Reference Guide

908
Surround Mixing (Producer and Studio only)
Configuring SONAR for surround mixing
Downmixing
Downmixing is a way of previewing your surround project in stereo only. There are various cases
where surround is not available and it may be that someone plays your project in stereo only. A radio
broadcast is a good example. Downmixing is a valuable tool for determining if your project will sound
good in stereo. However, you can export your project in stereo, and SONAR uses your downmix
settings to create your exported file.
The following table lists the downmixing settings in Edit > Preferences > Project - Surround and
gives a brief description of what the setting does. You can also manually enter other values besides
these preset ones:
Downmixing Setting Options
Center Downmix Level (dB) These options determine how much of the center is mixed to the left and
right.
• -3 dB
. Maintains the same level of center channel sound when you
listen in a typically reverberant room
• -4.5 dB
. A compromise level between -3dB and -6 dB
• -6 dB
. Maintains the same level of center channel sound when you
listen to direct sound without typical room reverberations
• -INF
. Eliminates all of the Center channel signal
Surround Downmix Level (dB) The amount of Left Surround and Right Surround mixed into the Left and
Right channels respectively.
• -3 dB
. Maintains the same level of surround
• -6 dB
. Reduces the level of surround so that it doesn’t compete with
center channel sound such as dialog
• -INF
. Eliminates all of the Surround channel signal
LFE Level (dB) The amount of the LFE channel mixed into the Left and Right channels
respectively.
• -12 (or type in a value)
. Lets you choose the level of LFE in the stereo
mix
• -INF
. Eliminates all LFE
Table 171.