At a recent event attended by a specially invited audience at Mark Knopfler’s British Grove Studios, Bafta winning Nigel Heath of Hackenbacker showcased a demonstration of ADL’s latest Penteo 4 Pro Surround Upmixer.

The demo included examples of uses of the upmixer from some top dramas, such as Whitechapel, through to music ranging from classical Decca tree recordings to Nine Inch Nails.

The event also included a session from Tom Allom, producer of rock bands Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, who showcased a live mix of a classic Judas Priest album through a vintage EMI TG 12345 console (that incidentally recorded McCartney’s Band On The Run). Using the console and stereo pan pots, and into the Penteo plug-in, he created a 5.1 mix on the fly.

“It’s simple, doesn’t have bells and whistles you don’t need, and I like it because there isn’t much to say about it, apart from the fact that it sounds terrific, and its down-mix is identical to the original file, so total sonic integrity is always maintained,” commented Heath. “For me, you are sitting with your head in the music and not in the DSP.”

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