Another Country Chicago Adds Dolby Atmos Capabilities

The leaders from audio studio Another Country announce the expansion of their acclaimed Sound 4 studio to add state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos mixing and monitoring capabilities.

With eight sound studios between Chicago and Detroit, Another Country delivers top-tier sound design, mix, sonic branding, and music compositions for commercials, feature and short films, television programming, and more.

According to managing director Tim Konn, Sound 4 is the company’s largest studio, custom-built for cinematic listening experiences. Originally designed with 7.1 surround to the THX standard – and still optimal for 5.1, 7.1, and stereo mixing – Konn said, “Especially considering the growing demands we are seeing from streamers and home entertainment companies, upgrading to Atmos reflects our standing commitment to audio-engineering expertise of the highest order, and the absolute highest standards of quality.”

Another key feature of Another Country’s Sound 4 upgrades centers around the latest offerings from Finland-based Genelec, the world leader in studio monitors. “While each of Another Country’s studios use Genelec exclusively for main and near-field monitoring, Sound 4 was originally built with JBL, since they were THX-approved,” Konn continued. “Genelec let us demo some new speakers for our Sound 4 upgrade, and the difference is extraordinary.”

Driven by Genelec Loudspeaker Management (GLM) software – Sound 4’s array of monitors includes Genelec S360s for Left, Center, and Right channels, and Genelec 8340As for Front, Rear, and Surround channels, with a Genelec 7382A subwoofer. “Our close relationship with Genelec’s Senior Technical Sales Manager Paul Stewart put us in the best position possible to leverage their expertise and capabilities in designing our ideal Atmos room,” said Ryan Schnizlein, chief technology officer for Cutters Studios.

Across its operations in Chicago and Detroit, Another Country’s talent roster includes sound designer/mixer/audio engineers Drew Weir, Peter Erazmus, Joe Philips, Erik Widmark, Jordan Stalling, Josh Condon, and Logan Vines. Prior to completing the Atmos upgrades in Sound 4, Another Country’s team set up a temporary system for Weir to use in creating a Dolby Atmos remix for the 50th anniversary 4K release of director Toby Hooper’s cult-classic horror film, 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'.

With the upgrades now complete, Weir envisions many applications. “Our new Sound 4 system allows us to mix in 7.1.4, which is perfect for Dolby Atmos deliveries for streaming content on channels such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and others,” he confirmed. “It is also an available format for BluRay DVDs, gaming, and music content. Most of the film and series work we have been doing is getting released on these platforms, so being able to offer the format to the creators is a huge advantage for them. We are also seeing the format being used to freshen up classic films, much like we see on the visual side of things.”

In Philips’ words, “Another Country is a leader in sound, and Atmos is a new horizon. Unlike traditional 5.1 and 7.1 surround mixes, Atmos mixes employ spatial placement, allowing playback experiences to easily be converted to 360-degree binaural mixes for headphones and TVs, which sound as good as full physical speaker arrays. We are celebrating this new evolution in sonic reproduction, and excited to leverage it for our clients.”