Steven Slate Audio VSX 3.0 + VSX Essentials Bundle
by Steven Slate   25th November 2022

I agree. I just whipped up a couple of mixes without checking references until the end and I had pretty much nailed it. Usually I check earlier in the process and need to make adjustments, but I just felt confident that I knew what I was hearing in those speakers - nice to see I was right!

V2 was useful but V3 is really living up to the promise for me. Nice work, Team Slate!

I recently caved in and bought the apple Airpods (not the very latest but the ones that were out 3 months ago). I was really really impressed in how good they sound....but do they not have some sort of ear canal measurement in them by way of sensors?

As in they self calibrate to your ear shape? Sure I read that somewhere....if so could you not somehow use the data intercepted from the Airpods and use that to convert to the vsx eq settings.

Sounds a bit out there but if the tech is already being used maybe by way of an app you could release it on the apple store and be able to use the data that the Airpods provide to get individual ear canal data for use with VSX?

I re did a little track with VSX 3 and had to strip off all my EQ and Compression starting again (analog synths all over the place) and the results from deleting about 70% of the plugins sounded so good over Airtpods after mixing it quickly with VSX.

VSX and Airpods are a good mix, my left ear Airpod pops out as well which is annoying and they JUST stay in my ears if I push them.

Yes! I work mainly with film scores and orchestral things, Zuma more than any other gives me a really tactile sense of what a large score feels like in a big room, and the stereo spread finally feels like a huge orchestra.

There are plenty of other dry rooms - Howie, Archon etc. If i want to check it in a dry space I'll jump into Howie.

Steven, let’s say I do average ear profile but want my left ear to be profile 1. How much 3.5 should I add or remove?

The Profile slider adds or removes 3dB with Q 2.5.

cool thanks. I was just playing with it briefly and I think it may be helping a bit. I always found vocals just "slightly" off of centre and this seems to be pulling them back. will play more.

A few random thoughts:

1. A person listening to music is never fully still. I bet their head is always moving +/- a mm or so. Curious if having an algo that is always moving 1mm back and forth would add to the illusion. just a crazy thought that I don't think would affect EQ.

2. Is there value at running this plugin at a super high rate. say 192 and then having whatever is feeding it just get converted to 192 into the plugin?

3. Would be neat to have a bypass "sound". No matter how quiet a studio is you can always hear it, even when nothing Is playing. Maybe it's a distant HVAC that they weren't able to 100% silence or the quiet fans on the back of some gear. Just a thought ha.

This would be incredibly annoying especially for professionals who actually need to complete work by deadlines and don't need cute toys

Also a terrible, terrible idea

You sound fun. For the first comment I have no idea if it would work. Just spitballing how to trick the brain more for the binaural effect. (Waves uses head tracking for a more drastic approach) It would be assuming that 1mm move has no effect on the sound, just the binaural approach. Give the data to the brain. Again just a thought and yes maybe a dumb one. Of course if it was perceivable it would be super annoying. We move our heads slightly when standing still and it does not bother us currently.

For the second one, can a person not have fun? Geez. Lighten up. I worked in many studios and LOVED the sound of the "silence" of those rooms when no music was playing. I could also see it be a subtle way of continuing to trick the brain with the binaural effect. obviously something that would not play when the music is playing.

For that effect, I think you'd need something like a head tracker, in the same manner Waves NX has been offering. There's a difference between always moving, having the sound reflect that movement, and having the sound move on its own, independently from your own head. I'd bet the latter could be disorienting, on top of being distracting.


I don't have knowledge of this plugin's internals, but speaking from general understanding: the higher the sample rate, the more the samples (duh), and therefore the more precise the calculations made by the plugin, unless limits/caps/constraints exist internally. As to whether said precision makes a enough of difference, that might be up to individual appreciation.


Given what VSX is intended for, I think that's an anti-feature. But if that's really something you miss, why not blend in your own white noise or whatever atmosphere you think you might be missing? Plugin changes are not required for that.

I encourage you to make toys away from this forum discussing a professional tool we need to feed ourselves and our families

Hey thanks. I'd appreciate if you just didn't respond to me anymore.
EDIT: actually I just checked and it looks like you can add me to your ignore list. Please do.

I think most likely the case. I was wondering if the movement is so minutely low that maybe it could feed the brain the data needed to better perceive binaural effects without this disorienting factor. But yes, most likely the case.

I think this is dependant on if there is oversampling going on. Would be interested in Stevens response.


