Best Sound Design Studios in Manchester (2026)

Introduction

Manchester has a small but busy audio scene, and the seven studios below cover most of what a production or agency will need: dubbing and mixing for television, Dolby Atmos rooms, sound design and music for commercials, voiceover recording, and sonic branding.

Most of the broadcast audio work sits close to the BBC and ITV at MediaCityUK in Salford, or in the city-centre post houses that serve northern independent producers. Both groups have changed recently. dock10, owned by Landsec, renamed its post-production arm MediaCity Post in 2026, and North Star Media bought Picture Shop’s Manchester operation, the largest post house in the city centre, and renamed it Home Post Production. Away from television, the city has a group of independent studios making audio for advertising, radio and podcasts.

Every studio here had an active Greater Manchester studio in 2026, checked against its own site or trade press. Manchester is a smaller market for specialist sound than London, so the list is shorter than most in this series. It is unranked, because the right choice depends on whether you need a dubbing theatre, a composer or a voice studio.

The best sound design studios in Manchester

1. MediaCity Post (formerly dock10)

Owned by Landsec · MediaCityUK, Salford · mediacityuk.co.uk

MediaCity Post is the post-production arm of the facility long known as dock10, which renamed itself MediaCity Studios and MediaCity Post in 2026. Landsec took full ownership of the wider MediaCityUK site, and the studio business with it, in November 2024. Broadcast named dock10 Post Production House of the Year in 2020.

A 2019 expansion added audio tracklay and dubbing suites alongside 14 edit suites, and the facility has a Dolby Atmos dubbing theatre. Its post credits run heavily to BBC entertainment and sport, including Blue Peter, A Question of Sport and BBC Sports Personality of the Year. It suits productions already shooting on the MediaCityUK stages.

2. Home Post Production

Owned by North Star Media · Quay Street, Manchester · homepostproduction.com

Home Post Production is the former Picture Shop Manchester, bought from Streamland Media by North Star Media and renamed. All 40 staff moved across, and managing director Paul Austin, who has run the facility since 2017, stayed in charge. The company describes itself as the UK’s largest post-production house outside London.

Its audio team handles tracklay, sound design, mixing, voiceover and ADR from a 22,000 sq ft city-centre building. Recent credits for the house include This City is Ours (Left Bank Pictures), Sherwood (House Productions), Ambulance (Dragonfly TV) and 24 Hours in A&E (The Garden). Picture, grade and sound sit under one roof, which keeps scripted drama turnarounds simple.

3. 80 Hertz

Independent · The Sharp Project, Newton Heath · 80hertz.com

80 Hertz is an independent recording and post-production studio at The Sharp Project, the production campus in north Manchester. It covers both music and picture audio from one building, with a 1,000 sq ft live room and a Neve Genesys music room alongside its post facilities.

On the post side it runs two ADR sound stages, two voiceover studios and a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 suite built to Dolby’s home entertainment specification. The Atmos room can be dry hired by the day, week or block for long-form TV and film, with remote attendance over Source-Connect for clients outside Manchester.

4. Radiant

Part of Radiant Post Group · Castlefield · radiantpostgroup.co.uk

Radiant is the Manchester studio of Radiant Post, a broadcast post house from Shepherd’s Bush. It opened in Manchester after a 2021 pop-up in Deansgate that handled two BBC One series, and announced a full northern facility with Atmos dubbing theatres and voiceover booths in 2022. The group now lists Castlefield House on Liverpool Road as its newest studio.

The group’s recent credits include Mysteries of the Terracotta Warriors (Netflix), Breaking Dad: Britain’s Unlikeliest Drug Dealer (Prime Video) and Foxy’s Fearless 48 Hours (Channel 4). It works mostly in factual and entertainment, so it is a good fit for independent producers who want offline, grade and dub handled together.

5. Bent Ear

Independent · Manchester · bentear.co.uk

Bent Ear is a sound design and music composition house founded in 1997 by Simeon Davies and Sean Mortimer. It works on commercials, installations, film, radio and audio branding, and delivers broadcast mixes to current loudness standards. Its sound design has been shortlisted at the ICAD Awards, the International Music and Sound Awards and the UK MAS Awards.

