Sound Particles Energy and Brightness Panner 2

Sound Particles has announced Energy Panner 2 and Brightness Panner 2, major updates to its dynamic panning plugins designed to create movement automatically from the audio signal itself, without relying on traditional automation lanes.

The core concept remains the same, but each plugin uses a different source of information to generate motion. Energy Panner 2 reacts to loudness and signal intensity, while Brightness Panner 2 tracks frequency content, pitch, and MIDI notes to drive spatial movement.

Dynamic Movement Without Automation

Rather than drawing complex automation curves, both plugins convert audio characteristics directly into motion.

Energy Panner 2 uses volume and intensity as movement triggers. The louder or more powerful the sound becomes, the further it can travel within the stereo or immersive field.

Brightness Panner 2 takes a different approach by analyzing brightness, frequency content, pitch, or MIDI notes. Higher-pitched or brighter sounds generate more movement, creating evolving spatial effects with minimal setup.

The result is a fast and intuitive workflow for both conventional stereo productions and immersive audio formats.

What's New in Version 2

Version 2 introduces several major enhancements, including:

Independent Paths: every input channel gets its own path, with independent start and end points, for far more control than a single shared trajectory.
Built-in Mixer: per-channel output level control, right inside the plugin, no need to jump to the DAW mixer.
Virtual Center: clears the signal from the center channel and redistributes it to left and right: clean dialogue in post, open space for a lead vocal in a mix.
Multiple Views: Circular, Polygon, and Room views, so the plugin matches how you already think about a room or a mix.
Custom Format Layouts: build your own speaker layouts with customizable channel count, azimuth, elevation, and LFE placement.
Expanded Input/Output Support: from stereo to Dolby Atmos and all the way up to 6th order Ambisonics.

One of the most significant additions is the new Independent Paths system, allowing each input channel to follow its own trajectory with dedicated start and end points.

Designed for Stereo and Immersive Audio

Both plugins support a wide range of output formats, including stereo, surround, Dolby Atmos, binaural workflows, and Ambisonics. Users can also create custom speaker configurations for specialized production environments.