Dolby Atmos plug-in for Logic Pro

To create and monitor a spatial audio mix in Logic Pro, you must use the Dolby Atmos plug-in.

When you turn on spatial audio in your project settings, Logic Pro automatically inserts this plug-in on the surround master channel strip.

Figure. Surround master channel strip with the Dolby Atmos plug-in.

Plug-ins inserted before the Dolby Atmos plug-in affect only the bed tracks in the surround format (up to 7.1.2) you choose for the project. Plug-ins inserted after the Dolby Atmos plug-in affect only the audio signal in the monitoring format you choose. See Build a Dolby Atmos mix in Logic Pro.

3D visualization

The Dolby Atmos plug-in contains a 3D Object Viewer representing the 3D space of your spatial mix. During playback, the positions of the object tracks are represented by small spheres. When you move the pucks or change the coordinate values in a 3D Object Panner, the corresponding sphere for that object track moves within the 3D Object Viewer. You can change the perspective of the 3D Object Viewer to help visualize the positions of different object tracks in relation to each other and the listener. You can also highlight the position of individual object tracks, even when the project is not playing, by clicking their names in the 3D Objects list.

Monitoring Dolby Atmos playback

You can monitor your mix in various binaural and surround formats to help determine how it sounds on headphones and in different listening environments. If you are using Logic Pro on a computer that supports spatial audio playback on internal speakers, you can also monitor your spatial audio mix on the built-in speakers.

The chosen format also determines the binaural or surround format used when you bounce your spatial audio mix to surround audio files. The resulting bounce files are intended for playback on a system that has the same format as the chosen monitoring format. They are not suitable for playback on Dolby Atmos systems. See Bounce surround audio files in Logic Pro.

The monitoring format has no effect on the resulting file when you export your Dolby Atmos mix to an ADM BWF file. See Work with ADM BWF files in Logic Pro.

You can monitor your Dolby Atmos mix in the following formats:

Monitoring format	Description
Dolby Renderer	The standard Dolby Atmos binaural format. When you use this format, you can edit the binaural rendering modes.
Apple Renderer	Used by Apple Music to render a binaural spatial audio mix for playback on headphones.
Apple Renderer (Head Tracking)	Used by Apple Music to render a binaural spatial audio mix for playback on Apple headphones that support head tracking. This format is only available when a head tracking-capable device is selected as the output device in Logic Pro preferences. Head tracking is turned off when bouncing with this format.
Renderer for Built-in Speakers	This format is only available if you use Logic Pro on a computer that supports spatial audio playback on internal speakers, and the speakers are selected as the output device in Logic Pro preferences.
2.0	This format approximates how your Dolby Atmos mix sounds in stereo.
5.1, 7.1, 5.1.4 and 7.1.4	These are the most common standard surround formats used with Dolby Atmos. Choose the format that matches your surround speaker setup.

Note: The monitoring formats Apple Renderer, Apple Renderer (Head Tracking), and Renderer for Built-in Speakers require macOS Monterey 12.3 or later. In addition, Apple Renderer (Head Tracking) also requires a Mac with Apple silicon.

Change 3D perspective

In Logic Pro, in the Dolby Atmos plug-in, do one of the following:

Drag the 3D box to the desired perspective.
Click a position button under the 3D box.
The Custom button returns the perspective to the last position you set by dragging.

Set the monitoring format for the Dolby Atmos mix

In Logic Pro, in the Dolby Atmos plug-in, choose a monitoring format from the Monitoring Format pop-up menu.

Set the binaural render mode

The Dolby Renderer monitoring format lets you assign a distance value known as a binaural render mode to each surround bed and 3D object channel. This gives you more control over the perceived position of each channel in the resulting binaural mix. The default binaural render mode for each channel is Mid. The LFE channel is set to Off and cannot be changed. Channels set to Off are still included in the binaural render without distance modeling applied.

In Logic Pro, in the Dolby Atmos plug-in, choose Dolby Renderer from the Monitoring Format pop-up menu.
In the Binaural Render column on the right side of the plug-in window, click the binaural render mode for the surround bed channel or 3D object you want to change.
Choose a mode (Off, Near, Mid, or Far) from the pop-up menu.
Click the List button to open and close the list.

Download the guides:

Logic Pro User Guide: Apple Books | PDF

Logic Pro Instruments: Apple Books | PDF

Logic Pro Effects: Apple Books | PDF

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