Content creators looking for a low-cost option for adding immersive audio to their work have an interesting new solution from THX. The new platform is not meant to compete with Dolby Atmos; earlier this week we learned Audeze’s Maxwell headphones will support Dolby Atmos Renderer for professional mixing, but THX is focusing on a different market with THX Spatial Audio that leverages binaural technology as opposed to ambisonics.
What’s fascinating about each technology is that once the music is mixed for spatial, it can be listened to on any headphone. However, the creator has to select which format to use. The silver lining for THX is that its spatial audio-encoded music can be saved as a standard stereo WAV file, which means in theory, that THX music could start showing up on any streaming platform. However, in the case of THX (or binaural), its spatial audio effects only work through headphones (not speakers).
Debuting today is a new plugin that makes THX spatial music called THX Spatial Creator for Digital Audio Workstations (DAW). With this new creative software tool, artists can create a range of immersive experiences from true-to-life live performances to immersive 360-degree soundscapes, to natural and engaging speech in podcasts and video content. Easy to use and compatible with all major DAWs, and for listening over any headphones, THX Spatial Creator is available here through the Plugin Alliance marketplace.
There are key reasons to mix audio with THX Spatial Creator. Listening to entertainment in full 3D immersive audio enhances engagement, creates a stronger sense of presence, and often surprises and excites the listener in ways that traditional stereo formats cannot. It is a technology that has the power to transport listeners to new worlds and elicit a wide range of emotions, adding new thrilling and inspiring ways to experience entertainment.
“With immersive audio, creators will add spatial realism as well as wild and new interesting sounds, key to enhancing the listener’s experience,” said Kasson Crooker, director of product development, THX Ltd., and professional musician. “THX Spatial Creator empowers artists to easily elevate mixes. To generate emotional connections to the music, the creator can heighten the excitement, pulling the listener deeper into the story to create a sense of joy, fear, suspense, or engagement to the music, whichever the artist intends.”
What is THX Spatial Creator?
THX Spatial Creator empowers artists to convey narrative elements. Immersive audio music mixes can make the listener feel they are surrounded by the instruments and by the artist. This can create a euphoric sense of being enveloped by the music, intensifying the impact of the song. For videos or movies, take a romantic scene, for example, where intimate whispers that feel like they are right in the listener’s ear, can evoke a strong emotional response now that audio elements can be positioned more authentically in the virtual acoustic dome.
For suspenseful moments, immersive audio can create surprises and drama more effectively than traditional stereo or mono audio. Sudden sounds or unexpected noises that appear to come from behind or above the listener, sending shivers down the spine creating an adrenaline rush of excitement. For podcasting, mixing in THX Spatial Creator allows for a more natural sound with crisper, clearer voices that come from the direction of the speaker as if the listener is in the same room as the podcaster. This enhances the listener’s connection to the podcaster and helps alleviate listener fatigue.
Features
THX Spatial Creator works seamlessly with all major DAWs to customize your mixes with binaural audio, motion, and room simulation effects for your audience when listening over any headphones. With THX Spatial Creator you get:
- Advanced HRTF (head-related transfer function) binaural rendering of object-based sound sources,
- Accurate sonic fidelity for sonic placement and precision in your mixes powered by a physics-based engine based on real-world reflection processing,
- Unique “Motion” feature provides quick access for moving your audio tracks in 3D space without the need for automation,
- 3D camera-view UI (user interface) window for easier positioning and viewing of acoustic spaces,
- An intuitive and easy-to-use user interface and acoustic presets for a variety of realistic spaces.
Price & Availability
THX Spatial Creator is available for a special introductory price of $249 $189 at plugin-alliance.com.
For more information: thx.com/thx-spatial-creator/
About the Alliance
Plugin Alliance empowers world-renowned analog hardware companies with a digital strategy and provides software developers with services that allow them to develop products with increasing quality and quantity. We do this by providing world-class marketing and distribution, as well as platform features like a state-of-the-art authorization system. In June 2023, Plugin Alliance became part of Native Instruments alongside Brainworx and iZotope.
About THX Ltd.
Founded in 1983 by filmmaker George Lucas, THX Ltd. today continues to excel at empowering great entertainment experiences. The company provides innovative modern technologies and the assurance of superior audio and visual fidelity that truthfully delivers the artist’s vision. THX offerings go beyond studios and cinemas to consumer electronics, content, automotive systems, and live entertainment. Its THX Spatial Audio and patent-rich THX AAA™ (Achromatic Audio Amplifier) audio technologies, and world-class THX Certification standards, help THX partners bring premium entertainment enjoyment to market in the cinema, home, and mobile lifestyle electronics.
