Monitor showing colorful multitrack waveforms above a mixing console with glowing amber and teal knobs in a dim studio

Best Practices on Exporting Audio Stems

Spatial9 Team · · Updated · 6 min read

Key takeaways

  • Export stems as 24-bit WAV at the session sample rate, with Normalize and dither off, and every file starting and ending at the same point.
  • Bypass master bus compression and limiting for stems that will be remixed or mixed in 3D, because those processors react to the whole mix.
  • Check stems by playing them together against the stereo mix: they should line up, add up to the same sound and never clip.
  • Deliver a numbered, clearly named folder with a stereo reference mix and a notes file listing tempo, key, sample rate and how effects were printed.

Stems are the building blocks of every remix, collaboration and immersive mix. A clean stem export means the next person, or the next tool, can rebuild your song without guessing. A careless one means misaligned files, clipped drums and hours of fixing. This guide covers what to prepare, how to export stems in the most common music programs (DAWs), how to check them and how to deliver them.

What counts as a stem?

A stem is a group of related sounds exported as one audio file: all drums, all lead vocals, all keys. It is not the same as a multitrack, which keeps every single recorded track separate. For immersive audio, stems are usually the sweet spot: enough separate parts to place around the listener, few enough to stay manageable.

A good starting set for most songs:

Four stems (vocals, drums, bass and other) are enough for a convincing immersive mix. Six or more give more objects to place and a more detailed 3D result. For more on this, see our guide to turning stems into immersive audio.

Prepare the session

Engineer preparing a session at a mixing console
Clean preparation in the session saves time for everyone downstream.

Before you export anything:

Menu names change between versions, so treat these as a map and confirm the exact option in your DAW's manual.

Check your stems before you send them

Six-point stem export quality checklist
Run these six checks before sending stems anywhere.
  1. Alignment. Import every stem into an empty session at zero. They should all start and end together.
  2. The sum test. Play all stems together at unity gain and compare them with your stereo mix. They should sound the same, apart from any master bus processing you bypassed.
  3. Headroom. No stem should clip. Peaks at around -6 dB to -3 dBFS leave room for the next stage.
  4. Phase and polarity. Listen for thin or hollow sound when stems play together, especially with several drum microphones.
  5. Tails. Check that reverbs, delays and the final note ring out completely.
  6. Names. Every file name should say what is in it.

Package and deliver

Example of a well-named stem delivery folder
A clear folder and naming scheme anyone can open.

Limitations to keep in mind

Next steps

Clean stems are the best way to start an immersive mix. You can upload them to Spatial9 to place every part in 3D and export Eclipsa Audio, ADM, binaural and more. If you only have a stereo master, read how to create spatial audio from stereo.

Sources

  1. Managing Files and Sets: exporting audio and video, Ableton Live 12 Reference Manual. Rendered Track options, including All Individual Tracks, and the Normalize setting.
  2. Delivering Dolby Atmos audio, Apple Music Provider Support. Rules on how an Atmos mix may be made.
  3. Menu paths for other DAWs come from each program's current user guide. Check your own version, because menu names change between releases.

Try Spatial9 free