bring this unique listening experience to the city. At the time they made Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles were at the epicentre of pop and performance art of 60s London which strongly influenced this tremendous record. Listening to this special mix is like hearing something familiar for the first time. It sounds so fresh, you can hear every element which just underscores how wildly inventive it was.”

Giles Martin, son of the legendary Beatles producer George Martin and a Grammy Award winning producer in his own right, created this mix of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band from the original tapes.

Giles Martin said: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of the most important and ground-breaking albums of all time. In many ways it changed how records could be made. The Beatles stopped just simply making music and started painting pictures with sounds that hadn’t been heard before. Experiencing this Dolby Atmos mix allows us to fall into the record and to totally immerse ourselves in the fantastical world that was so beautifully created at Abbey Road Studios over 50 years ago.”

All tickets for the free event are now fully sold out. However, fans around the world can immerse themselves within these recordings, which are available to stream in Dolby Atmos via Amazon Echo Studio and Amazon Music HD for the first time, with further services to follow in 2020.

2019 saw The Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road album return to the top of the UK album charts after a record-breaking 49 years and 252 days, as fans around the world celebrate one of the most recognisable and cherished albums of all-time, fifty years after its release. Abbey Road’s anniversary was marked with a suite of Anniversary Edition packages released on September 27 by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe – including a newly mastered Dolby Atmos mix from Giles Martin.

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is available now to stream in Dolby Atmos via Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe.

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DPA Microphones has launched its new 4560 CORE binaural headset microphone for YouTubers, sound designers, podcasters, vloggers and other content creators who want to capture authentic immersive audio for their projects.

The professional quality of the microphones is designed to allow users to capture, in real time, exactly what each ear is hearing so that those consuming the content on headphones can experience full immersive sound. These qualities are appealing to other applications such as sound system documentation, soundscape analysis, sound quality assessment, sound for theatrical plays, sound for the gaming industry, and much more.

At the heart of the new 4560 CORE binaural headset is a pair of 4060 CORE miniature microphones that are mounted on two ear hooks and sit just outside the user’s ear canal (like a pair of earbuds) so that they capture 1:1 the sound being heard by the person making the recording. The ear hooks are attached to a flexible headset that can easily be adjusted to suit the dimensions of each individual head. Foam screens are supplied with the microphones to secure their position and offer damping of wind noise.

The 4060’s can easily be worn as well as attached to recording gear like DPA’s MMA-A Digital Audio Interface that can be connected to any iOS-devices. A 4560 CORE binaural headset with a MMA-A Digital Audio Interface connected to an iPhone and the user has a mobile binaural recording solution that is easy to use.

“Recordings made with DPA’s 4560 CORE Binaural Headset are so accurate that listeners often turn their head looking for the source of the sound,” said DPA product manager Rene Moerch. “Ideally, content recorded with this product should be listened to via headphones as one doesn’t get the same experience if the audio is played back over stereo speakers, but there are techniques that can provide corrections and upmix for stereo and multichannel formats, which makes this product useful for film recordists who want to gather content for atmospheric sound.”

Moerch adds that another useful feature of a DPA Binaural Headset Microphone is its ability to deceive because the microphone is so small that someone wearing the headset may look like they are only wearing headphones. “This can be very useful for people recording in hostile environments where it is not safe or appropriate to show a microphone,” Moerch said. “But even for normal podcasts, binaural recording provides content that is much more immersive, alive and compelling compared to traditional recording techniques.”

DPA’s new 4560 CORE binaural headset microphone has a price of €860.

www.dpamicrophones.com

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This year – and for the first time in its history – the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo trusted its audio control to an audio tracking system, implementing the largest TiMax TrackerD4 precision stagetracking system yet, controlling a pair of Out Board’s TiMax SoundHub-S64 spatial audio processors featuring new HARDCore FPGA processing – all supplied by Wigwam Acoustics.

Since 2014, sound designer Seb Frost has overseen the execution of audio reinforcement for the event, in which a continuously moving cast of over 1000 military musicians march through Edinburgh Castle’s parade ground in increasingly complex configurations.

