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.

I revisit the Neumann RIME plugin and Supperware Head Tracker combination, now with full 3D head tracking support, and compare it to the newly updated WalkMix Creator for immersive audio production. If you've wanted to work with spatial audio but lack the space or budget for a 7.1.4 studio, this setup is an outstanding and surprisingly affordable solution.

In this video, I explore the Waves Immersive Wrapper's new ability to wrap any VST3 plugin for immersive audio formats up to 9.1.6, making it one of the most powerful tools in immersive audio today. While the plugin itself is outstanding, I also address the elephant in the room—Waves' controversial 2023 attempt to eliminate perpetual licenses—and explain why this affects my recommendation.

In this video, I take a first look at the Illusonic plugin suite—a set of four immersive audio plugins currently available for free during beta testing, including an impressive upmixing plugin that supports rare formats like Sony 360RA's 13.1 layout. While the documentation is sparse, these plugins offer unique features you won't find elsewhere, and I'm particularly excited about the potential for head-tracking integration with the binaural renderer.

In this video, I explore MELD from Metric Halo, a $400 channel strip plugin that brings a master bus workflow to Dolby Atmos by allowing you to group and control multiple instances simultaneously with powerful sidechaining capabilities. However, be warned: it currently has a critical bug in Reaper (and potentially other DAWs) where it doesn't save group assignments, so test thoroughly before buying.

In this video, I'm testing the latest update to zplane's Elastique Pitch plugin, which now includes multi-channel support for immersive audio workflows including Dolby Atmos and Ambisonics. I demonstrate how well it works across 16 channels by pitch-shifting in the Ambisonics domain, and while it performs flawlessly, I discuss one small UI improvement that would make the multi-channel mode more obvious to users.

In this video, I explore Blue Cat Audio's Patchwork plugin update that now supports 16-channel processing for immersive audio formats like 9.1.6 and third-order ambisonics, demonstrating how to integrate multi-channel beds into Dolby Atmos Composer sessions within stereo DAWs. While the feature works perfectly in the instrument version, I discovered a significant bug in the effects plugin that currently limits it to 8 channels, something I hope Blue Cat Audio will fix soon.

In this video, I'm reviewing the APL Duopan plugin, a new panning tool that combines traditional amplitude-based panning with time-based panning approaches based on psychoacoustic principles. I'll demonstrate its features including the T-A slider for blending panning methods, the head shadow functionality that mimics natural frequency dampening, the dual band option for frequency-specific panning, and its seamless integration with immersive audio formats.

In this video, I review Plugin Alliance's new Hears Perfection plugin—a hearing correction tool for studio monitoring—and compare it with Altitude Audio's Aria Studio to help you decide which one best suits your needs. While both plugins delivered surprisingly accurate hearing profiles that matched my audiologist's measurements, I found myself preferring Hears Perfection for its simplicity, quick 1-2 minute hearing test, headphone-specific profiles, and more focused frequency correction range that doesn't waste energy on ultra-high frequencies you can't hear anyway.

I'm breaking down four game-changing developments in immersive audio that have been happening behind the scenes: NovoNotes' new format support for 9.1.6 and 7.1.6 configurations, Audio Brewers' revolutionary beamforming decoder, Eclipsa Audio's open-source spatial audio plugins that finally make 3D sound accessible to everyone, and Apple's Spatial Audio Format that transforms static mixes into responsive sound environments. Each of these deserves its own deep dive tutorial which I'll be releasing over the coming weeks, plus there's another massive announcement on the horizon that could revolutionize immersive music production—but I'll have to save that for another day.

In this Q&A video, I address the most common questions from my Neumann RIME plugin review, covering everything from DAW integration and head tracking compatibility to why the plugin is specifically designed as a binaural renderer for Neumann headphones rather than a general-purpose solution. I'm also excited to share that Neumann reached out directly after my review, including a call from their CEO, which really demonstrates their commitment to engaging with the audio community.

When SSL released their new immersive metering plugin, I realized it was the perfect opportunity to create something more valuable: a comprehensive countdown of the top 10 metering tools for spatial audio mixing, from basic surround to full Dolby Atmos productions. This completely subjective ranking covers everything from free open-source solutions to industry-standard references, focusing on the tools that provide the best visual feedback for making informed decisions in immersive audio.

In this video, I explore Fiedler Audio's revolutionary new OBAM (Object Based Audio Module) standard — the first plugin format designed specifically for object-based audio that finally brings true mastering capabilities to Dolby Atmos production. I'll demonstrate how this technology works in practice using the updated Dolby Atmos Composer with OBAM-compatible plugins from Fiedler Audio and Toneboosters, showing why this could be the biggest leap forward in immersive audio production yet.

In this video, I count down my top 10 immersive audio effects plugins that will transform your Atmos and Spatial Audio mixes from flat to fully three-dimensional, showcasing tools that create genuinely convincing spatial effects with intuitive controls for professional workflows. From realistic room acoustics to revolutionary spatial workstations, I explore how these cutting-edge processors give you unprecedented control over dimension, movement, and space in your immersive productions, whether you're working in film, music, or game audio.

In this video, I review a premium binaural rendering plugin specifically designed for Neumann headphones that transforms 7.1.4 surround audio into an exceptional listening experience with customizable interaural time differences to match your head size. While the plugin carries a $100 price tag on top of the already expensive headphones, its outstanding sound quality, seamless head tracking integration, and two-week free trial make it worth considering for current Neumann owners, though those seeking more affordable solutions should explore alternatives I've previously covered on my channel.

In this video, I count down the 10 most interesting binaural panning plugins that will transform your headphone mixes from flat to immersive, covering options for every budget from completely free tools to professional-grade solutions. My selections create genuinely convincing 3D spatial effects over headphones using technologies like HRTF processing, psychoacoustic tricks, and motion sequencing, with each offering unique approaches to help you create more engaging and realistic audio experiences for your listeners.

In this video, I explore ARIA Studio by Altitude Audio, a revolutionary software that creates personalized audio profiles based on your hearing test results, compensating for specific hearing loss patterns to deliver a more balanced listening experience. What impressed me most was how accurately it corrects audio across both headphones and speakers, making it an invaluable tool for audio professionals with hearing loss while remaining accessible for anyone wanting to optimize their listening experience.