Michael Romanowski Adds Sixth Grammy Win
Coast Mastering’s Michael Romanowski mastered both the immersive and stereo versions for Justin Gray’s “Immersed” album release
Six-time Grammy®-winning engineer Michael Romanowski added his latest win for mastering the “Immersed” album by artist Justin Gray. The album won Best Immersive Audio Album in 2026, Romanowski mastered both the immersive and stereo formats for the release. As Chief Engineer and owner at Coast Mastering in Berkeley, CA., Romanowski has eleven Grammy nominations overall with two Best Engineered Album, Classical Grammys for stereo mastering on Mason Bates’ “Philharmonia Fantastique” and Chanticleer’s “Chanticleer Sings Christmas.” Over the past 30 years, Romanowski has mastered more than 4,000 albums from a wide variety of artists including George Strait, Fantastic Negrito, Bonnie Raitt, Alicia Keys, Prince, The Grateful Dead, and Tom Petty. The Coast Mastering studio features a host of Focal speakers surrounding his mastering console including Focal Stella Utopia EM for the main front channels, and Focal Diablo Utopia EM for six of the surrounds.
Focal ‘Utopia Main 212’ Monitors Installed at Studio DMI
Installation of Focal top-of-the-line Utopia Main 212 model monitors with acoustical design by Haverstick Designs; “They sound amazing,” says Studio DMI chief engineer Luca Pretolesi
Since 2019, Focal has proudly partnered with Studio DMI, a state-of-the-art audio production hub in Las Vegas designed for artists, producers, and engineers to create without limits. Spanning more than 3,000 sq. ft., the studio complex houses four cutting-edge Focal-equipped studios, including a Dolby Atmos® certified all-Focal mixing studio, and now also a room featuring the Focal Utopia Main 212 soffit-mounted monitors. The Utopia Main are surrounded by premium acoustic treatment and top-tier pro audio hardware. Studio DMI is home to Grammy-nominated mix and mastering engineer Luca Pretolesi (Major Lazer, Drake, Skrillex, Diplo), whose stereo mix room features Focal Trio11 monitors.
Modular Synth Expert Chris Meyer Builds All-Focal Atmos Studio
Atmos composing & mix room with vast synth collection features Focal Solo6 LCR, Alpha 65 Evo surround and height, and Sub6 subwoofer
Composer, synthesizer expert, and modular synthesis educator Chris Meyer has completed his purpose-built 7.1.4 all-Focal Dolby® Atmos™ studio. The studio has two distinct sections, one for composing and one for mixing. The 7.1.4 Atmos mixing area features Focal Solo6 for LCR, Alpha 65 Evo for the surrounds and height speakers, and a Focal Sub6 subwoofer. The rehearsal and tracking area utilizes a ‘quadraphonic’ arrangement of Alpha 80 Evo monitors, which mirrors the artist’s preferred live performance setup. The new personal studio space is built on top of the garage footprint in his Pueblo-style home in New Mexico and was specifically designed for Atmos. The new 670 square foot room with expansive windows and storage took over a year to plan and build.
Focal Naim America Releases New Immersive Playlists: “Mixed on Focal” & “Mastered with Focal”
Two new immersive music streaming playlists feature songs mixed or mastered on Focal Speakers
Focal Naim America, a leading North American importer and distributor of premium consumer and professional electronics brands, has released two new immersive HD audio playlists, with songs “Mixed on Focal” pro monitors and some mastered with Focal Utopia Hi-Fi speakers. With the advent of Dolby® Atmos™ and Sony 360 Reality Audio™ sound formats, listeners can enjoy the ‘spatial experience’ of immersive music on their mobile devices and other playback systems. The playlists are available to Focal Hi-Fi and Pro Audio dealers, the Press Corps, and current and prospective customers.
Read More »Focal to Present Panel Discussions at May 11th “Immersive Music Production II” Event
At the May 11th Mix & Pro Sound News event, Focal will feature a 9.1.4 immersive music monitoring system and presentations from top mix and mastering engineers
Curb Studios, Nashville, TN (click to zoom)
Focal Professional will feature a 9.1.4 immersive music system with all-Focal studio monitors at Curb Studios for the May 11th Immersive Music Production II event in Nashville, TN produced by Mix & Pro Sound News. The three Focal/Universal Audio presentations at Curb Studios will spotlight engineers Nick “Squids” Squillante, Jeff Balding, and Michael Romanowski in discussion panels on immersive music.
