Spatial Audio & Immersive Music for Deep Tech: Complete Guide
Spatial9 Team · · Updated · 14 min read
Part of the series Spatial audio and immersive music by genre.
Key takeaways
- In a spatial deep tech mix the kick and rolling bassline stay locked in the centre, while the spoken vocal, percussion, dub stabs, hats, dub delays and atmosphere are spread through a dark room around the listener.
- Dub delays work best raised behind the listener in deep tech, because the brain locates a sound by its first arrival, so the echoes can trail away overhead while the original stab stays put.
- Sound arriving from the sides early after the direct sound makes a space feel wide and enveloping, which is why deep tech atmosphere and reverb should surround the listener rather than sit in front.
- The deep tech immersion profile scores width 4, height 3, movement 3, low-end focus 5 and space 4 out of 5.
Deep tech sits between the warmth of deep house and the drive of tech house, with a darker, more hypnotic mood than either. It grew out of the UK and Ibiza underground in the late 2000s and 2010s, closely tied to warehouse parties and after-hours sets. The sound is minimal and patient: a tight kick, a deep, rolling sub bassline, crisp rim shots and percussion, short dub chord stabs drenched in delay, and the occasional dark spoken vocal phrase. With so few parts, the space between them matters as much as the sounds themselves, which is why deep tech is a natural fit for spatial audio. This guide covers how spatial audio for deep tech works, where to place each element and how to make an immersive deep tech mix. For the basics, see what spatial audio is.
Why deep tech is ideal for spatial audio
Deep tech relies on subtle detail: a delay tail fading out, a rim shot shifting slightly, a stab echoing into the dark. In stereo those details stay trapped between two speakers. In an immersive mix they can trail behind and above the listener, so the room itself becomes part of the groove.
The rule: a locked sub, a dark, drifting room. Kick and bassline never move, while dub echoes wander through the space.
Immersive music for deep tech: what listeners hear
- A sub that rolls underneath you. The bassline stays deep, centred and hypnotic.
- Echoes that trail into the dark. Dub delays fade away behind and above.
- A voice in the shadows. Short spoken phrases sit close, just off centre.
- A room full of fog. Atmosphere and reverb surround the listener.
Where to place each element in a deep tech mix
| Element | Position | Height | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | Front centre | Ear level | Tight, hypnotic pulse |
| Deep bassline | Centre | Ear level | The rolling heart of the track |
| Spoken vocal | Front left | Ear level | Dark, close and minimal |
| Rim & perc | Front right, moving | Ear level | Crisp, shifting detail |
| Dub stab | Left | Ear level | Moody harmony |
| Hats | Behind right | Raised | Crisp top end |
| Dub delay | Behind left, moving | Raised | Echoes that trail away |
| Atmosphere | Behind | Raised | After-hours fog |
The psychoacoustics behind Deep Tech placement
Every position in the table above follows how the ear and brain locate sound. Here is the reason behind the main choices for Deep Tech.
- Kick and bassline stay centred. The ear finds almost no direction in frequencies below roughly 80 to 100 Hz, so the rolling deep tech sub gains nothing from being spread. Keeping it centred and mono keeps it heavy and steady on any system, which is what holds a long, hypnotic set together.
- Spoken vocal and dub stab on separate sides. Two sounds that share a frequency range mask each other far less when they arrive from different directions. This is spatial release from masking. Spoken phrases and dub chords both sit in the low mids, so splitting them keeps the voice readable.
- Dub delays behind and above. When a sound and its echoes arrive close together, the brain fixes its position by the first arrival. This is the precedence effect. The dub stab stays in place on the left, while its delays can trail away behind and overhead without dragging it with them.
- Atmosphere around the listener. Sound arriving from the sides soon after the direct sound is what makes a room feel wide and enveloping. Placing deep tech reverb and atmosphere around and behind the listener creates that dark, foggy sense of space.
The immersion profile for deep tech
Low-end focus is at maximum because the rolling sub is the core of the track. Space is high because dub echoes and atmosphere fill the room. Movement stays moderate: deep tech is patient, so echoes drift slowly rather than fly around the head.
Tips for an immersive deep tech mix
- Keep the sub mono. The rolling bassline must stay identical from every direction.
- Use echoes as movement. Let dub delays carry the motion instead of moving the main parts.
- Keep it sparse. Every new part needs its own place, so leave empty space.
