As part of the ongoing series on spatial mixing approaches in practice, this post focuses on experimental tests conducted with the EAR Production Suite (EPS). These experiments were carried out at a late stage of the project and aimed to explore alternative ADM-based playback and conversion workflows.
EAR Production Suite Experiments
In parallel, experiments were conducted using the EAR Production Suite (EPS). These tests took place during the weekend prior to the final presentation, which significantly limited the available time for extended troubleshooting and deeper investigation.
The EAR Production Suite is a set of VST plugins developed by BBC R&D and IRT under the EBU, designed to enable immersive audio production using the Audio Definition Model (ADM). It allows for importing, exporting, and monitoring ADM content for various loudspeaker configurations based on ITU-R BS.2051, using the ITU ADM Renderer. The suite is primarily optimized for Reaper and serves as a reference implementation for ADM-based workflows[1].
Using the EAR Production Suite, I tested alternative playback and conversion approaches, including rendering ADM content into Ambisonics formats. However, during these tests, unexpected behavior occurred, such as excessive spatial spread and routing inconsistencies. Resolving these issues would have required more extensive investigation and testing.
Due to limited working time in the Cube and the need for a fail-safe playback solution, I ultimately decided against further experimentation with the EAR Production Suite in this context. Instead, the fully channel-based rendering approach, as mentioned before, was chosen for all listening examples used in the presentation.
[1] “EAR Production Suite,” accessed February 6, 2026, https://ear-production-suite.ebu.io//.
