NAMM 2023: The theme of NAMM 2023 could well be immersive audio – or one of its many other names. But what if your DAW isn't capable of dealing with multi-channel audio? Enter Fiedler Audio with Dolby Atmos Composer, which works on any DAW, even the stereo-only ones.
Yes, it's true - Fiedler Audio tells us that, with Dolby Atmos Composer, you don't need to mix at your local cinema complex, or in a DAW with 128 channels of audio, to get Dolby Atmos results. Dolby Atmos Composer enables you to create surround/immersive audio in your stereo-only DAW through your headphones. What's more is that Dolby Labs has given the software its full backing.
It works like this: Dolby Atmos Composer is actually two plugins in one. You insert the main Dolby Atmos Composer plugin over the main outputs of your DAW and another plugin called Dolby Atmos Beam on the track you want to mix in Atmos.
The main Composer plugin sitting on your outputs contains the 128 channels of audio that represents the surround sound. Meanwhile Beam is responsible for positioning the audio on the channel it's on. Beam effectively (but not really) beams the surround position to the Composer plugin which then places it on the 128 channel positional grid.
Obviously, we've simplified the process and there's a lot of tech going on here, with the main Composer Plugin seemingly doing the number crunching and Beam the positioning by way of a virtual head in a 3D space, around which you place your audio. The main point is that you can use Dolby Atmos Composer and its partner Beam in any DAW, even those limited to two channels.
Check out the video above for the full rundown. The results are impressive, even through headphones (although, of course, even better if you have access to a full surround speaker array!).
Dolby Atmos Composer will be available later this year for €249 with a simplified 'Essential' version costing €149. There's more information on the Fiedler Audio website.
Check out more of the latest NAMM news on our NAMM 2023 main page.
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