primitiveworker
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2008
- Posts
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Canz3D Homepage
I recently obtained my first significant set of headphones, Ultrasone Pro 750s. I selected these specifically for music production, mixing and pre-mastering in a hobbyist/enthusiast capacity. Due to my present living situation, closed headphones are my only option.
Mixing and mastering in headphones has long been considered impossible. But I thought that I did my homework, and that the 750s would overcome the historical limitations. Instead, I've proven to myself that producing and mixing a song entirely within these 750s results and a track which does not translate to speakers at all. I was sad. I thought I was going to have to spend more money on "better" headphones, and get a "better" DAC, etc.
But then I did some more research and stumbled upon this article from Sound on Sound, Mixing On Headphones.
Quote:
This gave me hope. Anecdotally, the author was so impressed with his Senn 650s that he was determined to use them for mixing, resulting in the article.
But then I got to this section about 3/4 of the way down the page: Simulating The Loudspeaker Experience With Crossfeed Plug-ins, and became excited. Initial testing of the Canz3D Audio Unit plugin blew me away. I've since installed it into my listening signal path, and present here a method by which you may too, without spending more than the $10 activation code for Canz3D.
There are many ways to insert Canz3D into your signal path. The method I use here is overly complicated. A far simpler method is to use Audio Hijack Pro or Wiretap Studio. I use JackOSX instead because I already make use of it in my music production, it's free, and I have no particular use for Audio Hijack Pro or Wiretap Studio.
How to insert Canz3D into your signal path
Download JackOSX and install it. You'll need to create a special device on an Intel Mac. There are instructions on how to do this in the documentation, but it's simple. Open "Audio MIDI Setup.app", in the menu select Audio->Open Aggregate Devices Editor. Then click the +, name it whatever you want, and make sure the input and output are checked. Select that device for JackOSX to use. Click Start on the JackPilot window and the JackRouter audio device will make itself available to applications.
Download and install Canz3D
Download Canz3D and install it according to the instructions. Just copy the Canz3D.component to $(HOME)/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components and you're good to go. $(HOME) is your home directory like /Users/Snarfblaster or whatever.
Make a container for Canz3D with AU Lab
AU Lab comes with the Leopard developer tools. You can install it from your Leopard DVD or download it from here. You may already have it installed.
Launch /Developer/Applications/Audio/AU Lab.app and create a new document. Click Next on the output configuration page. Click the + Add Input button on the input configuration page and click Next. Select the JackRouter as the audio device and click Done.
Turn the output channel strip's output to -0.1db, if you will have input that rides up against 0db. In the output channel strip, click the drop-down under Effects and select Midnight Walrus -> Canz3D. The default preset is great, but I turned the master down by about 7db. Feel free to tweak this in any other way you wish, but in my experience, -6 to -7 db needs to come from somewhere to prevent overage of its final output.
Save this AU Lab document, then in the Document Settings page of the preferences set it to automatically open this configuration when AU Lab starts.
Route audio to the JackRouter
Now select JackRouter as the output device for the audio applications you wish to pipe through Canz3D. For most applications, this is not a configurable option. In order to get these applications like iTunes to send their audio to JackRouter, we have to change the default output device. Do this by opening the /Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup.app and select JackRouter as the default output device.
Route audio to AU Lab
By default, JackRouter is very polite and acts as a pass-though. Any audio that comes into JackRouter automatically is sent to the System. By making use of the JackPilot's Connection Manager, we can create different signal paths. In this case, we'll take the audio from iTunes and route it to AU Lab.
With iTunes and AU Lab running, click the "Routing" button on a running JackPilot. Click iTunes on the send ports side, and system will light up in red on the receive ports side. This means that the iTunes coming into JackRouter is going right out to the system. While you still have iTunes selected in the send ports side, double-click system on the receive ports side to disconnect iTunes from system. While iTunes is still selected on the send ports side, double-click AU Lab on the receive ports side to connect iTunes to AU Lab's input.
THAT'S IT!
You should now hear iTunes through Canz3D. Be sure to toggle the bypass "B" button on the AU Lab channel strip next to the Canz3D effect in order to A/B the sound.
Like I said, this is more complicated than it needs to be, but I already make use of JackOSX so it fits into my workflow.
For music production I've inserted Canz3D into my listening path, but not into the recording path. It's too early to tell whether it will be effective as a mixing tool, but it certainly makes the casual listening experience far more enjoyable for me.
Canz3D may be evaluated for free, and merely mutes itself after 3 minutes without a registration code. You can just toggle the bypass on it to wake it up until you decide to buy it.
I hope this has been useful. Canz3D has been mentioned in passing over the years in various threads, but I felt it deserved its own thread.
I recently obtained my first significant set of headphones, Ultrasone Pro 750s. I selected these specifically for music production, mixing and pre-mastering in a hobbyist/enthusiast capacity. Due to my present living situation, closed headphones are my only option.
