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SYNTH GEMS 1 Book
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SYNTH GEMS 1 - Exploring Vintage Synthesizers

This 320-page, superbly illustrated, hardcover book takes readers on a chronological journey through a unique selection of over 60 synthesizers — some popular, some rare, all beautiful.

SSL X-Echo
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SSL release X-Echo

New delay plug-in models the sound of vintage Echoplex units, and features an innovative multi-head waveform display.

Rhodes Mk8
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Rhodes Mk8 unveiled

The quintessential electric piano is back, with all the electro-mechanical charm of the originals plus new analogue processing options.

Akai Force 3.1
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Akai update Force... again!

New version 3.1 firmware adds direct-from-disk streaming, compatibility with class compliant audio interfaces, and much more.

Dolby Atmos

A versatile form of surround sound technology, more commonly referred to as 'immersive sound´, developed and marketed by Dolby Labs and introduced in 2012 with the Disney/Pixar film, Brave. While mostly employed for film and television content, it is increasingly being used in music productions, identified as 'Dolby Atmos Music'. DTS:X is a broadly similar rival technology.

The most obvious improvement compared to conventional 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound formats is that Dolby Atmos adds height channels — speakers in the ceiling — which greatly enhances the sensation of being enveloped with sound, hence the 'immersive' moniker. However, the underlying technology is also considerably more advanced as it combines conventional (static) channels of surround sound with 'object-based' audio content which can be directed to any speaker (or to move between speakers) by metadata encoded with the audio. It is this feature which provides the content creators with enormous flexibility over where individual sounds are placed and moved within the mix, in addition to a conventional 'bed' of surround sound.

Moreover, Dolby Atmos decoders are designed to map the source audio content dynamically to the connected sound system accommodating virtually any number and layout of loudspeakers, or even just to stereo earphones, maintaining the best possible impressive of the intended immersive sound stage (using binaural encoding in the case of stereo earphones).

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