NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Vance Powell recently completed a studio makeover at Sputnik Sound, installing the popular ATC 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos monitor system to add the future of immersive surround sound to his arsenal. In 2014, Powell, an innovator in studio design, teamed up with producer Mitch Dane in a rambling house in the famed Berryville section of Nashville, naming it Sputnik Sound and filling it with virtually every audio tool past and present. A producer, engineer, mixer, and winner of seven Grammy awards, his credits read like a Billboard list of chart-topping artists: Phish, Chris Stapleton, Jack White, The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and Buddy Guy for starters. His career has spanned from working with Jars of Clay, to a chief-engineer role at Blackbird Studios, to outside work with many of Jack White’s groups. With his new Dolby Atmos room, Powell has complete control to mix immersive audio in his singular style.
As soon as Dolby Atmos Immersive Sound Systems hit the marketplace, Powell was on it. Consulting with the Dolby engineers and famed studio designer Michael Cronin, Powell tore apart his existing control room, totally rebuilt the front wall, re-installed his existing SSL 6000 console and selected ATC monitors for his 7.1.4 system. For left and right configuration, Powell chose the ATC SCM110ASL, an active three-way reference monitor with high-resolution, featuring twin nine-inch ATC “SL” bass drivers, an ATC three-inch soft dome midrange, and an ATC one-inch “S-Spec” soft dome tweeter. The center channel is handled by an ATC SCM50ASL, the company’s benchmark design for a world-class loudspeaker with a sweet-sounding, refined ATC tweeter, ATC soft dome midrange and massively engineered ATC bass driver. Four ATC SCM25A three-way active studio monitors deliver for the surrounds and four ATC SCM12i two-ways for the overhead channels, again all featuring ATC drivers. Dolby engineers worked with Powell for exact speaker placement. The LFE emanates from an ATC SCM0.1/15 Pro Sub capturing the low end with clarity and efficiency.
Dolby Atmos Immersive Sound promises to give the listener the feeling of being in the room with the musicians, noted Powell. “ATC monitors have always impressed me for their clarity and tonal balance. Same goes for the ATC Atmos system performance in immersive audio. It’s perfectly nuanced listening and meets all Dolby standards. All this technology helps me fully realize great music. I’m really happy in this room.” Powell recently completed the Atmos mix of The War and the Treaty’s Lover’s Game album and the 49 Winchester’s Fortune Favors the Bold. “The new Atmos system allowed me to give these already beautiful, organic records an added layer of depth,” said Powell.
“If you’re ready to bring your studio into Dolby Atmos, listen to an ATC system. Their sound is so musical and accurate, somewhat hard to describe,” added Brad Lunde, president and founder of TransAudio Group, ATC’s U.S. distributor. “But when you hear them, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.”
ABOUT TRANSAUDIO GROUP TransAudio Group, founded by industry veteran Brad Lunde, has quickly become the premier U.S. importer/distributor and/or U.S. sales and marketing representative for high-end audio. Success hinges on TransAudio providing dealers and end users with a higher standard of product expertise and support far beyond the norm.
