Dolby recently made the Dolby Reference Player available to buy on its own, so I take a hands-on look at what it does, how it fits into Dolby Atmos quality control, and how to create a bitstream you can actually test. The real question, though, is who this $50 tool is for — and whether hobbyists and semi-professionals need it at all.

Adam Neely says Berklee made a serious mistake with its Suno-based "Bots and Beats" songwriting course — and as a creative technology educator and department head who defends AI more than most, I largely agree with him. But in this video I add the nuance his argument is missing: why being "out of touch" can be a feature of good education, why the Suno ethics are messier than simple theft, and why the public isn't quite as hostile to AI music as his corner of the internet suggests.

In this first look I explore Orbit Pro, the new Pro version of the Orbit player from Orbit Spatial, which can now transcode Dolby Atmos Master Files directly into YouTube-supported Eclipsa Audio—something even Pro Tools can't do yet. I also walk through its new video import, multi-track sessions, webcam head tracking and improved loudness metering, and explain why it's a strong pick for anyone serious about immersive audio production.

I answer the two biggest questions I keep getting about the Steven Slate Immersion One: can you use the VSX system for immersive audio, and should you upgrade from the original VSX? My verdict might surprise you — better doesn't always mean right for you.

In this episode, I chat with Gert Keunen, mastering engineer and author of Stereo Was a Nice Try, about everything from setting up a budget immersive studio to mixing secrets for Dolby Atmos and why thinking immersive from the start changes everything. We cover DAWs, headphone mixing, the LFE channel, loudness, virtual instruments, and even what beer style best represents an immersive mix.

I take a first look at the Areal SR1 — a groundbreaking set of immersive headphones from Belgium that uses multiple physical drivers per ear cup to reproduce spatial audio through your own ear geometry, bypassing software-based HRTF simulation entirely. In this video I walk through the hardware, the audio interface, the setup process, and give my honest verdict on whether the SR1 lives up to its fascinating concept.

I ranked every major DAW by the immersive audio features added in 2025 and early 2026 — from platforms with zero native support all the way to the surprising leader at the top of the list. Spoiler: Avid Pro Tools has quietly pulled ahead of the pack with native multi-format spatial session architecture, Sony 360 RA integration, and Audio Vivid support.

I respond to your comments on AI music — covering copyright, monetization, the Deezer study, and why 97% of listeners can't tell the difference between AI and human-generated tracks. Plus: why I use Suno regularly but almost never listen to what I create, and the funniest comment I've ever received on this channel.

Fiedler Audio's new Armada plugin lets you use any mono plugin on immersive audio tracks and even on Dolby Atmos master channels via the Dolby Atmos Composer — and in this video I put it through its paces with FabFilter Pro‑Q and Pro‑C in Reaper. If you've been looking for a Waves Immersive Wrapper alternative from a developer you trust, this one's for you.

I review UpM1xer from Max1mus Audio, a new upmixing plugin for Dolby Atmos that features some genuinely innovative tools like an immersive transient shaper and an LFE subharmonic generator. It's a very strong first showing, though the lack of 9.1.6 support and the Apple Silicon-only limitation are worth noting.

I review DeepStereo Monitor by Leson, a new binaural renderer built on IRCAM research, and put it through its paces in Reaper with a full walkthrough of its features including head tracking. I also compare it head-to-head with APL Virtuoso to help you decide which renderer fits your immersive audio workflow.

"Slow Burn In Your Skin" — born from experimenting with Suno 5.5's latest features and seeing just how far its native language model can go with lyrics. And I had a pile of unused Kling credits.

Audio Brewers just released abEQ, a first-of-its-kind ambisonics EQ that lets you independently EQ each dimensional pole of the ambisonics field — and I'm walking you through everything it can do. I've also got a surprise reveal: Virtuoso's new HeadTrek feature, which turns your webcam into a head tracker for binaural monitoring.

I respond to Rick Beato's argument that AI data centres are headed for the same fate as 1990s recording studios, agreeing with the core pattern while adding nuance around the hybrid future of local and cloud AI. I also demonstrate how to generate a complete AI song entirely on your local machine for free, using LM Studio and ComfyUI with the open-source ACE-Step 1.5 model.

In this follow-up to my SnappySnap review, I demonstrate the plugin's MCP integration, which lets you use Claude as a natural language interface to position immersive audio objects, create snapshots, and automate your mix — all inside your DAW. I walk through the full setup from scratch and show what this kind of AI-plugin collaboration actually looks like in practice.

In this video, I explore InShaper, Sound Particles' new LFO-driven waveshaper plugin, and put its impressive multi-channel capabilities — supporting formats all the way up to NHK 22.2 — to the test in a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos session in Reaper. While the plugin has some limitations for immersive audio work, such as the inability to bypass individual channels internally, it's a convenient and powerful tool for spatial audio producers looking to add creative waveshaping to their multi-channel workflow.

I test Amorph, a free plugin that lets you create your own audio effects and instruments using generative AI — no coding required. Watch me build a binaural panner with interaural time difference from scratch and see how it performs in practice.

SnappySnap by Electric Smudge lets you automate entire parameter snapshots instead of individual parameters, making immersive audio workflows in Atmos, Sony 360 RA, and other formats dramatically easier. In this video, I demo the plugin with the Sony WalkMix Creator and take a look at its standout features, including snapshot interpolation, elasticity smoothing, instance linking, and built-in MCP integration for large language models.

In this video, I review Orbit by Orbit Spatial — a brand-new dedicated Dolby Atmos music player that finally makes it easy to play back and inspect your Atmos master files without needing the Dolby Atmos Renderer. At just 79 pounds (39 for educational users) and packed with features like object soloing, head tracking, and metadata PDF export, this Mac-only tool gets my first-ever unconditional buy recommendation.

In this video, I explore WaveLab 13's new Dolby Atmos mastering features, walking you through the complete workflow from ADM import to final render. I also compare it to competing solutions and share my honest verdict on whether it's worth the investment.