Choose Edit > Preferences > Audio Channel Mapping (Windows) or Adobe Audition > Settings > Audio Channel Mapping (macOS).
Last updated on
Dec 20, 2021
Learn how to work with 5.1 surround sound in Adobe Audition to create immersive audio and position sounds across multiple channels.
Adobe Audition supports 5.1 surround sound, which requires five speakers, plus one low frequency subwoofer (LFE). To properly monitor 5.1 surround sound , your computer must have a sound card with at least six outputs, and those outputs must be mapped to the correct channels in Audition.
Map each 5.1 channel to a sound card output:
L: Front left speaker.
R: Front right speaker.
C: Front center speaker.
LFE: Subwoofer
Ls: Left surround speaker.
Rs: Right surround speaker.
Learn how to configure audio inputs and outputs.
Edit 5.1 surround files
In the Waveform Editor, you can edit 5.1 surround files with the same tools used for mono and stereo files.
To restrict editing to a subset of 5.1 channels, you can check which channels you want to edit.
Pan tracks in a 5.1 surround mix
Open or create a 5.1 multitrack session.
To open the Track Panner, do either of the following:
Select Window > Track Panner. Then select a mono or stereo track in the Editor panel.
In the Editor or Mixer panel, double-click a surround plot for a mono or stereo track.
Note
You can pan only mono and stereo tracks, not 5.1 tracks. To adjust the relative volume of channels in a 5.1 file, open it in the Waveform Editor.
In the Track Panner, do any of the following:
To enable or disable channels, click the L, C, R, Ls, and Rs buttons. Or click LFE Only to send audio only to the subwoofer.
In the large surround plot, drag to move the signal.
As you drag, the white lines change in length from the speakers, reflecting the signal's power in each. In the background, green and purple areas indicate the placement of the left and right stereo images; blue areas indicate where the images overlap.
Below the surround plot, set the following options:
Angle
Shows where in the surround field the sound appears to originate from. For example, -90° is directly to the left, while 90° is directly to the right.
Stereo Spread
Determines the separation between stereo audio tracks, with zero and -180° producing minimum separation, and -90° producing maximum separation.
Radius
Determines how far the sound extends around the surround field. For example, 100% produces a focused sound originating from very few speakers, while 0% produces an unfocused sound originating from all speakers.
Center
For tracks panned to the front of the surround field, it determines the percentage of the Center channel level relative to the Left and Right level.
LFE
Controls the signal level sent to the subwoofer.
To pan additional tracks, simply select them in the Editor panel. The Track Panner automatically displays each track’s unique settings.
Note
To dynamically pan surround tracks over time, learn more about automatic track settings.
Pan sends to a 5.1 bus track
In the Multitrack Editor, create a 5.1 bus track.
From the send output menu for an audio track, select the 5.1 bus track.
In the Sends area 
of the Editor and Mixer panels, a surround plot appears. Double-click it to access the Track Panner for the send.
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