Halo Downmix with 3D Immersive Extension: Surround-to-Stereo Downmix Plugin by NUGEN Audio

Standard downmix coefficients can produce weak results, especially when the original surround mix was made with legacy upmix methods. NUGEN Audio says Halo Downmix can control excessive diffuse sound from added artificial reverberation and remove delay artefacts in the rear channels, producing a more coherent stereo mix.

The plugin also works on existing 5.1 or 7.1 mixes in surround-to-surround mode. You can adjust individual channel levels and the balance of direct and diffuse sound, which helps when the original mix is no longer available.

Halo Downmix can run alongside the included Receive plugin to set up a parallel surround and stereo workflow. This lets you switch quickly between the full surround mix and the stereo downmix for A/B checks.

Multiple monitoring modes and linked solo and mute controls at each stage help with rapid assessment. Surround energy distribution is shown visually, so you can see where the level sits in the mix.