Mx51 performs realtime mixing on the V8 in the 5.1 surround-sound paradigm. A 5.1 bus is automatically created, and surround panners are available to all mixer channels. Input from each track can be locked to a particular speaker, or can be located anywhere in the surround-soundfield. Bass material can be fed directly into the subwoofer channel, extracted out of the 5 surround channels, or both.
Surround panning is performed in real-time, and all panning can be recorded as automation.
Panning is accomplished with Mx51's groundbreaking sensory-feedback hardware panner. This system of combined auditory and tactile feedback allows recording engineers to fully take their attention off the computer screen while reviewing and updating surround-sound panning. Visual feedback from the mixer indicates the soundfield location of all channels simultaneously. The V8 is a set of cards and rack mount peripherals that turns a PC into a multichannel digital audio recording, editing, and mixing studio. Software to operate the V8 is available entirely from third party application and plug-in developers.