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Headliner unveils Dolby Atmos recording studio at The Pioneer Club

Headliner has achieved Dolby Atmos certification at its brand new recording studio located at The Pioneer Club in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, which is set to champion a whole manner of community-based, educational projects, as well as offer world class recording and mixing services to chart-topping artists, producers, and record labels.


Located just 20 minutes outside of London, the studio resides on the same site as The Pioneer Club, a grassroots live music venue and cultural community hub. Originally launched as a charity back in 1941 for young evacuees during WWII, The Pioneer took to its current site in 1961, quickly becoming a melting pot for local musical talent with legendary ‘60s rock bands The Zombies and Argent performing at the venue. It is also the site of the UK’s oldest indoor skate park and has gone on to become a regular gigging spot for local rock luminaries Enter Shikari, as well as hosting early gigs by the likes of Gallows, Bring Me The Horizon, and many others.

While rightly proud of its heritage, the space was in urgent need of a makeover to ensure its reputation endured not only as a monument to the past, but as a beacon for the future. As such, Headliner Spaces was launched last year - a Joint Venture with Headliner and the aforementioned Enter Shikari to give the site a 21st century overhaul, transforming it into a truly unique proposition. And at the heart of the facility resides the new Dolby Atmos studio.

Sound Decisions

It was Pete Hoffman at Miloco Builds who drew up the initial plans for the studio in 2023 after a site visit when it was still a shell. From there, Headliner’s first call was to Genelec who, after several positive conversations about the plans for the space and its potential for educational and community projects, shared the vision, and specced and deployed a full-range system.

Centred around Genelec’s The Ones family of three-way coaxial monitors, the system comprises an L/C/R trio of 8351Bs and W371As, with two pairs of 8341As for the sides and the rears, and four 8331As on the ceiling. Finally, a 7380A subwoofer was positioned in the rear wall.

Audio engineer and long-time Headliner ally, Rick Dickerson, carried out the install, and followed Hoffman’s plans as closely as possible from the outset.

“The design was really well thought out, maximising the space not only in the main [Dolby Atmos] room but also the adjoining B-room which is an ideal size for tracking drums, guitars, and vocals,” says Dickerson. “From the hanging of the first speakers with Andy [Bensley, Genelec’s regional business development manager] we were working as meticulously as possible to Pete’s original plans which meant we needed to be incredibly accurate with our measurements and speaker positioning. Inevitably, a little trial and error came into play, particularly as we had the precise positioning of our SSL Origin 32 console to think about.”

The fact the studio boasts an SSL Origin 32 is of course a major plus point: not only is it a first-class analogue console, but it suits exactly the kind of hybrid workflow that Headliner Spaces wanted to achieve with its studio build.

The front speakers are full-range and super-accurate, so sonically it is spot on. Rick Dickerson ~ Audio Engineer

“The front speakers are full-range and super-accurate, so sonically it is spot on, which is critical; and having the console so near to the speakers means we have a very good mix position and also a really nice stereo image field. We can now do anything from Atmos mixing to post-production work, to tracking,” Dickerson explains. “The [SSL] Origin is inline, so we essentially have a 64-channel board, and monitoring information can be sent directly to vocalists without any latency whatsoever. That is the beauty of the analogue side; we can recall things we have already recorded and return them on our monitor inputs, which are directly connected to our DAW output.

“We also have the mic and line inputs, which are switchable to long fader or short fader on the same channels, and we can insert the console’s excellent E Series EQ. There are also inserts on both those signal paths. We tend to use the short fader for returning monitoring from the DAW, and the longer fader for tracking and sending things to it.”

The Calibration Process

About three months down the line, it was time to call in Genelec’s Andy Bensley once more to do the first stage of calibration.

“It really begins with the speaker placements,” says Bensley. “We spoke at length about what we wanted to achieve regarding acoustic treatment, but the key from the beginning was getting the speakers in the positions we wanted them to be in. I made a few site visits to hear the room tone coming together and make sure it felt balanced. Since The Ones are part of our SAM (smart active monitoring) family, we were able to get everything up and running really quickly using GLM calibration software. When we first started listening to initial tracks there was a lot of familiarity in terms of the playback, and I was confident we could get this system tweaked to a point where we had something that was not only accurate, but had authority in size and weight, and that would be really exciting for people to hear.

