Waterloo Sound, an extension of Austin’s Waterloo Records creative ecosystem, set out to create a studio capable of supporting both Dolby Atmos mixing and vinyl mastering within the same critical listening environment. Developed with mastering engineer and Atmos mixer Jon Niess, the project also needed to accommodate Waterloo Sound’s evolving needs without requiring a conventional permanent studio build. After experiencing the Nu•Studio prototype in Bozeman, Montana, the team identified an opportunity to combine a modular, portable room design with a consistent full-range monitoring system that could provide the accuracy, low-frequency extension and headroom required for both immersive and mastering workflows.
Working with Nu•Studio, Waterloo Sound built a portable 9.1.4 Dolby Atmos environment centered on JBL Professional 708 studio monitors powered by Crown amplifiers. JBL Professional 708 monitors are deployed at every ear-level and overhead position, providing a consistent full-range monitoring platform throughout the three-dimensional sound field. Because Atmos objects can move between front, side, rear and overhead channels, using the same monitor across the system helps maintain tonal consistency and impact as audio moves around the room.
“We chose JBL 708s throughout the entire 9.1.4 system because we wanted a truly consistent, full-range monitoring environment in every direction,” said Niess. “I’ve become a big believer in having real low-end capability and headroom in every channel—including the surrounds and overheads—so an Atmos object maintains the same tonal character and impact wherever it moves in the room.”
The monitoring system is integrated behind acoustically transparent wall surfaces alongside acoustic treatment, keeping loudspeakers and other technology visually unobtrusive. The modular Nu•Studio structure uses consistent dimensions, materials and acoustic specifications to create a repeatable listening environment, while ultra-short-throw projectors support visual content throughout the space. The JBL Professional 708 and Crown system also serves Waterloo Sound’s vinyl mastering workflow, allowing engineers to use the same monitoring environment for detailed stereo mastering decisions and immersive production.
The completed Nu•Studio installation gives Waterloo Sound a portable critical listening environment that supports immersive mixing and vinyl mastering without sacrificing monitoring consistency. The combination of JBL Professional 708 monitors and Crown amplifiers provide full-range performance and headroom at every monitoring position, helping create a cohesive sound field in which individual loudspeakers are less apparent as audio moves throughout the room.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” reports Emily Gianopoulos, Managing Partner at Waterloo Sound. “Several mix engineers have told us it’s one of the best-sounding Atmos rooms they’ve ever heard—the room has a sense of calm the moment you walk in, with a very tight, responsive low end and an immersive sound field that feels very natural.”
As Nu•Studio’s first customer, Waterloo Sound now has a monitoring environment that can be relocated or reconfigured as its needs evolve while maintaining the acoustic consistency required for critical listening. JBL Professional 708 studio monitors and Crown amplifiers provide the common monitoring foundation for both Atmos and vinyl workflows, allowing engineers to work within a predictable, full-range environment across multiple creative applications.
