How to Export ADM Files with Sound Particles 3

If you're working in immersive audio — whether for film, TV, games, or music — chances are you've heard of ADM. It's the file format behind Dolby Atmos, Sony 360, MPEG-H, and other object-based audio workflows.

In this post, we’ll walk you through how to use Sound Particles 3’s built-in ADM export feature, step by step — helping you deliver professional object-based mixes with just a few clicks.

What is Object-Based Audio?

Before jumping into ADM, let’s quickly review what makes object-based audio different from the traditional audio formats you're used to.

In channel-based audio (like stereo or 5.1), each audio channel has a fixed speaker position, which means you decide upfront what should be the reproduction layout, and you mix for that layout.

In object-based audio, sounds are only mixed on the reproduction, depending on the layout that exists there – one room may have a 9.1.6 layout while another room has a 7.1.2. But for that to work, you need to keep sounds separated and store the desired position of the sound. We call these sounds objects. During playback, each object is then mixed for the existing layout.

What is ADM?

ADM stands for Audio Definition Model. It's an open standard designed for 3D sound, which supports multiple approaches, including objects.

Instead of just storing audio channels, ADM files can contain both audio and all the metadata needed to describe an immersive mix, including the 3D positions and movements of each sound.

This makes ADM the foundation for delivering audio in formats like Dolby Atmos.

The Importance of Objects

Why should you worry about objects? Why not simply render your Sound Particles scene in 7.1.2 or 7.1.4?

If you have a 7.1.2 or 7.1.4 studio, you will probably not notice differences between using beds or objects, but if the movie you are working on is released in a movie theater with Dolby Atmos, you will not take advantage of those additional speakers unless you use objects.

For instance, a movie theater may have a 21.4.10 speaker system. With objects, you will have a much better spatial resolution, taking advantage of those extra speakers. With beds, you will only use them as a 7.1.2. So do you prefer for people to listen to it in 21.4.10 (using objects) or 7.1.2 (channel-based beds)?

Preparing a Session in Sound Particles 3

Sound Particles 3 is ideal for creating complex, immersive soundscapes using particles, automation, and spatialization tools.

To export ADM, start by opening or creating a session. For this example, imagine we’re working on a battlefield soundscape with the following elements:

• A helicopter flying overhead;
• Several Particle Groups for crowds and explosions;
• A Particle Emitter for passing military vehicles;
• A Virtual Microphone for rendering.

🎧 Pro Tip: If you don’t have an immersive studio, use binaural monitor to preview it with headphones. This helps you hear the spatial positioning before exporting.

How to Export ADM from Sound Particles 3

When you're ready to export:

1. Go to File → Export → Export ADM

2. Sound Particles will scan your session and automatically suggest which tracks should be:

• • Objects (moving elements)
  • Bed (static ambience or grouped background sounds)

You can override these suggestions manually based on your creative intent.

Understanding Objects vs Beds

• A Bed is a static channel-based mix — a 7.1.2 ambience layer. You might assign a crowd background or ambient explosion sounds to the Bed.
• An Object is a sound that includes spatial metadata: where it is, where it's going, and how loud it is. You’d assign your helicopter to an Object, since it moves across space.

🧠 Important: Each particle in a track assigned as an Object will generate a unique ADM object. If you have 100 particles in a group, you may end up with 100 ADM objects — which can exceed platform limits like Dolby Atmos (118 total objects for the entire mix).

⚙️ ADM Export Settings

Once your tracks are assigned, you’ll be presented with several key export options:

• Reference Point: Choose whether your ADM should consider the point-of-view of the virtual Microphone, or ignore the microphone and simply consider a static virtual microphone at the Origin.
  → Use Origin for static scenes; Mic for first-person POV.
• Max Number of Objects: Useful when your scene includes many particles — define the limit based on the target format. If you have a scene with 10.000 particles, you don’t want to create 10.000 objects (no reproduction system supports so many objects). Based on this number, Sound Particles will choose which particle should be an object and which particle should simply be rendered on the bed (7.1.2). 
• Shared Objects: Allows multiple particles to share the same object metadata.
  → Helpful for dense scenes, with short-duration particles.
• Trajectory Resolution: Defines how detailed the movement data is over time.
  → Higher resolution = more accurate motion, but larger file sizes.

Click OK and Sound Particles will export your ADM-compliant .wav file (BWF with metadata).
A progress bar will let you track the render in real time.

Importing ADM Files into Sound Particles 3

Sound Particles 3 doesn’t just export ADM — it also supports importing ADM files created in other software.

To import:

1. Go to File → Import → ADM File
2. Choose the file
3. Select which objects and beds you want to include

Sound Particles will automatically:

• Place each object in the 3D scene
• Reconstruct its trajectory
• Display all imported metadata clearly
  
  

Importing ADM into ProTools

If you're delivering your Sound Particles mix to a Pro Tools session:

1. Open Pro Tools

2. Go to File → Import → Session Data

3. Select the ADM .wav file

4. Choose which beds and objects to import

Each object will appear as its own track, with pan automation, gain, and position intact — just as you created it in Sound Particles.

ADM is the backbone of modern immersive audio, and Sound Particles 3 makes it incredibly easy to work with.

Whether you're creating for film, TV, games, or VR/AR, exporting your project as an ADM file in Sound Particles allows you to deliver spatially rich, object-based mixes that are fully compatible with Dolby Atmos and other immersive platforms.

👉 Download the free trial of Sound Particles 3 and start exploring object-based audio with ADM export today.

Have any questions? Leave a comment or get in touch — we’d love to hear from you!

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