“My goal when doing these calibrations is to get it to a point where it’s in good shape for Dolby to come in and take their measurements and make their adjustments.”

As for the loudspeakers themselves, Bensley knew precisely what was needed, and relished the opportunity to dive into an Atmos space from scratch.

“From my point of view, it is rare to work on a Dolby Atmos room built from the ground up,” he explains. “In music, the tendency is to work around an existing stereo system and make the Dolby Atmos system fit to the room, so you are sometimes compromised by the size of speakers that can be integrated – because the main stereo system is the bread and butter. With this, there was an opportunity to design the room from the ground up.

“We went with 8351s for the LCR and paired them with the W371 woofer systems. Whenever there is an opportunity to go with an LCR of the W371s paired with the 8351s you get this incredible consistency right through the frequency range, from the highest highs down to the lows; and it just makes for a great foundation for a Dolby Atmos system.

“The majority of good sounding systems and mixes are driven from the front, so the opportunity to put in a system that would really shine for the LCR and then set the sides and the rears and the highs for success was very exciting. I was really confident that in that size space, with that layout, the system would be great.”

From the moment Bensley became aware of the vision, he was convinced that Genelec could play a pivotal role in bringing a unique project to fruition.

“When we first started talking about the space, we were excited about the prospect of building on the history of The Pioneer and what it means to the local scene in St. Albans,” he continues. “There was always a sense that it was a sleeping giant and that there was so much potential with the venue, as well as the potential to reach out to the local community and aspiring artists coming through. There was a real opportunity to make something special.”

One week after Bensley completed his work at the studio, Dolby’s Richard Addis paid a visit to further calibrate the room.

“With Dolby Atmos, you will usually have 12+ loudspeakers in a [Dolby Atmos] system, perhaps comprising different models, in different mounting conditions, at different distances away from you,” he says, explaining the Dolby Atmos calibration process. “Maybe different brands in some cases, too. So, the goal with calibration is, first and foremost, simply to get this disparate speaker set to act as one.

“This process starts with room design. Most performance issues can be avoided, mitigated, or treated with good room design and acoustic treatment options, way before reaching for EQ as a solution. Things like speaker placement relative to the walls can massively impact the sound at the mix position, so our top priority is to ensure that we physically set the room up well.”

GLM provides an auto-calibration solution, making the calibration process easy and accessible. Richard Addis ~ Staff Content Services Engineer, Dolby Laboratories

Once this has been done, the calibration process involves assessing and adjusting for three objective measures.

“Firstly, there is time alignment,” Addis continues. “Does the audio from each speaker reach the mix position at the same time? In the simplest sense, this counteracts physical distance differences between speaker positions, but additionally, with modern DSP-enabled speakers we need to assess whether any additional ‘invisible’ latency is added by the onboard DSP. This could be maybe as much as six or more milliseconds, and when you consider that a millisecond equates to around about 30cm/1ft of distance, you absolutely must take this into account.

“Secondly, consistency of frequency response. As you pan a sound around the room, does it tonally match regardless of where the audio is placed? We achieve this with considered use of EQ, making sure we are not trying to counteract room acoustic issues, for example. We also employ bass management to extend the frequency response of any speakers which do not satisfy the full range requirement down to 20Hz.

“And lastly, there is level alignment. Does the playback level from each speaker match, as heard at the mix position? Once the EQ calibration has been done, it is a pretty straightforward process to match SPLs.”

SMAART Thinking

In ensuring that these three key aspects are addressed, Addis utilised SMAART software and Genelec’s GLM calibration technology.

“SMAART is a live analysis tool which allows us to get a picture of the acoustical performance of the system in the room,” he explains. “On-paper specifications of loudspeakers are usually measurements made in anechoic chambers - but as soon as you put a speaker into a physical environment, this performance will change significantly due to how the sound interacts with the walls, surfaces and materials within the space.