- Keep vocals close and dry. Spoken phrases should feel intimate against the dark room.
- Build the room slowly. Open the atmosphere gradually over the length of the track.
Dolby Atmos and object-based mixing for deep tech
Dolby Atmos mixes deep tech as a channel bed plus objects placed anywhere in the room. Most listeners will hear the mix on headphones through binaural rendering on Apple Music, Tidal or Amazon Music. Apple Music applies its own spatial renderer, so its headphone result can differ from the Dolby binaural render and should be checked separately. Spatial9 helps plan placements for every format so your deep tech track translates well across all systems.
How the Atmos plan differs from the placement map. This Atmos plan differs from the Ambisonics map to suit object based mixing. The map placed the deep bassline behind the listener, but in Atmos the low end stays in the front bed to remain solid. The map placed hats raised and behind right, but this plan moves them to the side to avoid cluttering the rear. The dub delay moves backwards and upwards to add depth. The atmosphere uses the full bed rather than a single rear position.
Beds and objects for each deep tech element
| Element | Atmos role | Where it plays in 7.1.4 | Binaural mode | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | Bed | Centre plus LFE (C + LFE) | Off | Anchors the groove in the centre and drives the subwoofer. |
| Deep bassline | Bed | Front left and right (L/R) plus LFE | Off | Keeps the heavy low end solid and phase coherent across all playback systems. |
| Spoken vocal | Object, small size | Ear level, front of the room, left (X -0.2, Y 0.7, Z 0) | Near | Sits close and slightly off centre for an intimate dark feel. |
| Rim & perc | Object, small size | Ear level, front of the room, right (X 0.5, Y 0.6, Z 0) | Mid | Adds crisp rhythmic detail to the right side of the front stage. |
| Dub stab | Object, medium size | Ear level, middle of the room, far left (X -0.8, Y 0.2, Z 0) | Mid | Pulls the harmony wide to the left to contrast with the percussion. |
| Hats | Object, small size | Raised, middle of the room, far right (X 0.8, Y 0.2, Z 0.4) | Mid | Sits wide and slightly raised to keep the top end crisp and separate. |
| Dub delay | Object, medium size, moving | Raised, rear of the room, left (X -0.6, Y -0.5, Z 0.6). Moving: Drifts up and backwards into the dark corners of the room, ending at overhead, back wall, left | Far | Echoes trail away behind and above the listener to create depth. |
| Atmosphere | Bed | Whole 7.1.2 bed | Far | Fills the entire room to create a dark and foggy after hours space. |
Dolby Atmos settings for deep tech
- LFE. The LFE channel exists only in the bed. Objects have no LFE send, so low end placed as an object relies on the bass management of the playback system.
- Object size. Objects have a size control that spreads them across more speakers. Larger sizes are wider but less precise, which suits dub stabs but not crisp rim shots.
- Height. Height suits ambience, reverb, pads and sweeps. Dry rhythmic or melodic parts placed fully overhead lose focus on headphones and in fold downs.
- Binaural render. Every bed and object has binaural render mode metadata. Labels reject binaural metadata left on off for everything, so choose near, mid or far for most parts.
- Deep tech space. Keep the main stage in front. Pulling a featured part off the front wall or between speakers adds depth and keeps it from sounding like one box.
Deep tech across immersive formats
| Format | How it carries sound | What it means for deep tech |
|---|---|---|
| Dolby Atmos | Hybrid: a 7.1.2 channel bed plus up to 118 objects placed with X, Y and Z metadata | Dolby Atmos is hybrid, using a channel bed up to 7.1.2 alongside objects positioned with spatial metadata. |
| Sony 360 Reality Audio | Object-based, built on MPEG-H 3D Audio: every sound is an object on a sphere | Sony 360 Reality Audio is object based and built on MPEG-H 3D Audio, placing every element on a sphere with no channel bed. |
| MPEG-H 3D Audio | Channels, objects and Higher Order Ambisonics in one stream, with optional listener control | MPEG-H 3D Audio carries channels, objects and Higher Order Ambisonics, and lets listeners adjust the level or position of objects the producer allows. |
| Auro-3D | Channel-based: a height layer above 5.1 or 7.1, with an optional overhead channel | Auro-3D is channel based with a height layer above 5.1 or 7.1 and an optional overhead channel, using no objects. |
| Eclipsa Audio (IAMF) | Channel-based and scene-based (Ambisonics) audio elements; no objects | Eclipsa Audio is built on IAMF, which carries channel based and scene based audio but has no audio objects. |
| Ambisonics | Scene-based: the whole sound field, decoded to any speaker layout or to headphones | Ambisonics is scene based, storing the whole sound field as spherical harmonic components decoded to any speaker layout or headphones. |
| ADM BWF | Open exchange file (ITU-R BS.2076 metadata in a BW64 file) for channels, objects and scenes | Music delivery to streaming services is an ADM BWF master at 48 kHz, 24-bit, with no more than 128 channels. |
Delivery checklist for a deep tech Dolby Atmos release
- Master file. ADM BWF at 48 kHz and 24-bit, with no more than 128 channels: a 10-channel 7.1.2 bed plus up to 118 objects.
