Immersive audio is one of the hottest topics in music production right now, and you’ve probably noticed it popping up everywhere. Whether you’re scrolling through Netflix, Amazon HD, Apple Music, or Tidal, immersive audio categories are front and center. Unlike MiniDiscs and Quadrophonic sound from the 70s, I'm in the camp that this technology isn’t just a passing fad but rather one that will be embraced across the board.

Even luxury car brands are stepping up. Companies like Tesla, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz are equipping their cars with immersive audio systems, transforming the driving experience into something far beyond basic stereo sound. Imagine cruising down the highway while feeling like you're sitting in the middle of a live performance. Pretty cool, right?

Now, while this whole immersive audio thing might sound a bit intimidating at first, it’s honestly a lot simpler than it seems. And, as with any new technology, producers and engineers who get on board early are going to see the biggest benefits. That’s exactly why major labels like Universal and Capitol Records are remixing their entire back catalogs into immersive formats. It’s a clear sign that there’s money to be made here.

Big-name artists like Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, and Post Malone are already releasing immersive mixes, too. The interest is growing fast, and while there are some technical standards you need to know, the rulebook is still wide open. That’s what makes it such a massive opportunity for producers and engineers, there’s room to get creative and help shape the future of this space.

In this guide, I’ll break down what immersive audio is, how it works, and how you can potentially turn it into a profitable part of your professional skill set.

What is Immersive Audio? 

At its core, immersive audio creates a listening experience that feels natural, three-dimensional, and as if you're right in the middle of the action. The goal is to surround the listener with sound, whether it's the roar of a crowd in a live concert, the subtle ambiance of a forest in a film, or the shifting dynamics of a video game environment. It’s designed to make audio feel more lifelike, which can elevate everything from music to movies to virtual reality experiences.

Immersive audio is used across a variety of platforms. In streaming services like Netflix or Disney+, it adds depth to soundtracks and effects, pulling the viewer into the story. In music, platforms like Tidal and Apple Music are offering immersive mixes where you can hear instruments and vocals spread across the sound field in a way that stereo simply can’t replicate. And then there’s gaming, where immersive audio is used to create 360-degree sound environments that help players sense danger or direction, adding an extra layer of realism.

To really nail immersive audio, it helps to understand h ow people perceive the world around them. We experience sound in a fully 3D space. If you close your eyes and stand in the middle of a room, you can still tell where someone is speaking from, how far away they are, and even if the space is large or small, all without sight. This is because our brain and ears are working together to give us a picture of our surroundings through sound.

When sound reaches our ears, our brains process where that sound is coming from by comparing tiny differences in the time it takes to reach each ear, as well as how it bounces off the environment. If a car honks behind you, you know it’s behind you without even thinking. You can tell if it's coming from the left or right, and how far away it is. Close your eyes, and you can probably even imagine the kind of street it’s on just by how the sound reflects off buildings or open space. That's what makes human hearing so immersive.

Want to experiment with this? Close your eyes in a quiet space and have a friend move around you while making different noises (clapping, tapping on surfaces, speaking). You’ll notice how your brain automatically pinpoints their location without the need for sight. This process, our ability to hear in 360 degrees, is exactly what immersive audio taps into.

If you want to dig deeper into the science behind it, the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society has published plenty of research on how humans perceive spatial and immersive sound and how it can be applied in audio production.

How Does It Work?

So, how do we actually create immersive audio? It’s all about the setup. Immersive audio systems use a combination of speakers placed both laterally (around you) and overhead to surround the listener in a three-dimensional sound field. Imagine sitting in the middle of a room, and sound is coming from the left and right, as well as above, below, in front, behind, everywhere.

Immersive audio setups are multi-channel, which means they involve a lot more speakers than your typical stereo or even 5.1 surround sound systems. Instead of just two speakers on either side of your TV or a few more in the corners, think about a room full of speakers at all angles. The sound is spread across multiple channels, creating a fully immersive bubble of audio. For example, Dolby Atmos, one of the leading immersive audio formats, can use up to 128 individual audio tracks sent to as many as 64 different speakers in a room.

To make this work, speakers are carefully aimed at one fixed point, otherwise known as the “listening position.” That’s where you, whether you’re an audio engineer, moviegoer, or gamer, will be sitting. The exact placement and number of speakers depends on the format you’re working with. A Dolby Atmos home setup might have speakers on the ceiling, while other formats like Sony 360 Reality Audio rely more on specialized speaker arrangements around the listener. In a professional studio, these speakers are often mounted at precise angles to make sure sound comes from the right spots.

Immersive Audio Software

However, no matter how many speakers you’ve got or how they’re arranged, the software is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Immersive audio systems use software to emulate the 3D environment by placing each sound in the right spot in relation to the listener.

