Use Cases

Based in the heart of Copenhagen, Medley Studios has hosted major international artists, drawn to its first-class recording mixing, mastering and music production services and its song writing and artist development. For over 20 years, the legendary studio has built a reputation as one of Scandinavia’s finest, with a long and notable client list, including Keane, Prince, Radiohead, Neneh Cherry, The Cardigans, Roxette, Mary J. Blige, Mark Morrison, Ace of Base and All Saints.

Frank Grønbæk is one of Medley Studio’s team of highly skilled live sound engineers - as well as being a product specialist for Danish distributor, Nordic Pro Audio, advising the broadcast and film industry and selling audio tech equipment, a role which led him to Merging Technologies.

Grønbæk is a huge advocate of Atmos music, which proved to be his entry point into studio work. Having recently moved into the world of immersive mixing, he became the first person in Denmark to release a record in Atmos (by DJ and artist, Rune Rask). Medley Studios heard about his work and invited him to join the studio, where he created his own Atmos mixing space.

“I built this little cave in Medley with a 7.1.4 system built around a Meyer Sound speaker setup and Merging Technologies kit, featuring both the company’s Anubis and Hapi products,” he says, before explaining how he soon became hooked on the brand’s exceptional products. “I was immediately struck by its audio quality. Merging’s products are exceptional - and when I was introduced to the Anubis, I couldn’t resist it. I use it every day and it is probably my most precious gem in here. It does everything, it really is a remarkable piece of equipment!”

Frank Grønbæk at Medley Studios

Combining Merging Technologies’ trademark Swiss precision technology with an intuitive interface, the sophisticated and highly versatile Anubis soon became central to Medley’s smooth recording process.

“There are so many great things in that box, and it’s super easy to use. In the multi-channel formats, there is an onboard display, allowing you to swap things around easily”, explains Grønbæk. “With 128 inputs, you can have eight different speaker setups/headphone setups - and you can choose to build them up exactly how you want - all eight could be Atmos setups if you want, or you can have a combination. I only have one set of speakers, but I have multiple setups to choose from, so I can use the same speakers for 2.0, 2.1, 5.1, 7.1, and 7.1.4. And it’s all different in the way that it can fold down the mixes internally. It has good converters in it; it’s the best monitor controller out there. I also have two Hapis, just to get enough I/O for the system, and it’s all running on their VAD.”

Anubis’ compact desktop AoIP interface works either in a standalone mode, attached to a RAVENNA networked audio system or via multiple other connections. Did Grønbæk find it a challenge to navigate his way through its extensive range of capabilities and fully understand its functionality?

“I got to know the Merging Technologies platform before it was released,” he recalls. “I knew the infrastructure, the AES67, RAVENNA and the network setup, so I had a feel for how it all worked, which made it easy to get started – and the more you get into the workflow, the easier it gets. Everything in the box works seamlessly and although, at the beginning, it took a little while to grasp everything, over time I continued to discover yet more functionalities.”

Frank Grønbæk at Medley Studios

As for the future of Atmos and immersive mixes, Grønbæk is in no doubt that the popularity of the format is rising in Denmark, albeit slowly.

“I just handed in the master for Aqua’s first album Aquarium, which is being released in Atmos and there have been a few other projects happening too. It’s super fun to work in this format. That’s what I do here. I don’t do any recordings, just Atmos mixing.”

There is, however, one factor, which he predicts could accelerate interest in the ground-breaking experience that Atmos delivers. “While there’s a definite shift towards more albums being released in Atmos, what we are all waiting for is Spotify to launch its Atmos service. I’m pretty sure it’ll happen - after all, when we start to see cars being pre-built with Atmos, users who can’t access the format via Spotify will look around for an alternative…”

More info: