Can't Export to MP3 Surround

I’m trying to create a 5.1 Surround MP3 audio file. I followed Steinberg’s instructions , but Cubase always produces a Joint Stereo MP3 file. When I export the project to stereo through the Mix6To2 plugin, Cubase produces an identical (same size anyways) Joint Stereo MP3 file.

What am I doing wrong?

Any assistance is appreciated.

Forgive me if I am missing something here (I do not get involved in much surround work) but it looks likes Mix6to2 is a down mixing - 5.1 to stereo - plug in. If the result is a 5.1 MP3 why are using a downmixing plug in in the signal path ?

Additionally if you are expecting a 5.1 multi channel audio file to be output why are you selecting
stereo for the rendered file type in the export dialogue ?

If you select stereo and use a downmixing plug in in the ginal path (mix6to2) the logical result will be a down mixed stereo mp3 file.

You may need to more clearly explain what you expect as the output file format/purpose
and follow that through the “signal chain to export file type” in a logical manner.

Just looking at the article the critical bit is probably : “select the 5.1 output as the audio engine output” Mix6to2 is not mentioned.

No, what I’m trying to say is that the output from my export operations are exactly the same - it’s always a Joint Stereo MP3 file - whether I export to surround (without Mix6To2) or export to stereo (with Mix6To2). In other words, it appears that Cubase is automatically downmixing to stereo when I’m trying to export to MP3 Surround.