“TiMax TrackerD4 dramatically improved the accuracy and resolution of the loudspeaker system,” said Frost. “The advantage was that because everything sounded so natural we could increase the volume, which 100% had the effect of engaging the crowd and giving them – dare I say it – a more immersive experience!”

Along with 60 channels of radio microphone, 48 TiMax Tracker tags were swapped onto performers every four to six minutes during the course of the 100-minute performance. Over 700 tag swaps, from full bands to individual and group performances, demonstrates the level of complicated organisation that lies behind this unique event.

The TTd4 tags drive a 48-channel TiMax2 SoundHub audio spatialisation matrix to continuously maintain localisation and musical timing integrity for the whole audience. TiMax has been used to clarify the audio imaging for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo since 1994.

Frost explained, “TiMax is still the only product on the market that can do what it needs to do for the Tattoo, which is spatially control the reinforcement in a three-sided arena.”

The decision to use tracking on the event was made based on, “…alongside accuracy and cost, the small size of the TiMax TrackerD4 tags and their extraordinarily long battery life. It was absolutely a worthwhile investment and something we’ll roll out elsewhere as soon as possible.

“We were able to send back gigabytes of data and the Tracking team at Out Board analysed it and sent back a new set of filters, so we were able to improve resolution and accuracy in a very short space of time – with such great support.”

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On November 13, Björk kicked off the European portion of her critically-acclaimed Cornucopia tour, deploying a d&b Soundscape immersive sound system as the show scales up dramatically from its debut in New York’s new arts centre – The Shed – to a comprehensive run of large scale arena dates including London’s 02 arena.

Cornucopia is Björk’s most elaborate stage production to date, incorporating stunning visuals, intricate stage movements and a fully integrated immersive sound design.

Cornucopia’s sound was designed by Björk and FoH sound engineer John Gale, supported by Southby Productions, and Steve Jones from d&b, utilising the d&b En-Scene object-based mixing and En-Space room emulation software, running on the DS100 system processor and a comprehensive d&b KSL speaker system as an integral part of the concert performance design.

“Björk wanted the sound for Cornucopia to create an otherworldly sensory experience for the audience that draws all the visual, aural and virtual elements together,” said Jones. “By utilising Soundscape from the studio all the way through to the show performances, she has delivered on that impressive vision.”

While already utilised in many major musical productions, installations, festivals and concerts, the Cornucopia tour marks one of the most ambitious and extensive applications of the Soundscape system. Björk’s creative vision, combined with d&b’s vision for designing high quality audio experiences, provided the opportunity to bring Cornucopia’s multi-sensory world to large-scale arena-based audiences.

To date, Cornucopia shows in the US and Mexico have received universal critical acclaim from audiences and critics alike for its stunning visuals and unmatched audio quality.

To get a look at the Cornucopia Tour click HERE to see it in action.

www.dbaudio.com

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Man Made Music, a Manhattan-based company owned by award-winning composer and producer Joel Beckerman that specialises in sound design, sonic branding and music creation, has been working closely with UK loudspeaker manufacturer PMC to upgrade the stereo and surround monitoring in one of its two control rooms.

The company has installed a PMC IB2S XBD-A active system for both stereo and 5.1 monitoring and is using PMC Wafer2 passive speakers for Left and Right Rear Surround positions. These provide excellent dispersion and frequency response in a small, rectangular footprint, and because they can easily be mounted to any wall they allow for maximum flexibility in all types of custom-install situations. Man Made Music’s studio facilities occupy over 10,000 square feet of space in the heart of Manhattan’s financial district.

“The PMCs are hands-down the most true and transparent monitors I’ve mixed with,” said Beckerman. “They’re also so incredibly inspiring to track with, which just makes the music better all-around.”

Man Made Music’s Manhattan base incorporates two large control rooms, a communal tracking space and several other smaller production studios and offices. The technical facilities were designed by renowned studio designer Fran Manzella, who describes the isolation in the two primary studios as ‘the highest-end we do, with completely decoupled floors and multi-layered box-inside-a-box walls’.

