Archipelago Entertainment, which provides music production, film scoring, and game audio as well as audio branding and content development for companies such as Red Bull and Meta from its studio in Breckenridge, CO, recently implemented the Dolby Atmos immersive platform with the help of components from Focusrite’s RedNet and Red series of networked audio converters and interfaces.
“Focusrite came on our radars when we were researching getting into Atmos,” says founder Ross Lara, who has produced, composed, and mixed music for high concept projects including Mythforce (coming out on Epic Games next year), award winning short films and chart-topping artists. “I had been using one particular brand of interface for years but discovered that it would not be compatible with Atmos technology. That’s when Focusrite came into the picture. The Red and RedNet products would enable us to seamlessly do both stereo and immersive production. Focusrite also collaborated with us, helping us choose the right components and helping us through the inevitable hiccups of getting started in a complex new format.”
The RedNet D16R MkII is a 16-channel bi-directional AES3 interface that can work with either Dante or AES audio formats, options that Lara says were crucial in the decision making of he and partner/business manager Brian Shenefelt. “I prefer to use AES for reliability reasons, and once we had the RedNet D16R in place, any format headaches went away instantly,” he says, noting that it has communications compatibility with the Trinnov D-Mon 12 monitoring controller and room-correction system the studio uses for its 7.1.4 Output Frontier and Genelec subwoofer array.
Finally, Lara points to advantages of the ISA One microphone preamp with its independent DI channel and optional 192 kHz A-D conversion available. “I’m using it for analog synths and some microphone recording applications,” he says. “It’s portable, so it can go where I go, and it’s especially great for augmenting the low end on some recordings, down around 50 to 60 Hz.
“All of the Focusrite gear is fantastic!” he concludes. “They sound amazing and they keep the sessions and the creativity moving, which is especially important as we move into Atmos. Immersive audio has a language all its own, and Focusrite is helping translate that for us.”
