AI-Made Audio Software: Who to Trust and What to Avoid
A single "vibe coded plugin, not touching this" comment showed me how badly we misunderstand AI-assisted software. Here's why dismissing it is a mistake, and what users and developers should look for instead.
First Look: ab Visualiser HOA Pro – Exclusive World Premiere
Audio Brewers turns six, and Alejandro Cabrera gives us the world-premiere first look at ab Visualiser HOA Pro, a modular ambisonics visualization suite that maps your sound field onto 360° and phone video. We also dig into the ab Compressor | Limiter with its seventh-order ambisonics sidechain, and talk about what AI-built plugins mean for specialist developers.
Dolby Atmos Comes to Digital Performer, Plus 9 More Immersive Audio Stories
New immersive audio tools are now arriving almost daily, so I’m launching Immersive Audio News, a monthly roundup of what matters in spatial audio. This first edition covers big updates from channel favorites, new players entering the field, and a sign of how Dolby Atmos may quietly reach the mainstream.
Inside Game Audio with GameSoundCon Founder Brian Schmidt
Brian Schmidt, founder of GameSoundCon and architect of the original Xbox audio system, joins me to talk about where game audio is heading, from immersive sound and outsourcing to the real impact of AI on composers, sound designers and voice actors. We also discuss how students can break into a tough job market and what to expect from GameSoundCon 2026 in Burbank and online.
Audeze Maxwell 2 ANC for Immersive Audio: Brilliant Headphone, Missing Integration
Head tracking is back in the Audeze Maxwell 2 ANC, and as a studio headphone for immersive audio, it is outstanding. The advertised Dolby Atmos Renderer integration doesn't work, though, so I explain why I kept them anyway and who should, and shouldn't, buy them.
Spatial Audio on a Budget: The Ambisonics Construction Set
I sit down with Thorsten Michels at his home in Germany where he shows me his complete DIY ambisonics construction set — the rods, spheres, recorders and adapters behind his open source rebuilds of professional 3D microphone arrays. We also talk about the 84-capsule spcmic and about why immersive audio still hasn't reached podcasts, audiobooks and radio drama.
Gamescom 2026 Changed How I See the Games Industry
Gamescom is enormous. 368,000 visitors, more than 1,700 exhibitors, and for the first time the entire Cologne convention center sold out. Standing in the middle of it left me more impressed than any industry event has in years, and it changed how I see the games industry. That shift is what pushed me into making this video, which turns into something of a rant along the way.
D1vert by Max1mus Audio: A Free Fix for Immersive Channel Chaos
In this video I check out D1vert, a free immersive audio plugin from Max1mus Audio that tackles one of the more annoying problems in higher channel formats like 9.1.6: channels that simply won't line up in the right order. I set up a real-world example in Reaper to see how well this small, simple tool handles a headache that usually calls for far more complicated solutions.
Penteo vs NUGEN Halo vs Illusonic vs Max1mus: Upmixing Compared - with Gert Keunen
In Part 2 of my series with Gert Keunen, author of Stereo Was a Nice Try, we take on the controversial question of whether you should upmix at all — then break down the immersive upmixing plugins that matter, from the pro-grade industry standard to free research tools and affordable creator options. We dig into sound quality, latency, format support, and price, and we each name a pick by the end.
How to Use Neumann RIME Inside WaveLab 13 for Dolby Atmos
A viewer question sent me back to this channel's roots: how do you actually get Neumann RIME working inside WaveLab 13 to monitor Dolby Atmos on headphones? I also show a bonus trick for adding Apple Spatial Monitoring the same way, so you can virtualize your Atmos studio anywhere.
Spanner 5 in Reaper: The Channel-Layout Fix You Need to Know
I take a hands-on look at Spanner 5, The Cargo Cult's immersive channel panning plugin, now available in VST3 and Audio Unit alongside its long-standing Pro Tools version. I show how it handles panning, up-mixing, and down-mixing across Reaper, solve a Reaper specific channel routing issue, and share my honest verdict.
Immersive Audio Panners Explained — with Gert Keunen
I sit down with Gert Keunen, author of Stereo Was a Nice Try, to break down the immersive audio panning plugins that matter right now — from cinema-grade channel tools to creative, movement-driven effects — and what actually makes one worth putting in your workflow. It's Part 1 of a two-part series (upmixers are coming next), and we each reveal a personal favorite at the end.
Inside South Loop Studios: A Spatial Audio Suite Built in Months
I sit down with Ben Weatherill, the one-man team behind South Loop Studios, to talk about how a small side project became a full suite of immersive audio tools — from Orbit and Orbit Pro to the Esfera streaming platform, OSLS, and Cota — in a matter of months. We dig into open formats like IAMF and Google Eclipsa, how they stack up against Dolby Atmos and Apple Spatial Audio, and where 3D sound is headed next.
Orbit Pro 1.5: The Update That Changes Everything
Orbit Pro 1.5 brings a dramatically cleaner interface and a surprising new capability that pushes the software into fresh territory. I break down what's improved, what still needs work, and whether this tiny developer is quietly outpacing the giants behind Eclipsa Audio.
The $39 Knob Controller That Does It All
I've spent years hunting for one compact controller that handles both video editing and music production, and I think I've finally found it for under 40 bucks. In this video I show you how to set it up, how it performs in a DAW and in DaVinci Resolve, and the one caveat to keep in mind before you buy.
A Chat With Nine Angles For Forte
I sit down with Pablo Garcia-Valencuela of Nine Angles For Forte, a two-decade pioneer of immersive live performance, to dig into SPAT Curve, his patent-pending 3D Kontakt instrument built for the stage. We cover where immersive audio is heading, why he builds instruments rather than tools, and a few creative directions that genuinely caught me off guard.
"Suno Stole All the Music" — Let's Talk About That
I'm following up on my Berklee/Suno response video by answering the most interesting comments you left — from the "AI stole all the music" argument to whether generative tools belong in a music college at all. Expect a lot of nuance, a few disagreements, and an honest look at what music education needs to get right for the next twenty years.
Spatial Audio in Your Pocket: Audio Brewers' AB Recorder
I put the new AB Recorder from Audio Brewers to the test, recording first-order ambisonics straight from the iPhone and decoding the result in Reaper. Join me for a hands-on walkthrough of the app's standout features, its limitations, and my honest take on whether it earns a place in your pocket.
Is Vert1go the Easiest 3D Auto-Panner Yet?
I dive into Vert1go, the new immersive 3D auto-panner from Max1mus Audio, and explore everything from its pattern library and draw mode to a clever feature for object-oriented workflows like Dolby Atmos. I also compare it head-to-head with Sound Particles' Beat Panner so you can decide which one belongs in your immersive audio toolkit.
Beat Panner by Sound Particles: Auto-Panning in 3D
Sound Particles just released Beat Panner, a new plugin that works like an auto-panner in three-dimensional space for immersive and spatial audio. In this video I explore what it does, who it's for, and give my honest verdict, limitation and all.