Michael's Spatial Audio Starter Kit

The Five Tools I Install First

The landscape of immersive audio continues to develop rapidly, transforming how we approach sound design, mixing, and mastering. As someone deeply immersed in spatial audio workflows, I often receive questions about which tools I consider indispensable. After recently setting up a new MacBook, I reflected on exactly which plugins earned their place in my initial installation—those I simply cannot work without for creating immersive experiences.

These plugins represent my essential starting point for any immersive audio production environment. While I inevitably add many more plugins over time—often because I need them specifically for tutorial videos—these five form the core toolkit I would rely on even if I weren’t creating educational content. They are the foundation I build upon, the tools I reach for first, and the ones I would recommend to anyone serious about immersive audio production.

The Foundation of Immersive Audio Production

When approaching spatial audio production, particularly Dolby Atmos, having the right tools can dramatically streamline your workflow while enhancing creative possibilities. In this domain, specialized plugins truly define our production capabilities, directly affecting both technical outcomes and creative potential.

From my extensive collection, five immersive audio plugin suites have proven themselves indispensable. These are the tools I install immediately on any new system, forming the foundation of my spatial audio toolkit.

1. Audio Brewers Ambisonic Suite

At the core of any ambisonic workflow sits the need for flexible encoding and decoding capabilities. Audio Brewers provides what I consider the most flexible and reliable set of ambisonic tools available. When setting up a new system, I immediately install their encoder, decoder, rotator, and visualizer plugins.

What makes these tools particularly valuable is their remarkable flexibility—they can process multi-channel audio and convert it into ambisonics up to 7th order. The encoder handles input conversion seamlessly, while the decoder provides multiple output options, including binaural rendering for headphone monitoring.

The Audio Brewers suite stands out not only for its technical capabilities but also for the responsive development behind it. The developer continuously enhances the ecosystem with innovative tools like specialized delay and reverb plugins designed specifically for ambisonic processing. While I eventually install their entire collection, these four core plugins form the essential foundation for any ambisonic workflow I undertake.

2. APL Virtuoso

When working with multi-channel formats that need to be monitored binaurally, APL Virtuoso has become my go-to solution. What distinguishes this renderer is its extraordinary flexibility in handling input formats—it accommodates configurations up to 22.2 Hamasaki layouts, rendering them effectively for headphone monitoring.

The plugin offers several features that make it particularly valuable. First, its native head tracking capability means I can connect a head tracker directly. Second, its standalone mode allows it to function as an external binaural renderer, creating workflow possibilities beyond the DAW environment. Finally, its cross-platform availability means I maintain consistent monitoring capabilities, whether working on Mac or Windows systems.

For immersive audio work that requires extensive binaural monitoring during production, APL Virtuoso offers a level of flexibility and sound quality that has made it essential to my workflow.

3. Fiedler Audio Dolby Atmos Composer

Perhaps the plugin I use most frequently in my immersive audio productions is Fiedler Audio’s Dolby Atmos Composer. I maintain both the free Essentials version and the paid full version on my system specifically for my YouTube channel—it allows me to show features with the free version that viewers can access without purchase. If I weren’t creating educational content, I would simply install the paid version, as it has become central to my Dolby Atmos workflow.

The plugin streamlines many aspects of Atmos production that might otherwise require complex routing and automation strategies. Rather than integrating with the Dolby Atmos Renderer, it provides an alternative workflow for Dolby Atmos creation. One of its strengths is its integration with Fiedler Audio’s Spacelab reverb as well as the Gravitas dynamics plugin, creating a full featured ecosystem for spatial audio processing.

If you’re serious about Dolby Atmos, this plugin is a great investment, providing professional tools with a straightforward learning curve. It has become the cornerstone of my object-based mixing approach.

4. FabFilter Plugin Suite

While not primarily marketed as immersive audio tools, FabFilter’s suite of plugins has become an unexpected yet essential component of my spatial audio workflow. What many producers don’t realize is that these plugins operate as multi-channel processors, making them extraordinarily valuable for immersive production work.

FabFilter’s entire collection functions effectively with multi-channel audio of up to 16 channels. This means that when working with formats like 7.1.4 or 9.1.6, I can apply consistent processing across all channels simultaneously. For instance, when using Pro-Q on a 16-channel track, it operates as a multi-mono plugin affecting all channels individually yet coherently.

This capability extends to the majority of the product line, including the exceptional Pro-R 2 reverb, which functions as a highly capable multi-channel reverb processor. The precision and transparency FabFilter offers make these tools particularly valuable for immersive audio, where maintaining spatial clarity while applying processing is paramount.

For anyone serious about immersive audio production, having the complete FabFilter toolkit essentially provides every general-purpose processing capability needed for up to 16 channels. This eliminates the need for many specialized plugins, streamlining the workflow while maintaining exceptional sound quality across the entire immersive sound field.

5. NovoNotes 3DX

Rounding out my essential immersive toolkit is NovoNotes 3DX, a remarkably versatile panning plugin that offers extraordinary flexibility in translating between different channel configurations. This tool allows me to take content from one format—such as 7.1.6—and adapt it precisely to another format like 5.1.4.

The advanced positioning capabilities extend beyond simple channel remapping, allowing for nuanced scaling, rotation, and positioning of the entire sound field around the listener. This level of control becomes invaluable when adapting content between different immersive formats or when creative repositioning is required.

I typically install both 3DX and the simpler HPL processor, which offers streamlined binaural rendering when the full panning capabilities aren’t required. While not inexpensive, 3DX’s unique capabilities make it irreplaceable for complex immersive audio projects that require sophisticated spatial transformations.

The Essential Five

These five plugins cover the fundamental needs for immersive audio production without redundancy. Each addresses a distinct aspect of spatial audio creation—from ambisonic processing and binaural monitoring to object placement and format conversion—forming a comprehensive toolkit with minimal overlap.

What makes these particular tools stand out is their consistent reliability. In a rapidly developing landscape where new immersive audio tools emerge regularly, these plugins have remained central to my workflow across countless productions. Their proven effectiveness and versatility make them valuable starting points for anyone building their own spatial audio toolkit, regardless of specific production requirements.

Watch the full video walkthrough of my complete plugin setup here: