Dolby Atmos Rock Shelter Studio: Powered by Focusrite and ADAM Audio
Rock Shelter Studios is one of our most recent endeavors here at Rock Distribution. With the goal of combining the diverse work of distribution, with our passion for recorded music, Rock Shelter is an Atmos enabled recording and mixing studio in Sigulda, Latvia, with Focusrite and Adam Audio at the core, enabling all of what we do.
Rock Shelter Studios is one of our most recent endeavors here at Rock Distribution. With the goal of combining the diverse work of distribution, with our passion for recorded music, Rock Shelter is an Atmos enabled recording and mixing studio in Sigulda, Latvia, with Focusrite and Adam Audio at the core, enabling all of what we do.
In this document, we’ll take an in-depth look at how these two brands are the backbone of the studio, as well as a technical overview of the possibilities that they enable us to do!
Interfacing and Connections
All of our Inputs and Outputs are controlled by the Focusrite Red 16 Line interface, in conjunction with the Rednet R1 Controller. The interface was chosen for the ability to connect the R1 Controller, as well as the Dante capabilities. We’re using all of the analog inputs and outputs, connected with a multi-core cable, to send output to our monitors, as well as connect our patchbay to the inputs. The patchbay includes both straight XLR inputs, as well as routing to outboard equipment. One of the most important factors in a modern recording studio is versatility and ease of access. Making sure that the engineer can do everything, quickly, is good for both the artists, as well as our business. The Focusrite Red 16 Line allows us to do exactly this. Doing more complex work like re-amping, should be just as easy as recording a single mic input, and the Red 16 Line, in conjunction with the R1 Controller and the Rednet software gives us ultimate flexibility to do exactly this.
In total we’re using 12 Output Channels, with more to be added in the future, and 16 physical input channels. The rest of our input comes through Dante connected hardware. This can be either the X2P, or any other Dante enabled i/o hardware.
We are using the Adam Audio A-series as our main monitoring solution, with a Sub 12 for Bass Management. In the context of our 7.1.4 Atmos system, the setup is as follows: Center, Left and Right channels - A77H x 3; Sides and Rears - A7V x 4; Top channels - A4V x 4, as well as the Sub 12. The Adam Audio A Series was specifically chosen for two reasons, firstly, the X-ART Ribbon tweeters, which provide extreme clarity in the high-end and secondly, the built in DSP Controls for all monitors. Due to the sheer amount of output sources and the intricacies of Atmos, ensuring that every speaker is perfectly in tune with the room, as well as correcting for any delay anomalies, can be an extremely daunting task. This is why the A Series’ built in DSP and Sonarworks SoundID Integration was an absolute necessity for us. In terms of dimensions, our monitoring system is perfectly set up to be an atmos studio, namely, all measurements have been made with the Dolby DARDT Tool, to ensure its all to specification.
The environment for recording and mixing has been acoustically designed to be as non-reflective as possible, without it being too acoustically dead. Our ceiling is almost entirely covered with CEWOOD wood wool panels, with a layer of insulating wool above, to minimize reflections from the ceiling. Similarly, the floors are carpeted throughout the entire studio for the same purpose. We aren’t using any acoustic panels or bass traps, rather ensuring our desired acoustic profile with the use of Showlite Acoustic Curtains. Instead of having a "baked-in” acoustic room profile, these can be pulled back to get a more natural room-sound, or pulled shut completely, to ensure a near-perfect mixing environment.
Studio Control
Rock Shelter has the Red 16 Line interface at its core, with the R1 Controller being our main control device. The R1 lets us monitor and A/B different sources, as well as switching the input source at a push of a button, which lets us do lightning fast adjustments when working with references. When mixing in Atmos, it’s very important to be able to Solo single speakers in your field, to be able to correctly audition and listen to any changes you’ve made. The R1 let’s us both Mute and Solo any single speaker in our 12 speaker setup, which is absolutely essential for Atmos mixing. That being said, Rock Shelter at its core is a digital studio, so most audio control and routing happens in-the-box. Nevertheless, the Rednet R1 is absolutely indispensable for our use due to the possibilities it allows for, when auditioning and monitoring audio!
Network and Routing
Dante connectivity is one of the cornerstones of our studio. The only physical XLR cables we’ve hard-wired are for the monitor output channels, all other inputs and outputs away from the desk are routed through Dante. This allows us to connect further points in the studio very easily, with minimal setup time. We have ethernet sockets all around the studio, in every room, as well as the stairwell coming up, in the case we need to record a lot of natural ambience and reverb.
This brings us to the awesome Focusrite X2P, which is used as both a monitoring solution, as well as a Dante input box. This means that by utilizing the X2P, we can monitor and record sources from anywhere in the building, when connected to ethernet. Making sure the engineer can do most things in-the-box, rather than having to troubleshoot analog connections, really helps, when it comes to recording immediacy. From our perspective, if a musician wants to record drums in the stairwell, the thing that should take the longest is setting up the drums, not figuring out how to get audio routed, and we’ve made sure it is that way!
The Ethernet local network is also used for the Adam Audio monitor Calibration that we’ve done using Sonarworks. The A Control app lets us upload our spatial and acoustic measurements into the DSP of every individual monitor speaker, which helps us make sure that every mix that comes out of Rock Shelter translates as well as possible to the consumer. The app also lets us control all 11 speakers (excluding subwoofer) individually and from the computer, rather than having to use the physical back-panel controls.