I was thinking this would only be when VSX is receiving no signal of course ha. And the idea being to continue the binaural illusion after the music stops to keep the brain in position. If you think about it, every time you pause your music in VSX, the room literally disappears. This is not how real life (and studios) works. Maybe even just the quiet hiss that comes out of the powered on mains. But again, this may be a dumb idea.

I had mentionned the Waves headtracking above. I find the idea of being able to slightly shift the stereo phase, (moving the head), excellent. We do this instinctively all the time. On the other hand, I find the headtracking of Waves nx gimmicky: it lacks finesse and serves no purpose in my opinion: I spent my time trying to keep my head straight. But.. a small wheel that would allow to move the stereo phase a few degrees could be an interesting addition. The idea needs to be explored further: maybe a kind of pitch wheel that, as soon as we let go of it, comes back slowly to the center (like some doors).

But, if we are talking about addition, I would be more interested in a tool to calibrate with the ear canal: a bit like the tools to test hearing. Because we're not all iphone boys, I have no AirPods (but the excellent AKG N40).

I agree with you. The mid-fields do sound further than the Fars.

All corrected in next build! But the center image of those big ATC’s was very “in your face”. However, the main issue was the midfield had a bug which is now corrected.

Steven

Oh, if the ATCs really do sound like that compared to the mid-fields, then definitely keep it that way. I like their imaging; I don't even have to change the depth to 2 for my small head.

Here's the evolution of a mix with VSX that demonstrates the power of having multiple references.

First, a mix mostly done testing out one speaker: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IRO...ew?usp=sharing

This was not bad, but once I started listening on the car systems, especially comparing to reference tracks, it lacked a bit of excitement and bigness.

I made some tweaks in the other speakers, and I’m happier with the results. I wouldn’t have made these tweaks if I didn’t have more speaker references to give me clues on what needed improvement.

Might need a level match with the other:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nnt...ew?usp=sharing

EDIT: Listened on the boombox and felt like I wanted to make things glue a bit more, so added some multiband. Loving the results!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/104d...ew?usp=sharing

New update soon! My hard-working team has been working through the weekend!

Steven

I will be responding to any posts I wish to. That's the point of a forum, open discussion

You're welcome to ignore me or respond me to as you see fit

These ATCs in Zuma are incredible.

I didn’t know they were my dream setup until this update…and now I don’t know how I managed without them…ha.

Just have to find a spare 40,000 and a little extra to build a studio to house them.

Might just stick with the VSX.

What an amazing piece of tech.

Just curious does anyone have a recommendation for a headphone amp the works well with the VSX or I’m plugging straight into a headphone Jack on a Mac book pro and wondering if it is it necessary or am I doing the VSX an injustice.

This system sounds really useful...wondering if it can be used for realtime tracking as well as mixing or not so much?

The top end detail is incredible. I have tinnitus in my left ear and it's so much easier to judge where I'm at with the high stuff in there. If I'm cutting ears off in can tell pretty quick there. If this patch fixes up the mid fields the way it sounds like it will that room will be hard to beat.

I use it for tracking often. It's zero latency.

What do you mean by zero latency?

Wow, that's insane. Would love to see an "Inside VSX" video with that studio owner, if he/she was willing! That'd be super dope to hear them talk a bit about made them want to build the room and what they think of the VSX emulation.

@ Steven Slate
Thanks for the incredible update! I'm one of those the didn't get the binaural thing in v2.
In v3 I don't hear the emulation as an added on space, I just hear sound. Often in v2 when I put the headset on I would recognise immediately if the emulation was on (I use the hd2 linear quite a bit), but in v3 I often don't. Which is amazing to me!

It hasn't been discussed here, but In Howies room the client position is now the driest while engineer position has a lot more room tone / ambience. Didn't it use to be the opposite?
Engineer position was my favourite for checking problems inv2, now it seems very different. Is this looked into in the update?
(try listen to a dry male vocal or spoken word)

anyways, thanks for the amazing product and support!

In the Howie studio client's chair is exactly between engineer's deck and monitors.

Here, at 36:20
https://youtu.be/dZybs_3cw_M

I've never been in that room before, but I think that what's in v3 is maybe more accurate to what the actual room sounds like (engineer vs. client)? I will say that I found the client setting not to my liking in v2 and I like it a lot more in v3.

I haven't visited the real studio as well. My reply was just a speculation why engineer's position may sound more roomy based on the video I've shared.