[71 dB]

Panagement was easy to get working with Garageband! I wasn't impressed by this after a short test (there is no binaural feel), but it is good to have it for not-so-binaural panning purposes.

 

[Davesrose]

Panagement was easy to get working with Garageband! I wasn't impressed by this after a short test (there is no binaural feel), but it is good to have it for not-so-binaural panning purposes.

Yeah, I tried dialing in different things, and Panagement could sound "good". Since you use Garageband, you might like to try out all those plugins from Toneboosters (so far the Isone seems to have a "nicer spatial" sound field with just a little bit of fiddling). But they all fall short of me believing there's instruments going in front of me. With Panagement, I could hear a left and right radius if I have the two different "left" and "right" effects and try going side to center: but at no point had a feeling of something being front of me like speakers. Maybe the newest virtualizer are better about dialing in a HRTF that can be believable (for my ears). I'm not at the point of trying them out for $50 a pop though. I'm already conditioned to favor sound quality over whether headphone sound seems to be going in my head. So far the best headphone surround I've heard is a Sennheiser Dolby Pro Logic II processor that came with my HD-580s. It had a simple parabola setting....that when I dialed it, I could hear movie effects going directly behind my head.

 

[ironmine]

But they all fall short of me believing there's instruments going in front of me.

Yes, it's the hardest and trickiest part - how to make sounds appear in front of the listener. Or, at least, on the same horizontal plane as me (I always have a feeling sounds are coming at me from above as if they are elevated). However, luckily, I noticed that when I use the elevation slider in Anaglyph and move the virtual "speaker" down (approximately -5 degree angle), it really helps in this regard.

 

[ironmine]

Panagement was easy to get working with Garageband! I wasn't impressed by this after a short test (there is no binaural feel), but it is good to have it for not-so-binaural panning purposes.

I agree that, with Panagement, the lower the music notes go, the less there is that binaural feel, as you said. The creators of Panagement need to address this problem with the bass, it's not binauralized enough. Other than that, I like how it sounds, it's kind of immersive (to my ears at least). Maybe there is a setting in the plugin that can help with the bass?

 

[Davesrose]

Yes, it's the hardest and trickiest part - how to make sounds appear in front of the listener. Or, at least, on the same horizontal plane as me (I always have a feeling sounds are coming at me from above as if they are elevated). However, luckily, I noticed that when I use the elevation slider in Anaglyph and move the virtual "speaker" down (approximately -5 degree angle), it really helps in this regard.

It seems you use Foobar2000 with it? I'm in computer graphics and software development, so have Mac, Linux, and Windows environments. Maybe I'll try Foobar2000 in Windows with Anaglyph (Windows is a lot easier about installing any software you want). Its API might also be better with Anaglyph. When I tried the settings in your screenshot with Mac and VOX, it sounds really distant and distorted (Mac also has audio drivers way different than Windows). At least with the quick demos I tried today, I liked Tonebooster Isone the best. I do get a sense of some left and right angles when I select a preset and try out some dials. I think because everyone has different outer ears and backgrounds with listening through headphones: it's really hard to have a universal plugin that would be good for everyone. But hey, if it's free to at least try, I'm willing to give it a go.

 

[ironmine]

It seems you use Foobar2000 with it? I'm in computer graphics and software development, so have Mac, Linux, and Windows environments. Maybe I'll try Foobar2000 in Windows with Anaglyph (Windows is a lot easier about installing any software you want). Its API might also be better with Anaglyph. When I tried the settings in your screenshot with Mac and VOX, it sounds really distant and distorted (Mac also has audio drivers way different than Windows). At least with the quick demos I tried today, I liked Tonebooster Isone the best. I do get a sense of some left and right angles when I select a preset and try out some dials. I think because everyone has different outer ears and backgrounds with listening through headphones: it's really hard to have a universal plugin that would be good for everyone. But hey, if it's free to at least try, I'm willing to give it a go.

Yes, I use Windows and Foobar.

I also tried and used for a couple of years and liked the old initial Isone, many years ago, even before it became a Toneboosters plugin.

But then I discovered 112dB Redline monitor and it became my favorite and go-to plugin. I periodically browse the Internet and try other crossfeeds and binauralizers but so far I haven't found anything better. For me personally, it's still the Undefeated King of All Crossfeed Plugins.

About two years ago I discovered dSONIQ RealPhones (I tried the first version only, I haven't tested current v 2.0 yet). At first, I was overwhelmed by how real the virtual speakers created by it sounded. I even thought it was time to dethrone the reigning king (112dB Redline). I sat on the fence for a couple of months. But then, eventually, what won me back to 112Db Redline was that dSONIQ could not fill the acoustic space between the two virtual speakers with a phantom image in the center, the sound just stuck to the speakers.

I am still playing and optimizing Anaglyph (I cannot find where I can download more .sofa files with HRTF profiles and room profiles for it).
Auburn Sounds Panagement seems to have an issue with the bass.

