15/11/2025
Apple just dropped Spatial Audio plugins for Pro Tools. But are they really ready for 3D audio pros?
I spent the weekend testing them-straight out of the box, no headphones needed.
First impression: There’s a LOT going on. Apple gives you a full toolkit:
- Object panners with up to 256 objects (seriously, who needs that many?)
- Directivity controls (singer, person, studio monitor - wow!)
- Scene and group management
- Head tracking (AirPods or OSC)
- Room and reverb settings, with presets for indoors and outdoors (yeah!)
- Video player for 360 video and object overlay
But here’s where it gets spicy:
- The setup is clunky since ProTools is doing ProTools things can’t just drag and drop your speaker layout. Want 7.1.4? You’ll have to build it yourself from what I understand.
- Export is… fine, but not as smooth as the old Facebook 360 workflow. No easy “encode and send to client” with the video option.
- I feel like it is great to have many options, but feel like there could be too many parameters that change your sound.
My verdict? Apple’s tools are promising, especially for immersive media. But they’re not plug-and-play for pros (yet) - and I'm just getting started with a project in a pipeline.
You’ll spend time clicking, testing, and letting you konw!
Still, I’m curious: Is this the push 3D audio needed for the mainstream? Or ist Dolby Atmos just fineß