Wave Arts Panorama 7

The Sequencer view, which allows you to create ‘waypoints’ between which the pan path is interpolated.

Can a plug‑in really convey the impression of 3D spatial panning on both headphones and stereo loudspeakers?

Several DAWs include a binaural panner, but Wave Arts’ Panorama 7 takes the concept further. It uses 3D audio and acoustic environment modelling algorithms to simulate the way sound behaves in real spaces, and it works not only on headphones but can create a 3D output that works with stereo speakers too. An important feature is that it includes boundary reflections: as the sound is moved around the virtual space, the reflections change, reinforcing the illusion that sources are moving around the listener. AU, VST and AAX hosts are supported, on Mac OS and Windows.

As the sound is moved around the virtual space, the reflections change, reinforcing the illusion that sources are moving around the listener.

The most significant addition in this version is a ‘pan sequencer’, which can automatically move the pan position of mono or stereo sources between user‑defined ‘waypoints’ around the head icon in the middle of the virtual space. This can be thought of as a surround auto‑panner, and the sequencer has note value options and multipliers, so that the panning effect can be tempo‑sync’ed. (If you prefer to control the panning path using DAW automation, you can do that in the usual way.) Panning can be circular or spherical, and there’s an option to view the panning space from above, from the side, from the rear or in 3D.

There’s also support for the standard SOFA (Spatially Oriented Format for Acoustics) head‑related impulse responses (HRIRs) — a link on the Wave Arts site takes you to a conversion application, Sofa2Pan, which can convert SOFA files into Panorama format. This opens up possibilities for educational use. Also added is a Near Head model, designed to improve accuracy for positions close to the head. This works by calculating head shadowing based on a spherical head model. There’s also Stereo Pan HRIR and Stereo Passthru HRIR, to facilitate binaural to loudspeaker conversion.

The Spatialize view, where you can specify a number of things, including the boundary distances and materials.

I was interested to note that the new GUI was developed by Volger: based in Ukraine, he has developed this and other interfaces while under bombardment! Graphical changes to the GUI include a darker look and a larger panning area, and you’ll soon notice the ability to emulate panning distances of up to 100 feet; the previous version offered a maximum of 10 feet. The right‑hand panel changes depending on whether Spatializer or Sequencer mode is selected. Spatializer allows for placement of the direct sound (in degrees or feet), setting of reflections amount and boundary distances, and boundary materials can be selected from a menu offering soft drapes, reflective plaster, glass, unrendered concrete, and more. An overall reverb type may also be added, along with settings for level roll‑off with distance, separately adjustable for the Direct, Reflections and Reverb components. Headphone or the type of speaker arrangement can be selected on the right. Switch to Sequencer mode, and you have the option to add waypoints, change the curve of the pan control ramp (linear, exponential or sine) and to set the tempo‑linked parameters for the pan. Separate tick boxes turn on Sequencer, the Near Head modelling and Doppler, should you need to add pitch change that corresponds to movement.

Impressions

Having near perfect inter‑aural separation, headphones naturally offer a more controlled environment than loudspeakers, and this inevitably makes the 3D effect most convincing. But the processing options for loudspeaker listening do still produce very worthwhile spatial effects. You could use data for your own ears to optimise your personal listening experience, of course, but a product like this is more likely to be used to create music mixes for a wider audience, and since everyone has a slightly different head shape and no two pairs of outer ears (pinnae) are the same, some form of ‘average’ head and ear data must be used. This means some will find the 3D panning effect more convincing than others do, especially when listening on loudspeakers. But even if your brain doesn’t quite buy into that ‘it’s behind you’ illusion, the effect still remains artistically impressive, conveying a genuine sense of movement and location within a space. If you want to satisfy both loudspeaker listeners and headphone listeners, I find it best to use the binaural option only to treat a mix’s ‘ear candy’ elements , and keep all the key sounds in good old stereo. All in all, it’s an intriguing plug‑in that’s well worth trying.