MNTN The Sound of the Mountain

If you're looking for an easy to use 3D audio production software – one that enables you to create spatial sound mixes for any 2D or 3D loudspeaker configuration, headphones, cinematic VR environments and live performances – that is perfectly suitable for work in your studio, but also designed to be used on your laptop remotely, you might want to check out MNTN The Sound of the Mountain.

MNTN is a 3D audio production software created by sound designers who are not only passionate about spatial sound but have been actively designing immersive sound experiences for spatial media for many years. The core reason why MNTN came to life is that we could not find an easy-to-use, powerful, and inexpensive tool available on the market, so we decided to develop our own.

MNTN mixes are format independent. The stand-alone app connects to any audio workstation and enables you to create any surround or 3D audio format from your mix. Even binaural 3D audio for standard headphones is supported. You are no longer limited to stereo, 5.1-surround, or whatever format your audio workstation comes preconfigured with, and you can also create fully customized loudspeaker configurations independently of existing audio formats. Yes, with MNTN you can create surround mixes for movies, but you can also design immersive sound for museum exhibitions, spatial media installations, live performances, theaters, 360° projections, art installations, and even cinematic VR. It's as straightforward and efficient as this: one MNTN mix serves all output formats:

• Stand-alone app with up to 128 input channels.
• VST, AU, and AAX plugin to connect with your preferred audio software.
• Full screen global 3D panning interface.
• Customizable multichannel 2D & 3D loudspeaker setups with up to 64 loudspeakers.
• Integrated bass management system for connected subwoofers.
• Binaural 3D audio processing for headphones.
• Cinematic VR export (Ambix 1st order).
• Low latency for live performances (21.3 ms – 0.3 ms).
• Output formats can be changed any time without making a new mix.
• Scalable price through custom licenses that only feature the number of output channels that you need.
• No hardware dongle required.

The core advantages are:

• Compatibility for studio usage, live performances, and permanent media installations.
• One mix serves all output formats including VR and real 3D audio loudspeaker setups.
• No advanced studio technology required when using your headphones.
• Scalable price according to your needs.

Starting to work with MNTN is really easy once you've understood the basic concept: MNTN is a stand-alone app that connects to your audio workstation via a VST / AU / AAX plugin. Instead of using the built-in panning of your audio workstation, you'll be using the MNTN plugin. You just need to route the audio of each single track of your mix to MNTN via Soundflower (it's a virtual multichannel audio interface that comes with the MNTN installer). We made a simple introduction video which will help you with setting up MNTN and configuring it with your DAW. Additionally, you can also download session templates and loudspeaker setups directly from our website.

Once you've started your mix, you can choose between using the MNTN plugins in your DAW, or the integrated SCENE tab (a full-screen interface for panning all tracks in one single window). Automation can be recorded and edited in your DAW just like with other plugins. The export tab offers various possibilities to record and export your mixes in different formats.

We created MNTN for passionate sound people who love to explore new ways of creating immersive experiences: designers, composers, musicians, engineers, and media system architects. It was made for music makers who've never had the opportunity to use 3D audio before. But it's also perfect for pros who love the idea of wave field synthesis but understand its practical disadvantages for real-world applications. MNTN is made for everybody who wants to create spatial sound, rather than only dreaming about it.

We structured the software licensing so that the price adjusts, on a scale, to the budget you assign to the hardware (the number of loudspeakers). The reason for this is that we literally want to give access to the 3D sound to everybody. Students and educational institutions should check out our EDU licensing program.