The decision to upgrade Man Made Music’s main A Control Room was taken by chief engineer Dennis Wall and chief technician Darren Moore, who both recognised the need for better stereo and surround monitoring. “We do IMAX, immersive and other advanced audio formats, so we were looking for an upgrade to add to the speaker allotment in our main studio,” said Moore. “PMC are leading the way for the new Dolby Atmos format and were already outfitting major facilities and schools with Dolby Atmos systems.”

The addition of the new PMC monitors is providing better full-room coverage and additional reference monitors for mixing in-studio. This, in turn, is allowing clients, guests and larger groups to enjoy the full surround experience: “Having the new PMC system is a joy,” added Wall. “There’s less guesswork when mixing, less ear fatigue when tracking, and they also deliver that ‘wow’ factor for client presentations.”

Man Made Music is now using its new PMC monitors to create music and sounds for companies such as Nissan, Disney, Citi, Alzheimer’s Association and HBO.

www.pmc-speakers.com

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The sound design of the immersive theatrical production Mamma Mia: The Party – which surrounds a dining experience – is centred around the localisation and spatial control capabilities of two TiMax SoundHub-S64 3D audio processors, procured and supplied by Orbital Sound for the show, which has taken London’s O2 as its new permanent home.

Dining is established across two floors of the venue, styled as the Greek taverna straight from the Mamma Mia movie set. Taverna owners Nikos and Kate host a fast-paced evening that revolves around a chef, a daughter, a love interest and a brimming effervescence of music.

As band and cast move freely amongst the tables across the multiple levels of the space, the precise performer localisation and tight spatial control of TiMax enable diners to immediately make sense of the soundscape, locating voices and instruments to the exact positions at which they’re performing.

Image definition objects created in TiMax allow the restaurant space to be split into multiple zones on a Z-axis as well as X- and Y-.  Delay-matrix imaging for those zones is then auto-calculated in TiMax PanSpace using selected loudspeaker channels within the distributed d&b system. As performers are cued into different positions, TiMax dynamically morphs them between the corresponding audio image definition objects.

The speaker system is comprised of four main d&b V-Series arrays, with six centre arrays of Y-Series complemented by SL-Subs, which help deliver the rock concert level performance. The spatialisation is supported by, as sound designer Gareth Owen described, “literally hundreds” of smaller d&b speakers from E0s to V7Ps.

Owen explained, “TiMax allows us to position the performers anywhere in the fully immersive performance space, localising voices and intelligently decoding positions regardless of the orientation of the speakers.” It’s the advanced refinements within TiMax that allowed the extreme simplification of the complex audio system setup. Just by updating one or more speakers’ location, TiMax adaptively renders all image definitions set up within the space automatically.

The entire audio and communications system was supplied and supported by Orbital and MD Chris Headlam, noted, “It’s always a pleasure to work with the world’s leading sound designers and Gareth is absolutely top of his game. Mamma Mia The Party was a hugely complex audio project yet the end result is smooth, involving and really contributes to the audience’s night out. TiMax does an awful lot of work, but it’s all beautifully hidden in a seamless design.”

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The November issue of Audio Media International is now available to read online.

In this issue, Colby Ramsey visits the HQ of Austrian manufacturer LEWITT to preview its new flagship microphone ahead of the company’s 10th Anniversary.

Meanwhile, we hear from award-winning sound designer and re-recording mixer Bernhard Zorzi about rebuilding naturalistic soundscapes on Sea of Shadows, and speak to veteran recording engineer John Kurlander about his experiences and memories working with The Beatles at Abbey Road Studios.

In our Live Profile, Guillaume J. Schouker reports from the Les Francofolies’ 35th anniversary celebration, while Colby Ramsey speaks to producer and composer Tony Succar to find out more about his new recording studio.

Product reviews this month include gear from Quested and Zoom, while our Opinion section includes pieces on producing/mixing immersive audio for theme park rides and the pro audio industry’s ever expanding self build DIY culture.

Read all this and more in the November issue of AMI here.

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