There is also Oculus Spatializer I downloaded one week ago, I have not formed any opinion about it yet:

 

[71 dB]

I agree that, with Panagement, there lower the music notes go, the less there is that binaural feel, as you said. The creators of Panagement need to address this problem with the bass, it's not binauralized enough. Other than that, I like how it sounds, it's kind of immersive (to my ears at least). Maybe there is a setting in the plugin that can help with the bass?

I tested more and I was able to get a much better result. The width knob up left has to be turn way down to about 20 % and then the sound becomes binaural-like. Also fine-tuning the reverb helps. The sound is way way too wide for headphones if the Width knob is even 50 % let alone 100 %. I'm not claiming these are the best settings in the universe, but these give me a good result that can be called binaural.

 

[ironmine]

I tested more and I was able to get a much better result. The width knob up left has to be turn way down to about 20 % and then the sound becomes binaural-like. Also fine-tuning the reverb helps. The sound is way way too wide for headphones if the Width knob is even 50 % let alone 100 %.

Yes, indeed, thanks! To my ear, turning it all the way down to 0% makes it even sound better. It is also possible to decrease the bass resonances in the room with the bass know in the reverb settings.

So little time, so many crossfeeds to experiment with

 

[71 dB]

Yes, indeed, thanks! To my ear, turning it all the way down to 0% makes it even sound better. It is also possible to decrease the bass resonances in the room with the bass know in the reverb settings.

So little time, so many crossfeeds to experiment with

Yes, I notice myself even 0 % Width works, but I settled at 20 % (the sounds I tested with didn't have massive bass). It is all very unintuitive. 100 % should be "normal operation" and 0 % should be mono. Now anything over 50 % is unusable and the scale goes to 200 %! In fact these effects can be too convoluted because people want knobs to play with.

I don't have the problem of too many crossfeeders. This is one of the few I managed to get working! Using it with music would be insanely glumsy: First break a stereo song into L and R mono files and then import them to Garageband and assing this effect on them. Instead I will use this on my music making.

 

[ironmine]

Using it with music would be insanely glumsy: First break a stereo song into L and R mono files and then import them to Garageband and assing this effect on them.

I don't even understand what you mean or what you do. It's easy: just set up Foobar player to apply the vst processing on the fly.

If you want to listen to the binaural music outside with your DAP, just convert in Foobar audio files from flac to flac while applying the same vst processing chain and save the resulting files directly to the memory card of your audio player.

 

[Davesrose]

I don't even understand what you mean or what you do. It's easy: just set up Foobar player to apply the vst processing on the fly.

Doesn’t work that way on Mac. There is now a version of Foobar on Mac, but it doesn’t support 3rd party VSTs. VOX player seems the best-I was able to setup a “left” and “right” of Anaglyph and Panagement. Anagllyph also is harder to install on Mac since it’s missing an Apple certificate.

 

[ironmine]

After more days spent tweaking and optimizing Panagement, and after comparing the final result with 112dB Redline Monitor side by side with all other conditions being equal, I still prefer 112dB as it has a richer resolution. I just hear more details.

 

[71 dB]

Doesn’t work that way on Mac. There is now a version of Foobar on Mac, but it doesn’t support 3rd party VSTs. VOX player seems the best-I was able to setup a “left” and “right” of Anaglyph and Panagement. Anagllyph also is harder to install on Mac since it’s missing an Apple certificate.

Free version of VOX used to have crossfeed, but it is now disabled. The older free version of VOX with crossfeed doesn't work in new Mac because it is 32 bit and only 64 bit software works. So, there is ALWAYS and obstactle and I hate computers/software. Everything should be allowed and possible so users would have real freedom to do what they want.

Foobar for Mac? Really?

 

[71 dB]

I don't even understand what you mean or what you do. It's easy: just set up Foobar player to apply the vst processing on the fly.

If you want to listen to the binaural music outside with your DAP, just convert in Foobar audio files from flac to flac while applying the same vst processing chain and save the resulting files directly to the memory card of your audio player.

I have processed some music (not much) with my own crossfeed nyquist plugin in Audacity and made mp3s from them (192 kbps is totally enough for portable listening).

 

[Davesrose]

Free version of VOX used to have crossfeed, but it is now disabled. The older free version of VOX with crossfeed doesn't work in new Mac because it is 32 bit and only 64 bit software works. So, there is ALWAYS and obstactle and I hate computers/software. Everything should be allowed and possible so users would have real freedom to do what they want.

That's the antithesis of the Mac operating system. Apple has always wanted to stay proprietary and put a lot of conditions for 3rd party developers to have Mac apps (such as the OS not supporting any 32-bit, developers having to pay an annual plan, and keeping their install certificate up to date). Windows still supports 32-bit, and you get an easy to read disclaimer about whether you want to install a 3rd party app. If you want full freedom, get Linux (though some computers have BIOSes that only allow certain recognized distros). While the least user friendly, you can even chose from myriad of desktops. But then, since it's the least popular OS, it has the least native apps.