Hello! Just bought WaveLab thanks to some friends’ recommendations for a complete stereo mastering workflow, and the new Dolby Atmos mastering made me think it would be a great moment to give it a try, as I also work a lot on Dolby Atmos and other immersive formats.
As far as I’ve understood, there is no way to master a Dolby Atmos track side by side with its stereo counterpart, but as a mastering engineer who works in both formats, I think it would be a great feature, to not just add a Reference Track in Atmos but the chance to master both files in the same project and page.
If it’s added in the future, I’d also love to have the chance to “copy“ the stereo master chain to the Immersive Plugin Hub and replicate that stereo master chain to Dolby Atmos masters, even having the chance to link them, so if I change something in one chain, the other one gets affected as well, but also to unlink them, having the chance to use one of them as the “base“ and tweaking each one of them according to the special needs of each master.
Another feature I’d love to have in future versions of WaveLab would be the implementation of other immersive formats, such as Sony 360 Reality Audio (Which is based on MPEG-H and also has the chance to work with ADM files), MPEG-H itself, Eclipsa Audio, etc.
Thanks!!! You totally gained a new member in the Steinberg users family
Welcome to the WaveLab community! You’ve raised some great points about the synergy between Stereo and Atmos workflows. While the specific “linked chain” feature you’re describing doesn’t exist exactly in that form yet, WaveLab is actually quite well-equipped for this, albeit with a slightly different philosophy.
Here are a few comments:
1. The Standard Workflow (Stereo First)
Typically, most mastering engineers finalize the Stereo master first, then move to the Atmos version. WaveLab’s Reference Track system is designed specifically with this approach in mind, allowing you to keep your primary reference right within the project.
2. The “Atmos-First” Alternative
It is technically possible to master the Atmos version first and then create a stereo re-render to use as your mastering base for the stereo version. While this isn’t the industry standard AFAIK, it can be a very efficient way to ensure the two versions feel cohesive from the start.
3. The Challenge of “Copy-Pasting” Effect Chains
While the idea of copying a stereo chain to the Immersive Hub is tempting, it’s tricky in practice. As you know, the underlying structure of an Atmos bed or objects is fundamentally different from a stereo fold-down; processing that sounds good in stereo might react unpredictably when spread across e.g. a 7.1.4 array.
4. The Parallel Montage Solution
You don’t have to choose one or the other! You can run two separate Audio Montages in parallel within the same session, one dedicated to your Stereo master and one to your Atmos master.
5. Synchronized Tab Playback in WaveLab 13
The best news for your specific workflow is the new Synchronized Tab Playback feature in WaveLab 13. This allows you to:
Have both your Stereo and Atmos montages open at once.
Switch between them instantly.
The playback cursor is kept locked in time
This allows for the side-by-side comparison you’re looking for, making it much easier to manually match the “vibe” of your stereo chain within your Atmos project.
There are different files. Actually, a montage is stored in a folder, with various files.
Therefore, you should have one folder for the stereo version and one folder for the Atmos version.
In WaveLab, the montage is not a project. Project is an optional superstructure to store everything. If you want to have a project for your whole mastering project, you can first create a project and then inside that project you can create one audio montage for stereo and one for Atmos.