Once you’ve installed the software, the system has to be calibrated to the room. During calibration, the software figures out what combination of speakers will best recreate that 3D audio effect. It analyzes the room size, speaker layout, and even the materials in the room (because sound bounces differently off wood versus concrete). After calibration, the system knows exactly which speakers to use, at what volume, and at what timing to create the desired immersive sound experience.

It also generates the master file, which is what contains all the decoding information needed for playback on different systems. This is key because, unlike stereo files where everything is baked in, an immersive audio file still needs to be decoded based on the playback environment. It’s a bit like handing someone a blueprint rather than a finished building. The software figures out how to “build” the audio experience in real-time, based on the available setup.

Now, this is a whole different ball game from traditional stereo. In a stereo mix, you're only working with two channels: left and right. You can pan things between them, but that’s about it.

Immersive audio, on the other hand, lets you position sound in a full 360-degree space. With the right software, you're no longer limited to two speakers, you can create an experience where the music feels like it's moving around and above you.

So how do consumers experience this? There are several ways renderers help make immersive audio accessible. For instance, specialized sound bars, like the Sonos Arc, or smart speakers designed for immersive playback, can recreate a version of an immersive mix without the user needing to know anything about speaker placement or calibration. The renderer does the hard work behind the scenes, analyzing the audio file and figuring out how to best distribute sound across the available speakers to create that immersive feel. All you have to do is hit play.

This makes it possible for average listeners to enjoy immersive audio, even if they don’t have a fancy multi-speaker setup.

Using Immersive Audio In Music Production

When it comes to music production, I’m convinced immersive sound is going to be the next big thing. Think about how monumental it was to go from mono to stereo back in the early ‘60s. That shift changed the way people experienced music forever.

Now, immersive audio is taking it to the next level and giving us even more creative control over how our tracks are heard.

The good news is that you don’t need to be working in a million-dollar studio to create an immersive mix. Sure, the big studios have their advantages, but you can start experimenting with immersive audio right from your home setup. All you need is the right software and a little know-how.

If you’re using Pro Tools, for example, you can integrate the Dolby Atmos Renderer to create three-dimensional mixes. This tool allows you to position elements of your track anywhere in a 3D space.

Ableton users can use Max for Live (M4L) integration, as it has a whole suite of immersive mixing tools. M4L gives you access to custom spatial audio plugins that can be used to position sounds in three dimensions, making it super flexible for anyone already deep into electronic music production or sound design.

Listening to Immersive Audio

If you want to experience immersive audio for yourself, you’ll need two things: an app or audio source that can handle immersive content and a set of speakers or headphones that support it.

Fortunately, if you’re already in the Apple ecosystem, you’re in luck. Devices like AirPods Pro or AirPods Max can handle immersive audio (and most modern headphones will get you there too). Spatial Audio on Apple Music is a great example.

The real challenge, however, comes when you want to listen to immersive audio on a speaker system. At a base level, you’ll need more than just your standard stereo setup. A 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system might get you part of the way, but to truly experience immersive audio, you’re going to need a system that includes overhead speakers or soundbars designed to replicate that overhead audio experience.

Systems like those compatible with Dolby Atmos or DTS are great starting points.

Unlike traditional surround sound, which mostly sticks to side and rear channels, immersive audio systems add that crucial vertical element, so sound feels like it’s moving above and below you as well as around. This might mean adding ceiling-mounted speakers or investing in a soundbar that simulates the overhead sound by bouncing it off the ceiling. If you’re just getting into it, I'd recommend just sticking to headphones for now.

Standards for Immersive Audio

Immersive audio is a bit of a catch-all term. It doesn’t point to one specific technology but rather covers a range of systems all designed to give you that three-dimensional sound experience.

There are a few key differences between these formats.

Dolby Atmos is the biggest name in the game. It’s the standard that most people associate with 3D sound, and for good reason - It can handle up to 128 separate tracks , each of which can be placed anywhere in the 3D space around the listener. This allows for incredibly detailed audio experiences, whether you’re listening to music or watching a movie.

You can enjoy Dolby Atmos on streaming platforms like Amazon Prime , Netflix , Apple TV , and Disney+ , where it’s used to give you that full surround sound experience in films and TV shows.

However, when it comes to music, Apple Music is the only audio streaming service that supports Dolby Atmos, making it the go-to for music lovers who want to experience their favorite tracks in full immersive glory.

Conclusion

Immersive audio technology is opening up a whole new world for how we experience sound. Whether you're a producer, a musician, or simply a listener, getting in on immersive audio now is going to pay off big time. The tech is evolving fast, and those who start exploring it early are going to be miles ahead in creating the new surround sound that truly pulls people in.

So, why wait?