“The first thing to do before we start calibration is to understand this in-room behaviour, in large part to steer us away from trying to correct things better dealt with physically, or simply just left alone. The fact that SMAART updates live means we can very quickly make adjustments and see the results in real time.

“We take a large number of measurements before we do anything else: Transfer Functions give us our speaker time delays, and the phase and magnitude responses - great for identifying low end room mode issues. Impulse Responses give us the RT60 information for the space and allows us to diagnose reflection paths. And initial RTA traces help with gain staging, level setting, and initial configuration of bass management. Assessing all of these measurements gives us a full and clear picture of the in-room system behaviour, so we can optimise it before reaching for EQ as a last resort.

“GLM provides an auto-calibration solution, making the calibration process easy and accessible to anyone who does not have access to a system like SMAART. For the end user, investing in a full SMAART rig is overkill for a process that they will likely only need to revisit perhaps once per year after the initial configuration. GLM delivers a good result without any manual adjustment, however a manual calibration gives you a bit more opportunity to dig a little deeper and refine the calibration further.

“It is worth noting that for ongoing calibration support, we have a growing worldwide network of Dolby Certified Support Partners (CSPs), trained by us to perform calibrations to the Dolby specification – perfect for annual calibration checks over the lifetime of the system.”

To ensure that the space was optimally calibrated, Genelec and Dolby each employed microphone-oriented calibration processes - with Genelec applying a single-mic method and Dolby a seven-mic approach. Addis explains the reasoning for both these procedures:

“We use a multi-mic measurement array to average the frequency response across the mix area. This leads to a better overall response across the mix area as a whole, compared to the results achieved from just a single microphone.

“For small spaces we may use fewer mics, but seven provides a good average – more than that, and you see diminishing returns. Also, an odd number allows for a middle mic, plus a balanced number either side, e.g. three left, one middle, three right.

Having a top-class studio available to the community is an opportunity for the next generation of local acts. Richard Addis ~ Staff Content Services Engineer, Dolby Laboratories

“We place the mics in an offset pattern, so that no two are in line across the width or length of the room, to avoid two mic positions ‘hearing’ the same acoustical issues either side of a line of symmetry.

“With GLM, you can run a single measurement calibration, or a multi-point calibration, which follows a similar principle to our Dolby method. Because Andy knew I would be in to fine tune on top of the GLM setup, he left it as a one-mic calibration. The mic array is only used for the averaged frequency response. For time alignment and SPL setting, we use the middle mic, placed at the mix position.”

Like Bensley, Addis was also particularly excited to work on a space that had been built from the ground up with an immersive setup in mind.

“Any studio built from the ground up with Dolby Atmos in mind is a fantastic thing, as you can avoid some of the issues often found with stereo retrofits, such as dealing with new reflection paths from all the additional loudspeakers, for example,” Addis explains. “The desire from Headliner founder and CEO Paul Watson and the team to ensure the room was of the highest quality possible was very clear, from the build through to the equipment provision. Given The Pioneer Club’s rich musical heritage and community and grassroots focus, it is fabulous to have Dolby Atmos as part of its future. Having a top-class studio available to the community is an opportunity for the next generation of local acts, and the direct link through the next door venue opens up a whole new offering for live recording and mixing.”

Atmos Mindset

“We decided to go for a number of different interfaces, partly due to the fact we are a content studio, so we needed the ability to plug different products in and have a play with them,” Watson reveals. “So, we decided on the RME Audio MADIface and a Ferrofish A32 Pro for going into the SSL.

“Our main output for Atmos mixing is a pair of Lectrosonics BOB 88 devices, which gives us 16 channels of Dante output. The conversion is remarkably good, so we have been utterly blown away by the sound quality. We also have 16 channels of input if we so desire; we could actually accommodate a 9.1.6 system with 16 channels if need be.

