Who are considered the best Atmos immersive audio mix engineers out there?

[J. PUPSTER]

About Chycki, I have the Road Apples box from the Tragically Hip which has an Atmos mix that is rather tame. Has he done better on other projects?

I'm not an expert on Chycki mixes like some here; but I know some liked his 2022 version of the "RUSH Moving Pictures 40th Anniversary edition"

 

[J. PUPSTER]

About Chycki, I have the Road Apples box from the Tragically Hip which has an Atmos mix that is rather tame. Has he done better on other projects?

also understand, that initial post of mine is there as an example of how inept AI can be for such things.

And all this AI stuff, is it really even close to human level intelligence yet? - I'm sure Jensen Huang would like you to believe so!

 

[dquad]

I'm not an expert on Chycki mixes like some here; but I know some liked his 2022 version of the "RUSH Moving Pictures 40th Anniversary edition"

I didn't know who mixed "Moving Pictures". I am not a fan of it. I'm shocked how this got passed Apple's -18 LKFS level requirement. The sound is completely cranked like the days of the loudness wars.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

I didn't know who mixed "Moving Pictures". I am not a fan of it. I'm shocked how this got passed Apple's -18 LKFS level requirement. The sound is completely cranked like the days of the loudness wars.

Like I say, I'm not an expert on Chycki, here's the Poll thread & main thread for some members' input-

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...sary-edition-blu-ray-audio-dolby-atmos.32267/

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...on-with-richard-chycki-dolby-atmos-mix.31859/

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

About Chycki, I have the Road Apples box from the Tragically Hip which has an Atmos mix that is rather tame. Has he done better on other projects?

I believe he's best known for his less than stellar work on Rush's catalog.

 

[wanners]

I hated most of Chycki's Rush 5.1 mixes, but I thought he really redeemed himself with MP and Signals Atmos mixes. I thought they were generally very immersive and adequately adventurous, even though I prefer even more adventurous mixes than were delivered. The same with Guthrie's two recent Atmos mixes. Far better than his 5.1 mixes, IMO.

I think these guys have either learned something or maybe have been "let loose" to take more chances, IDK. It would be great if we could have more inside information on why conservative mixes would be delivered inside a platform that now has a minimum of 12 channels. `

 

[austinsignal]

I'm not thrilled that SW isolates the lead vocal in the center speaker. It's not a problem on my system because I have an insanely large center channel speaker. However, it was problematic when my center speaker was a bit small compared to the front tower speakers.

I think that there is too much variability in peoples systems to have the lead vocal solely isolated in the center. I prefer that they be included also in the L/R speakers to offset this variability.

Now, one could say that everyone should have a properly balanced surround sound system with properly matched speakers all around. But decor, pressure from a significant other, etc may not make that possible.

yeah - not that I'm an authority, but at least when I'm mixing, I just don't like the sound of the center speaker used for LV - even w matched speakers in the studio. I think the phantom center actually sounds better, more alive - particularly when mixed with other things spread out across the room and the vocal sits in that phantom center. I do like to leave the LV in its original spot in phantom center, and send just a bit of it to upper rears or somewhere in the surround field - depending...that can sound really nice. More of a feel vs. hear thing...

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

I wonder if anyone knows here, how much some of the top surround engineers charge for their work? Just a thought I had yesterday. Someone like SW, who is undeniably one of the top immersive audio engineers in the world, could surely charge a small fortune for his services... although, I imagine there is also an element that the demand for these mixes isn't enormous, so charging too much might simply be prohibitive for most. Also, I wonder if they do some of these mixes as favours, whether there is a going rate, etc.

 

[austinsignal]

I wonder if anyone knows here, how much some of the top surround engineers charge for their work? Just a thought I had yesterday. Someone like SW, who is undeniably one of the top immersive audio engineers in the world, could surely charge a small fortune for his services... although, I imagine there is also an element that the demand for these mixes isn't enormous, so charging too much might simply be prohibitive for most. Also, I wonder if they do some of these mixes as favours, whether there is a going rate, etc.

This is a highly charged topic. For major artists and major releases, there is decent money in mixing ATMOS, as those budgets are substantial. For indie artists - much much different. There's many times zero budget for a process that is in addition to the costs of recording, mixing, and mastering stereo program material. However, there are some mixing engineers that are mixing in ATMOS, and doing the stereo mix in the same mix session with ATMOS, in a single workflow. This results in output that includes a stereo version and the ATMOS version (obviously including all the downmix renders). I believe (rightly or wrongly), that this approach will be the future of the mix/mastering world - and in theory at least, the cost differential between the traditional method and a Stereo-from-ATMOS method should decline.

Additionally, there are a number of self-recorded, self-produced, self-mix indie artists that are mixing ATMOS on headphones..... With tools like Virtuoso, this approach is becoming more viable...not ideal but it is happening. I've actually mixed a couple projects, only to have the next project done by the artist on headphones - they don't have to pay me! Indie artists definitely chase playlists, and getting their material on Apple's playlist roster is important - so finding a way to deliver ATMOS cheaply is top of mind.

 

[AYanguas]

yeah - not that I'm an authority, but at least when I'm mixing, I just don't like the sound of the center speaker used for LV - even w matched speakers in the studio. I think the phantom center actually sounds better, more alive - particularly when mixed with other things spread out across the room and the vocal sits in that phantom center. I do like to leave the LV in its original spot in phantom center, and send just a bit of it to upper rears or somewhere in the surround field - depending...that can sound really nice. More of a feel vs. hear thing...

Center speaker, as inherited from the need to “center” the dialogues in the cinema and avoid the precedence effect for listeners located laterally, can serve to place a certain sound (including vocals) in the center.

But, really, how many listeners are there in a Home Theater for active critical music listening? In most cases, only one person. Oneself, in the MLP, who is the only surround fan in the family. So, precedence effrect does not apply. And when he shows the rig to his friends, he lets them sit in the privileged MLP seat, well, at least I do.

When using only the Center Speaker, the vocals sound too “isolated” compared to the center image of a stereo. If the voice is complemented by some copy of the sound, suitably treated and reduced in volume on other speakers, the effect can result in a voice that is centered but without being “isolated”.

I only like vocals in the Center Speaker for particular effects like a whisper instance or performing dialogs with other voices around.

 

[jimfisheye]

Maybe another way to put it might be...
There's nothing inherently weird about a center speaker channel. It leads to spotlighting a front focused solo mix element. It just turns out that many lead vocal parts should not be treated like front focused solo mix elements! Some vocals sound better sitting over the mix from all directions - like phantom center dual mono leads to.

A front center focused vocal still needs the ambient and reflective elements brought into the room with other channels. I want to say that a dual mono phantom centered vocal can get away with some of that omitted. Maybe that led to some surprises transitioning to surround? I don't want to suggest that the mixes that don't work are because they are substandard with all that. Some of them maybe are. But I think it just turns out that not every lead vocal is supposed to be mixed like a front center solo mix element. Just throwing that out there for a bone.

 

[ar surround]

I can't think of many mixes (SW's or anyone else's) where the lead vocal is truly 100% in the center speaker and heard nowhere else. Maybe The Allman Brothers' Idlewild South and Bruce Botnick's work on The Doors' catalog? Usually there is some support in the fronts (or sides in Atmos), so it doesn't feel too detached from the rest of the band. The recent Atmos mix of Van Morrison's Moondance is a great example of this.

One more time...

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Speaking of Chycki, and (stereo, 5.1, Atmos), here is a recent interview with #dolbycreatortalks guest host Ben Givarz.