How to Export ADM Files with Sound Particles 3

If you're working in immersive audio — whether for film, games, broadcast, or music — chances are you've heard of ADM. It's the format behind Dolby Atmos, 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 sound is assigned to a fixed speaker. For example, in a 5.1 mix, a gunshot might be placed in the rear-left speaker — and that’s it. The speaker layout determines how the sound is played back.

But in object-based audio, each sound is treated as an individual object with its own metadata: position, movement, volume, and sometimes even priority. The playback system uses that metadata to adapt the sound to any speaker layout — whether it's a cinema with 64 speakers or a pair of headphones.

What is ADM?

ADM stands for Audio Definition Model. It's an open standard designed to describe object-based audio scenes.

Instead of just storing audio channels, ADM files contain both audio and all the metadata needed to describe an immersive mix, including:

• The number and type of sound sources (beds and objects);
• The 3D positions of each sound;
• How sounds move over time;
• Their gain (volume), priority, and more.

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

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: Use a Binaural Mic to render your project and 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 (individual, 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 — for example, 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, 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 (128 total objects).

⚙️ ADM Export Settings

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

• Reference Point: Choose whether your ADM metadata will use the Origin or your Microphone as the spatial reference.
  → 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 
• Shared Objects: Allows multiple particles to share the same object metadata.
  → Helpful for dense scenes with similar movement, like rain or crowd noise.
• 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 and gain automation
• 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, broadcast, 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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