Downmix

In the field of sound engineering, a manual or automatic process is referred to as a downmix , in which the sound of a multi-channel sound format is combined into a version with less independent channels. In most cases this is a stereo version.

The directional information that is available in the configuration with several loudspeakers (especially, of course, the most commonly used front-back dimension ) is partially lost.

A downmix is ​​necessary when sound that is exclusively multi-channel is output on a playback system that has a smaller number of speakers than the original.

A typical example is the reproduction of multi-channel sound from DVD on a stereo television. A downmix from stereo to mono is necessary, among other things, in order to meet people suffering from one-sided deafness , for whom one channel via headphones would otherwise be reserved.

literature

• Hubert Henle: The recording studio manual. 5th edition, GC Carstensen Verlag, Munich, 2001, ISBN 3-910098-19-3