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.

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.