Read More »Montreal’s “Le Lab” Goes Atmos with All-Focal Mastering Room
Legendary Montreal mastering studio adds Atmos mastering to its world-renowned stereo, vinyl mastering, and lacquer-cutting offerings
Legendary Montreal studio Le Lab Mastering has built an all-Focal Dolby® Atmos™ room, adding Atmos mastering to its offerings on top of fully analog stereo, vinyl mastering, and lacquer cutting. The 7.1.4 Atmos studio features an all-Focal powered monitor configuration with Trio11, Trio6, Solo6, and Sub6. The room has a unique layout with dual Sub6 subwoofers stacked under the left and right Trio11 monitors – four subwoofers total. This unique subwoofer configuration gives Le Lab’s Atmos room the ability to offer mastering for movie soundtracks and other formats that would need extended low-end response; It also offers a symmetrical low-frequency coverage in a smaller footprint. Trio6 monitors fill out the center and rear channels, while Solo6 are on the sides. Le Lab has already mastered a lot of legacy recordings remixed for Atmos, including Celine Dion, Sia, Whitney Houston, Usher, Yo-Yo Ma, and Eric Clapton, among many others.
Focal Naim America Releases Five New “Mixed on Focal” Playlists
New streaming playlists for R&B, EDM, Hip Hop/Rap, and Rock include music from twenty engineers using Focal Pro monitor
Focal Naim America, a leading North American importer and distributor of premium consumer and professional electronics brands, has released five new genre-specific HD audio playlists for R&B, Hip Hop/Rap, EDM, and Rock. The playlists are available to Focal HI-FI and Pro Audio dealers, the Press Corps, and current and prospective customers. Whether in a Focal dealer demonstration or listening in a home or a pro recording studio using Focal speakers, the music will sound as the artist intended since each song was mixed on Focal.
This new HD Audio streaming playlists feature music mixes from twenty engineers. All five “Mixed on Focal” playlists are available today for Apple Music, Qobuz, Tidal, and Amazon Music HD.
Engineer Nick “Squids” Squillante Upgrades to an All-Focal Immersive 9.1.4 Mix Room
Upgraded immersive mix room features Focal Alpha 50 Evo monitors and Sub One subwoofers
Brooklyn-based, independent mixing and mastering engineer Nick “Squids” Squillante has expanded his mix room for Dolby® Atmos™ 9.1.4 immersive music. The studio features an all-Focal lineup of Alpha 50 Evo monitors for LCR, surround, and height speakers along with dual Focal Sub One subwoofers. Recent immersive mixes include “Rescue Me” by Dirty Heads, which went to Number 1 on the Billboard Alternative charts, “Psycho” by Asking Alexandria, which also scored a spot at Number 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts along with other immersive mixes for artists such as Tommy Lee, Papa Roach and Bad Wolves to name a few.
Interview with Paul de Benedictis – As told to Linda Jacobson
Interview with Paul de Benedictis – As told to Linda Jacobson
LJ: Paul, what were you doing in 1984 — the year before you became a founding staff member of Opcode Systems? How would you describe the “work lifestyle,” routine, and group dynamic behind-the-scenes in your world then? Was the SF Bay Area audio industry back then influenced more by the cultures of the computer industry and Silicon Valley, music industry, San Francisco scene, and/or film industry and Hollywood?
PdB: In 1982 I had purchased a Rhodes Chroma synth and in 1983 created one of the first computer-based electronic music “home” studios in the San Francisco Bay Area around that instrument. I had added the Apple II computer and the sequencing and editing software from Fender along with the SIMPLE System synchronizer for video and audio and the requisite mixers, mics, speakers, 2-channel and multitrack tape decks. I was composing music for film and television and through my friend Doug McKechnie’s connection at Lucas Film I even had a chance to write a demo cue for the final Ewok scene in the latest Star Wars: Return of the Jedi movie, apparently Lucas wanted to hear some other ideas than what John Williams had come up with. Three of us in the San Francisco Synthesizer Ensemble got to write a sketch for the cue. It was exciting to see part of the movie before it came out. [Full Interview HERE ]
Read More »Focal Releases New ‘Trio6 ST6’ Monitors
Newly redesigned 3-way Trio6 ST6 studio monitors join the ‘ST6’ range along with Solo6 ST6 and Twin6 ST6
Focal Naim America today announced the release of the redesigned “Trio6 ST6” 3-way studio monitors, they join the other two monitors in the ST6 range, Solo6 ST6 and Twin6 ST6 which were released in 2022. The all-analog Trio6 ST6 features a more detailed and transparent sound while retaining Focal’s heritage of excellence in design and its renowned sound reproduction. Innovative speaker drivers, dual Focus mode, user-controlled automatic stand-by, a redesigned laminar port, and a structurally enhanced cabinet are just some of the features working together in Trio6 ST6 to deliver uncompromising performance. Trio6 ST6 monitors retail for $3499. USD each, and are available to order at retailers in the US and Canada on September 13, 2023. In North America, Focal is distributed exclusively by Focal Naim America.