Brand work includes a sound design library for Bentley, the Bentley Bentayga Hybrid film (with music by Tina Guo), and a McLaren project that turned F1 car sounds into melodies. It also made the audio for the Oculus exhibition at St Paul’s Cathedral. It is one of the few Manchester studios focused on sound for advertising.

6. navy and grey

Independent · Green Quarter · navyandgrey.co.uk

navy and grey is a creative audio studio founded in 2010 by Chris Allott and Richard Ellis. In 2024 it moved into new studios in the Green Quarter, designed with the acoustic architects WhiteMark, and rebranded with the Manchester design agency Loaf.

The studio makes audio ads, podcasts and sonic branding, and says it has worked with hundreds of clients since it started. It suits brands and agencies that need radio and streaming audio ads, or a sonic identity, made quickly by one team.

7. Audio Always

Independent · MediaCityUK, Salford · audioalways.com

Audio Always is an independent audio production company with studios at MediaCityUK and in Farringdon, London. It develops and produces podcasts, radio programmes and audiobooks, and runs voiceover sessions, broadcast PR and tape syncs from its studios. It picked up five nominations at the British Podcast Awards in 2026.

Its radio work includes programmes for BBC Radio 1, Radio 2 and 6 Music, and it has made audio content for Yoto, Tonies and the British Council. The Salford studio is a practical option for voiceover and remote sessions near the BBC.

What to look for in a Manchester sound design studio

Decide first what kind of room you need. Dubbing and mixing for broadcast drama or factual work belong in a post house with a calibrated theatre, and most of those in Manchester sit at MediaCityUK or in the city centre. Sound design for a commercial or a sonic identity is a different job, usually done by a smaller studio with a composer on staff.

Ask about delivery specs early. UK broadcasters require mixes to meet loudness standards, and streaming platforms increasingly ask for Dolby Atmos deliverables. Several Manchester rooms are Atmos-capable, but check whether the studio can supply the full deliverable set (stems, M&E and loudness reports) and not only the mix.

Check who will be at the desk. Manchester’s audio community is small, and freelance mixers and editors move between facilities. It is fair to ask which mixer and sound editor will work on your project, and whether the same people will handle revisions.

Plan how session files and approvals will move. A sound job produces a lot of material: Pro Tools sessions, stems, music cues, voiceover takes and reference cuts. Agree early where these live, who signs off each mix, and how notes are logged, so a late change to picture does not mean hunting through email for the latest stems.

How Fabric helps sound design teams

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For client review, folders can be shared through links that work without sign-up, with threaded comments and roles for viewers, commenters and editors. Password protection keeps unreleased mixes private, and link analytics shows when each named recipient opened a link. With annotations, reviewers can leave timestamped comments on audio and video.

Fabric uses AES-256 encryption, is CASA Tier 2 certified, and does not use customer data to train AI models. For a wider look at storage options for audio work, see the best cloud storage for music production.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best sound design studio in Manchester?

It depends on the job. For broadcast dubbing near the BBC, MediaCity Post and Audio Always are at MediaCityUK. For drama and factual mixing in the city centre, Home Post Production and Radiant both have dubbing facilities. For sound design and music for commercials, Bent Ear has worked on campaigns for Bentley and McLaren.

What happened to dock10?

dock10 renamed itself in 2026. Its studios are now MediaCity Studios and its post-production arm is MediaCity Post, both still at MediaCityUK in Salford and owned by Landsec.

Where can I mix in Dolby Atmos in Manchester?

80 Hertz at The Sharp Project has a 7.1.4 Atmos suite built to Dolby’s home entertainment specification, available for dry hire. MediaCity Post has an Atmos dubbing theatre, and Radiant announced Atmos dubbing theatres for its Manchester facility.

Do Manchester sound studios work on advertising as well as TV?

Yes. Bent Ear focuses on sound design and music for commercials and brand content, and navy and grey makes audio ads and sonic branding. The larger post houses work mainly on broadcast programmes.

Which Manchester studios handle full post-production as well as sound?

Home Post Production, MediaCity Post and Radiant all offer editing and grading alongside audio. For more options, see the best post-production companies in Manchester.

Related lists

Sound design studios in other cities: New York · London · Los Angeles · Chicago · Toronto

More in Manchester: Creative agencies · Post-production · Video production · Animation · Content studios

Run your studio on Fabric: Fabric for music creators · Fabric for creative teams · Best cloud storage for music production