By Drew Robertson
FLUX :: SPAT Revolution Essential Immersive Audio Software
Here I will be examining something exceptionally interesting to myself , and I hope to you as well , as we dive into a new immersive audio tool developed by FLUX :: Immersive that boasts not only the ability to simulate massive surround audio mix rooms , but also act as a live control matrix for a massive arrays of speakers and many other useful applications in postproduction and digital content creation .
Background Since we first paired audio with film in the mid-1920s , filmmakers have been striving for the ultimate experience in picture and sound . In the 1940s we achieved stereophonic sound with Walt Disney ’ s Fantasia , which was a first-of-its-kind surround sound technique and the concept has only grown from there . Most people will be familiar with the modern 5.1 channel standard that Dolby created in 1976 , which can be expanded to 7.1 channels with the addition of two mid satellite speakers . While current standards had the stereo field properly covered , what was lacking was the ability to define height , thus truly granting the mixer the ability to place sounds in three-dimensional space . Enter Dolby ’ s ATMOS technology , which offers 128 channels of surround audio , giving unprecedented control on the placement of sounds in the audio field . The caveat to this technology is that you generally need the room and power in order to incorporate the necessary speaker arrays at their correct distances from the mix position . That limits the locations one can mix to these standards , especially modern film formats like ATMOS , to a handful of professional rooms . These days , I am able to comfortably mix up to 7.1 surround in fairly small space , but while I can turn a small office into a studio , I can ’ t beat a professionally-engineered mix room that ’ s been designed for that purpose . However , with technology it might be possible to capture that capability and digitize it .
Enter SPAT Revolution Essential from FLUX ::, a standalone audio software ( with optional integration plug-ins ) that aims to allow any mix engineer to work in a fully-immersive surround environment without the equipment you would traditionally need . That said , from a computer standpoint , you will need a robust setup with some use cases needing , preferably , two dedicated machines .
Setup Installing the SPAT Revolution Essential software was simple enough , but actually preparing my system for use and setting up all the proper routing within the software presented the bulk of the work . Your actual setup will vary depending on physical hardware , your choice of DAW , and your operating system . My test system is an AMD Ryzen x570-based system powered by a 3800X CPU and paired with 64GB of system memory running Windows 10 . In terms of setup procedure , FLUX :: includes excellent documentation to get you up and running in your choice of DAW and even provides mix templates for popular DAWs to make routing easy and fast . You will also need to set up your session within the SPAT Revolution software before you ’ re able to start routing audio from your DAW .
Setting up your virtual mix room is relatively easy as FLUX :: has provided templates based on the format you ’ ll be working with . You ’ ll find presets based either on a direct-channel form factor or via “ scenes ” for everything from basic 5.1 to fully-immersive formats like Ambisonic audio or various levels of immersive theatrical surround . Once you ’ ve selected the format you intend to mix and have set your DAW accordingly , you ’ ll be ready to actually mix . If you intend to deploy SPAT as a solution to manage an array of speakers at , say , a live event , you ’ ll find all the necessary information within the included documentation — be ready for a read though .
Usage Once you ’ ve got your session properly set up , in Pro Tools in our case , and you ’ ve got audio flowing where it needs to , you ’ ll actually be able to make use of the software . Being able to work in a surround-sound environment without the accompanying fully-treated studio is quite an experience and an achievement of technology .
For the proper experience , I highly recommend using headphones . The reason why lies in the technology and the underlying concept known as binaural audio . Effectively what is happening here is the SPAT Revolution software is creating an entirely virtual room complete with speakers inside your computer system . At which point it uses delay , reverb , and some complicated math to send a signal back that will “ trick ” your ear and brain into thinking the sound exists in fully 3D space rather than the plain old stereo it actually is . It ’ s honestly fascinating technology while not necessarily new , as consumer electronic companies having been releasing digital surround headphones for years that make use of similar ( albeit far less sophisticated ) virtualization technology , not to mention the video game industry that has been using Ambisonic audio technology for several generations to incredible effect .
What matters here is that FLUX :: is aiming squarely at allowing just about anyone with a powerful enough PC to dabble in creating fully immersive audio , be it for film , 3D animation , live sound installations , or video game production .
Conclusion SPAT Revolution is an incredible feat of technology allowing mix engineers and creatives alike the ability to work with immersive audio workflows without the traditional equipment or space one would normally need . We might be a little way from fully replacing an actual physical mix room , but we ’ ve reached the technological point where we can do an incredibly good job of simulating the room and that ’ s not even touching some of the more creative applications for the SPAT technology , like live sound installations or live audio management and other realtime applications . SPAT Revolution is certainly a technology to keep an eye on .
Drew Robertson is an audio engineer , live sound tech , and educator based out of London , ON . He can be reached at RobertsonAudioPost @ protonmail . com .
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