Mixing and mastering in headphones has long been considered impossible. But I thought that I did my homework, and that the 750s would overcome the historical limitations. Instead, I've proven to myself that producing and mixing a song entirely within these 750s results and a track which does not translate to speakers at all. I was sad. I thought I was going to have to spend more money on "better" headphones, and get a "better" DAC, etc.
But then I did some more research and stumbled upon this article from Sound on Sound, Mixing On Headphones.
Quote:
| So, with the right approach, getting it right in the cans can result in an even better speaker experience — it's just a matter of adapting and learning to rely on your 'phones. While it's certainly tricky to replace loudspeakers completely during the mixing process, it's quite possible to do about 90 percent of your mixing on headphones. |
This gave me hope. Anecdotally, the author was so impressed with his Senn 650s that he was determined to use them for mixing, resulting in the article.
But then I got to this section about 3/4 of the way down the page: Simulating The Loudspeaker Experience With Crossfeed Plug-ins, and became excited. Initial testing of the Canz3D Audio Unit plugin blew me away. I've since installed it into my listening signal path, and present here a method by which you may too, without spending more than the $10 activation code for Canz3D.
There are many ways to insert Canz3D into your signal path. The method I use here is overly complicated. A far simpler method is to use Audio Hijack Pro or Wiretap Studio. I use JackOSX instead because I already make use of it in my music production, it's free, and I have no particular use for Audio Hijack Pro or Wiretap Studio.
How to insert Canz3D into your signal path
- Download and install JackOSX
- Download and install Canz3D
- Make a container for Canz3D with AU Lab
- Route audio to the JackRouter
- Route audio to AU Lab
Download JackOSX and install it. You'll need to create a special device on an Intel Mac. There are instructions on how to do this in the documentation, but it's simple. Open "Audio MIDI Setup.app", in the menu select Audio->Open Aggregate Devices Editor. Then click the +, name it whatever you want, and make sure the input and output are checked. Select that device for JackOSX to use. Click Start on the JackPilot window and the JackRouter audio device will make itself available to applications.
Download and install Canz3D
Download Canz3D and install it according to the instructions. Just copy the Canz3D.component to $(HOME)/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components and you're good to go. $(HOME) is your home directory like /Users/Snarfblaster or whatever.
Make a container for Canz3D with AU Lab
AU Lab comes with the Leopard developer tools. You can install it from your Leopard DVD or download it from here. You may already have it installed.
Launch /Developer/Applications/Audio/AU Lab.app and create a new document. Click Next on the output configuration page. Click the + Add Input button on the input configuration page and click Next. Select the JackRouter as the audio device and click Done.
Turn the output channel strip's output to -0.1db, if you will have input that rides up against 0db. In the output channel strip, click the drop-down under Effects and select Midnight Walrus -> Canz3D. The default preset is great, but I turned the master down by about 7db. Feel free to tweak this in any other way you wish, but in my experience, -6 to -7 db needs to come from somewhere to prevent overage of its final output.
Save this AU Lab document, then in the Document Settings page of the preferences set it to automatically open this configuration when AU Lab starts.
Route audio to the JackRouter
Now select JackRouter as the output device for the audio applications you wish to pipe through Canz3D. For most applications, this is not a configurable option. In order to get these applications like iTunes to send their audio to JackRouter, we have to change the default output device. Do this by opening the /Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup.app and select JackRouter as the default output device.
Route audio to AU Lab
By default, JackRouter is very polite and acts as a pass-though. Any audio that comes into JackRouter automatically is sent to the System. By making use of the JackPilot's Connection Manager, we can create different signal paths. In this case, we'll take the audio from iTunes and route it to AU Lab.
With iTunes and AU Lab running, click the "Routing" button on a running JackPilot. Click iTunes on the send ports side, and system will light up in red on the receive ports side. This means that the iTunes coming into JackRouter is going right out to the system. While you still have iTunes selected in the send ports side, double-click system on the receive ports side to disconnect iTunes from system. While iTunes is still selected on the send ports side, double-click AU Lab on the receive ports side to connect iTunes to AU Lab's input.
THAT'S IT!
You should now hear iTunes through Canz3D. Be sure to toggle the bypass "B" button on the AU Lab channel strip next to the Canz3D effect in order to A/B the sound.
Like I said, this is more complicated than it needs to be, but I already make use of JackOSX so it fits into my workflow.
For music production I've inserted Canz3D into my listening path, but not into the recording path. It's too early to tell whether it will be effective as a mixing tool, but it certainly makes the casual listening experience far more enjoyable for me.
Canz3D may be evaluated for free, and merely mutes itself after 3 minutes without a registration code. You can just toggle the bypass on it to wake it up until you decide to buy it.
I hope this has been useful. Canz3D has been mentioned in passing over the years in various threads, but I felt it deserved its own thread.
