PMC CI speakers the Dolby Atmos reference choice

PMC ci series loudspeakers have been employed in a leading Dolby Atmos mixing facility, GAT3, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos studio comprises Ci140 monitors for the L/C/R, four Ci140 subs and 12 Ci65 monitors for the surround and height channels.

The choice of PMC says much for the company’s position as the reference for the production of immersive soundtracks, as well as its credibility when it comes to residential playback systems.

“We decided to upgrade an existing stereo studio to Dolby Atmos because many of our customers were asking for album projects to be mixed in this format and we needed a state-of-the-art facility that would allow us to satisfy these demands,” explains Glenn A Tabor III co-owner of the GAT3.

“The decision to install a PMC speaker system was an easy one to make. I’d heard PMC speakers in many other studios and had always loved them because they are so precise. As an audiophile who has been into HiFi from a very young age, I felt there was only one brand that could deliver the accuracy of a mastering room without sacrificing musicality, and that was PMC. It’s a very fine line to balance, but PMC manages to achieve it perfectly.”

"The choice of PMC says much for the company’s position as the reference for the production of immersive soundtracks..."

Established 27 years ago by Glenn A Tabor III and his wife Susan, GAT3 comprises five studios handling a range of audio projects, from music recording, mixing and mastering to voice overs, ADR and post production for film and television. It also has two video/sound stages and a recording academy, teaching the next generation of audio engineers the skills of their trade.

The PMC team helped in the design of the room, as well as matching them to the right amplifiers.

“The room is by no means small, but space is still at a premium and I wanted to maintain as much of it as possible so that the room didn’t feel claustrophobic. We stripped the room back to its bare bones and with advice from Maurice Patist (president of PMC USA and head of Pro Global) and Dolby, we rebuilt it to ensure the acoustics were absolutely right for a Dolby Atmos setup.”

Assistance in the design and implementation of the room was also provided by engineer/producer Richard Chycki (who has worked with Aerosmith, Rush, Pink, and Seal), who is also a part of Gat3’s engineering team, as well as the Gat3 Academic programmes.

As ci series speakers are passive, choosing the right amplification was also critical. Glenn opted for three of the new PMC power 750-8 eight-channel amplifiers, known for a transparent and neutral sound, with a massive power output of 750 watts per channel. GAT3 is the first studio to install these amps.

“They are fantastic, we love them” Glenn says. “They are the perfect match for the ci series because they are accurate and also musical. They don't sound sterile or harsh in any way. I’m also a big fan of the fully featured DSP control, and the fact that it is really quick and easy to adjust EQ for each channel using the System Engineer software. We’ve downloaded the software onto a tablet, and this means we can check routing and many other parameters very easily.”

GTA3 is looking to upgrade another room into a second Dolby Atmos facility early in 2024.