Immersive Audio Upgrade Enhances Student Learning Experience

The University of New Haven’s Department of Music, Theater, and Dance recently celebrated the installation of a Dolby Atmos system in its Studio B with a panel discussion, Perspectives on Immersive Audio that included three separate studios and panelists in two states.

I was joined on the panel by professors Zack Goldberg and Lorren Hartmann ‘24 as well as Nashville Study Away Program professor Mike Poole and alumni Joey Stanca ‘20 and Lisa LaFountaine ‘19. Together we gathered with students and the public via a Zoom webinar to listen to immersive mixes and discuss Dolby Atmos, Sony 360 VME, and the marketplace for immersive audio.

Professor Goldberg, coordinator of the Music and Sound Recording and Music Technology and Innovation programs explains, “Since childhood, I’ve been a surround sound enthusiast — there’s just something magical about sound moving all around you and pulling you deeper into a story. So to now have a fully immersive 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos mix suite right here at the University of New Haven is incredibly exciting.”

The journey to transforming Studio B — which for years was a more traditional stereo mix room — started with the work of Lisa LaFountaine ’19. Her Honors Thesis, Welcome to the Jungle: A Creative Analysis of How Surround Recorded Ambiences Can Enhance Storytelling in Visual Media, sparked the idea that surround sound could and should have a home here. That led the University to install its first 5.1 setup using Adam Audio speakers.

"Immersive audio is reshaping how we think about sound, and it’s essential that our students are part of that conversation." Simon Hutchinson Ph.D.

Luke Armenia ’23 continued work on the project via his senior capstone. Armenia mapped out several upgrade paths for Studio B to meet contemporary industry standards, including expanding the system to 7.1.4. Thanks to his vision, two more rear surround speakers and four ceiling-mounted height speakers were added to the room.

The final piece of the early upgrade was the addition of the Audient ORIA immersive audio interface and monitor controller, which provides precise calibration, control, and flexibility — allowing students to mix in everything from stereo all the way up to 9.1.6 (additional speakers permitting).

Traditional surround sound arrays include speakers in the same plane as listeners’ ears, but the Dolby Atmos systems include speakers above the listener, thereby expanding the sound field. In addition, Dolby Atmos software uses new programming that allows for much easier placement of tracks spatially in the mix.

The decision to upgrade is a direct result of an explosion in immersive audio, as consumers and studios have begun to adopt the technology. Remaining current in immersive mixing was a goal, and professors Goldberg and Hartmann wrote a new course that was offered for the first time this year.

“In designing this course, we looked to equip students with valuable tools and experience to enter the music and film industries,” Professor Hartmann explained. “As recording studios are just beginning to adopt immersive audio mixing environments, very few resources are currently available for teaching on this subject.

“In the development of course materials, considerable time was spent on research with industry professionals, as standards are still being developed,” he continued. “This course will continue to expand as the technology develops, and we are excited to be one of the few schools offering students a chance to enter the industry on the cutting edge of immersive audio.”

I proposed the idea for an event as a way to celebrate the studio upgrade. It became clear that the panel needed to include information on streaming hi-res mixes, as much of the listening and approval process of audio is now done remotely.

This meant that the panel could take place over Zoom with participants connecting directly to the hi-res audio coming from the studios. Using Audiomovers’ ListenTo software allowed participants to hear a binaural rendering of the immersive mixes, giving them a sense of the space that Dolby Atmos creates.

This decision to go online also allowed the panel to involve other facilities, specifically Blackbird Studio in Nashville and Power Station New England in Waterford, both used by our students. Blackbird is the centerpiece of the University’s Nashville Study Away Program, and Power Station New England hosts the Advanced Recording course. This change also meant that the panel could be expanded to include other audio professionals, alumni, students, and the public.

“This event encapsulates exactly what we aim to do as a department—connect students with cutting-edge technology, leading industry professionals, and real-world experiences,” shared Simon Hutchinson Ph.D., chair of the Department of Music, Theater, and Dance. “The fact that we could stream these immersive mixes in real time across multiple studios and bring together alumni, faculty, and students in a meaningful way speaks to the forward-thinking environment that we’re building here.”

I began the panel by introducing the state of immersive audio from a music industry perspective. In particular, noting the increased demand taking place at a time when growth in streaming music is slowing, creating an opportunity for studios and engineers to provide a higher quality mix to drive further growth in listeners.

Professor Hartmann gave a description of Studio B and its 7.1.4 Atmos array as well as how the signal was routed from ProTools to the Dolby Atmos Renderer, to Audiomovers’ Omnibus, and then, via ListenTo, to all attendees.

“I’ll be honest —” Professor Goldberg said, “the first time we listened back to one of our immersive mixes over headphones using the standard Dolby binaural renderer, I wasn’t all that impressed. It basically just sounded like a really wide stereo mix. It didn’t have that same sense of depth and movement we were hearing in the room on the full 7.1.4 speaker array.

“Once we integrated Audiomovers’ Binaural Renderer for Apple Music and Sony’s 360 Virtual Mixing Environment (VME) into our workflow — that changed everything,” Goldberg continued. “Suddenly, those mixes came to life in a way that felt three-dimensional. You could feel sounds moving not just left and right, but front to back and above! That’s when we knew we had something special to show people.”

“After our event, I received a bunch of messages from participants sharing, ‘I had no idea you could hear immersive audio like that over just a regular pair of headphones’,” Goldberg shared. “That reaction is exactly what makes this technology so exciting — it breaks down the barriers of access.”

During the event, Evan Bakke at Power Station New England described his setup and experiences working with immersive audio. It continued from Blackbird, where faculty member Mike Poole, a Grammy- and Emmy award-winning mixing engineer, and Joey Stanca ‘20, Blackbird's operations manager, described the setup in the legendary George Massenburg-designed Studio C. This famed studio was used by Dolby to develop the technology and contains a 9.2.6 array, which is often used by professionals to play back their mixes in one of the finest rooms in the country.

The event concluded with a playback session involving music and sound recording student Katie Gavin ‘25. Katie played a mix they created of the Queen song “Killer Queen” and then received feedback from the others present. Katie discussed the creative decisions they made in the mix based on the ability of Atmos to move audio tracks around in the listening environment.

“I am grateful that the University has given me the opportunity to discover my passion for immersive audio and to be a part of this unique event,” Galvin said. “Mixing this project challenged me to grow outside of my skills and gave me even more ways to be creative. I was able to get feedback from industry professionals and learned about the potential Dolby Atmos has. I’m excited to continue exploring this technology and to become a pioneer in this area of audio.”

“Immersive audio is reshaping how we think about sound, and it’s essential that our students are part of that conversation,” Hutchinson added. “With the installation of Dolby Atmos in our Studio B and its integration into our curriculum, we’re giving students the tools to innovate and become leaders in music, film, gaming, and whatever comes next.”

To access a recording of event (though without the live hi-res audio feeds), visit this link.

Mark Tavern is a lecturer and coordinator of the University's Music Industry program, as well as coordinator of the Nashville Study Away program.