- Loudness. Integrated loudness no higher than -18 LKFS and true peak no higher than -1 dBTP, measured to ITU-R BS.1770.
- Binaural metadata. Set Off, Near, Mid or Far for every bed and object. Masters with everything left on Off are rejected.
- Re-renders. Listen to the 5.1, stereo and binaural re-renders before delivery, because most people will hear one of them.
Check that the integrated loudness is no higher than -18 LKFS and the true peak is no higher than -1 dBTP using ITU-R BS.1770 meters.
How to make immersive deep tech from stereo
Spatial9 can create spatial audio from a stereo track in a few steps:
- Upload your stereo master or your stems.
- Spatial9's AI separates and places each part, locking the kick and sub and sending echoes and atmosphere around you.
- Preview it in binaural on headphones.
- Export Eclipsa Audio, ADM, binaural or Ambisonics.
- Publish a video. Create a YouTube-ready video with your immersive audio and publish it directly.
For related guides, read spatial audio for tech house and spatial audio for minimal techno. Every guide is listed in spatial audio and immersive music by genre.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a deep tech mix in Dolby Atmos or Eclipsa Audio?
Can I make a deep tech mix in Dolby Atmos? Yes. You can mix deep tech using a channel bed for the kick and sub, and objects for the percussion and dub delays. Remember that Dolby Atmos and Eclipsa Audio are separate deliveries because Eclipsa has no objects. An Atmos object mix must be rendered to channels or Ambisonics for Eclipsa. Also note the Apple Music caveat, as it applies its own spatial renderer to the headphone output.
Should deep tech elements be beds or objects in Dolby Atmos?
Should deep tech elements be beds or objects in Dolby Atmos? The heavy low end foundation of deep tech must stay in the bed. Place the kick and deep bassline in the centre or left and right channels with the LFE. Wide atmosphere and room reverbs also work best as full beds. Use objects for the spoken vocal, rim shots, hats and dub stabs. Objects allow precise placement off the walls and let dub delays drift through the room.
Does a deep tech Dolby Atmos mix also work for Sony 360 Reality Audio and MPEG-H?
Does a deep tech Dolby Atmos mix also work for Sony 360 Reality Audio and MPEG-H? No, they are different formats. Dolby Atmos uses a hybrid of a channel bed and objects. Sony 360 Reality Audio has no channel bed and places every element as an object on a sphere. MPEG-H 3D Audio carries channels, objects and Ambisonics. You will need to export separate masters or use a tool that translates your spatial placements across these different formats.
Is spatial audio good for deep tech?
Yes. Deep tech is minimal and detail-driven, and spatial audio gives every delay tail and percussion hit its own place in a dark, deep room.
How is deep tech different from tech house in spatial audio?
Deep tech uses fewer parts, a deeper sub and more dub space, so the mix relies on echoes and atmosphere. Tech house is busier, with more percussion swinging around the listener.
Where should dub delays go in immersive deep tech?
Behind and above the listener, moving slowly. The original stab stays in place while its echoes trail away into the room.
Can I convert a finished deep tech track to spatial audio?
Yes. Spatial9 uses AI to generate an immersive mix from a stereo master and exports it as Eclipsa Audio, ADM, binaural or Ambisonics.
Does immersive deep tech work on normal headphones?
Yes. The mix is rendered binaurally, so the dub echoes and deep sub work on any regular headphones.
Dolby and Dolby Atmos are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. 360 Reality Audio, Auro-3D and other format names are trademarks of their respective owners. Spatial9 is not affiliated with or endorsed by Dolby Laboratories or these companies.
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