Paul Watson, Headliner Founder & CEO

Paul Watson, Headliner Founder & CEO

“For the binaural side of things, we can flip between that Dante output and our Audient ORIA, which is an excellent box - it gives us the binaural we want and various other things, as well as local I/O. Plus, it can connect directly to the Dolby renderer. On our [Black Lion] patch bay we have the ability to jump the ORIA directly to our speakers, and when we’re doing surround or Dolby Atmos mixes we tend to leave the ORIA plugged in as that means we can flip between binaural, full surround, and all points in between. It allows us quick and easy access to all the variations of surround mixing. We also have the ability [with the renderer] to select Apple’s own distribution of Dolby Atmos, so you can hear how it is going to work for those subscribed to Apple Music.”

The studio also boasts some key outboard for further flavour: Neve 1073s, Focusrite ISAs, and a number of Black Lion preamps and compressors currently sit in the racks, with more kit on the way; and with regard to outputs, the multi-purpose nature of the facility dictates that a raft of options is available.

The full range of technology on offer, Watson emphasises, is emblematic of the studio’s modus operandi.

“The keyword when we put all this together was ‘flexibility’,” he states. “We wanted the studio to be able to do anything, and to be as flexible as possible, so we put a strong focus on music education, Dolby Atmos, and also being able to accommodate post-production work. The three 50-inch Leyard LCD screens which we mounted on the back walls of the Atmos room linked to our main Mac monitor are fantastic for projects of any size, from huge music productions to movie scores and working to picture. So we just tried to think about everything, really.”

It was always our intention to build a fantastic Dolby Atmos room, but actually doing it is another thing entirely. Paul Watson ~ Headliner Founder & CEO

Dante Ecosystem


One of the most notable aspects of the space is the ability to record from stage to studio via Dante. Due to the proximity of The Pioneer’s 400-cap live venue to the Atmos room, it is now possible to capture live performances in real time and produce a fully immersive mix if so desired. And with demand for this type of content rising exponentially, the future looks very bright indeed.

“At the moment we are running a Dante Virtual Soundcard which gives us 64 channels of I/O at 48kHz. The reason for going down the route of Dante was not just because we believe it is a very high-quality transport system for audio - and Rick [Dickerson] has used it himself in live environments - but from our point of view, the studio is on a site that includes three venues, and that is where its true potential lies,” adds Watson. “The Suet Yard is our bar/café - an acoustic venue that can also host DJs; the skate park has an incredible amount of potential and can probably hold 800 people; and then there is our main live venue, which is a 400-capacity room with a full line array system and LED wall.

“So, it dawned on us that being able to use those spaces, as well as record live performances - maybe even a Dolby Atmos mix of a live performance - would be fantastic. There is a Soundcraft Vi1000 console in the main venue with a Dante card in it; having that Dante output means audio can be sent directly from that desk via Cat5, and then straight onto a DAW into the studio. It won’t be long until people are wanting to do more live recordings and mixes in Dolby Atmos, and for education and experimentation, this is a real USP for Headliner and The Pioneer.”

The studio is now officially Dolby-certified, making The Pioneer Club the first Dolby Atmos Music Studio in Hertfordshire. Furthermore, some of the UK’s top artists have already been making full use of its capabilities.

“It was always our intention to build a fantastic Dolby Atmos room, but actually doing it is another thing entirely,” says Watson. “It would not have been possible without our friends in the industry and forward-thinking companies like Genelec and SSL seeing what we were attempting to do, jumping on it, and helping us maximise the space to entirely new levels. And this is just the beginning.

“Some significant artists have now made music in here, and we will be able to talk more about those projects in due course - but the feedback has been fantastic, and everyone seems to want to come back,” concludes Watson. “We have also been working hard on getting footfall into the live spaces: our weekly open mic nights [in The Suet Yard] have started really well; and we are now working with some major live music agents to bring in touring acts to the live venue. The future is bright.”

Looking forward to 2025, Headliner has plans to build two Academies: a Music Academy dedicated to musical instrument tuition for kids as young as five; and a Pro Academy for students who want to dive into music production or follow a career in pro audio or AV. The Dolby Atmos room will be pivotal in both, leaning in particular towards group sessions and masterclasses.

genelec.com
solidstatelogic.com
lectrosonics.com
dolby.com
audient.com
ferrofish.com
leyardeurope.eu