Originally Posted by LASTLAVGH ➡️

Nice work. Subs and low end sound just right. Just listened through Archon fars. Very cool to see more and more pros using VSX.

Originally Posted by callmecarny ➡️

I challenged myself to do a mix for one of the pickiest artists I work with using only VSX.

Before me he was working with cats like TLA and Jaycen Joshua so he's got very high standards and it's made me a better mixer just working with him.

This was the least amount of mix notes he's ever given me, and some people said some very nice things about it on the Slate FB page on the mix critique post.

Full disclaimer I did check once or twice on my Focals and Adams but the mix was 99.5% VSX. It's basically the only thing I use anymore.

VSX is the best

Originally Posted by LASTLAVGH ➡️

Thought I'd share a recent mix I did with VSX. Going for a very 70s vintage sound.

https://soundcloud.com/matthewnowhere/big-clear

I played the drums with Slate drums too, it's the Blackbird expansion for that super dry 70s sound.

Originally Posted by SamSpacey ➡️

I'm guessing Archon Mids for the win ... sounds great in that room

Originally Posted by ONNO ➡️

This is dope!

Which room did you mix this in??

Originally Posted by callmecarny ➡️

Wow, thank you!

I think it was primarily Archon nears and mids. I check random other ones every now and then just to make sure nothing sounds weird.

What I've found really works for me a far as mixing with VSX is before I start my mix I spend about an hour or so doing "housework" type stuff just listening to my playlist in Spotify with VSX. So I'll be focused on typing emails, doing paperwork etc. while in the background my brain is getting into the whole VSX setting.

Originally Posted by LASTLAVGH ➡️

Very good idea - I've noticed that the binaural effect seems to really work best if I'm slightly distracted. The times where it really has popped out for me and I suddenly feel like I'm in a room with speakers have all been when my mind is slightly tired, zoning out, or just not actively listening.

In general though - there should be regular pop up reminding you to listen to reference tracks through VSX. I'd venture to say that the majority of people who didn't get on with them just didn't take the time to listen to reference tracks through them.

Originally Posted by sircuit ➡️

I have OCD for references and trying to focus on different frequecy ranges (how the midrange sounds, how are the hats, how is the low mid, how is the sub? etc.) and I spent a lot of time listening in the last 4 months. To this day, I still hear the strong room in most of the rooms in VSX (I get along well with Archon mids).

The dev of Sienna mentioned (if I understood correctly) that each human has it's own HRTF (head-related transfer function) and is not related only to the ear anatomy but also the body size and shape. VSX uses an average, non-adjustable HRTF therefore will be a big chunk of people that will never click (or will have difficulty) with it because the HRTF will be too different compared to their own.

Originally Posted by LASTLAVGH ➡️

Very good idea - I've noticed that the binaural effect seems to really work best if I'm slightly distracted. The times where it really has popped out for me and I suddenly feel like I'm in a room with speakers have all been when my mind is slightly tired, zoning out, or just not actively listening.

In general though - there should be regular pop up reminding you to listen to reference tracks through VSX. I'd venture to say that the majority of people who didn't get on with them just didn't take the time to listen to reference tracks through them.

Originally Posted by LASTLAVGH ➡️

That's interesting, I guess it makes sense. Does Sienna give you more control over the HRTF?

Originally Posted by PettyCash ➡️

Gotta just do what works for you.

The moment I feel myself getting too comfortable with a particular room and speaker, I switch it up to get a different perspective on the mix. A break can work too for resetting your ears, but I don't always have the luxury of taking too many breaks, however short they might be. I gotta work fast so I can get everything I'm juggling done within a certain time frame. So I step away less, but wake my ears up by changing what I'm listening through. Not much different from the way I mix with studio monitors, except I can't change the entire mixing environment as I listen from speaker to speaker.

Originally Posted by callmecarny ➡️

Wow, thank you!

I think it was primarily Archon nears and mids. I check random other ones every now and then just to make sure nothing sounds weird.

What I've found really works for me a far as mixing with VSX is before I start my mix I spend about an hour or so doing "housework" type stuff just listening to my playlist in Spotify with VSX. So I'll be focused on typing emails, doing paperwork etc. while in the background my brain is getting into the whole VSX setting.

Originally Posted by DirtyWork8a ➡️

As I get used to the rooms, I've noticed I can turn off the 2-second pause and adjust quickly.

Took me about 6 months to get to this level of comfort with the zones though.

Originally Posted by SamSpacey ➡️

Oh ...and Mr Steven Slate.... you got me into some trouble with the Mrs today. As a subscriber to the all access bundle you do, my wife thought the all access bundle was something else (see pic).

I downloaded the Vintage Analog Drums zip, but on my desktop it looks like....well ...look at pic

Originally Posted by SamSpacey ➡️

Oh ...and Mr Steven Slate.... you got me into some trouble with the Mrs today. As a subscriber to the all access bundle you do, my wife thought the all access bundle was something else (see pic).

I downloaded the Vintage Analog Drums zip, but on my desktop it looks like....well ...look at pic

Originally Posted by sircuit ➡️

Personal HRTF measurement already exists (is heavily relied on for VR applications) so when we'll have the option to add our own to VSX or Sienna the experience will be truly realistic.

Originally Posted by over-man ➡️

I brought this up several months ago but no one seemed interested in trying to implement custom HRTFs into the Slate system to see if a custom HRTF made a noticeable improvement. It shouldn't be too hard, expensive or time consuming for someone from the Slate team to give the experiment a shot and see if it works. I don't see how it wouldn't be better than an averaged HRTF, but there isn't a lot of literature on the subject. Again, for their team, it should be easy to run the experiment on their own and post subjective results at least.

Originally Posted by sircuit ➡️

They probably did but then what? Measurement labs are rare, no idea about the price. And for Slate would be difficult to advertise unless they'll do something like "up to 100% virtual studio immersion*"

*guaranteed only with custom HRTF profile

Originally Posted by over-man ➡️

There are several ways to get custom HRTFs using scans of your ears for only a couple hundred dollars without leaving your house, and surely there are places in LA where you could get even better ones, albeit at a higher price point. I'd wager this will be standard tech in a couple of years and know several companies are working on this already for AR / VR / MR applications, as well standard video games.

Originally Posted by Steven Slate ➡️

Hello! We studied the effects of head size for quite some time, and even had a "S M L" head size adjustment in an alpha version of the plugin. Ultimately, we found that it's kind of smoke and mirrors. There are far too many variables that come into play in regards to auditory perception. For instance, if two people have the same distance from ear to ear but have different shaped helix and antihelix, this could create a different perception of frequency. The same goes for how the brain interprets auditory signals. The same sized head and ear circumference could perceive frequency response quite differently due to many factors, including genetics and age.

So what we found is that a really high quality, finely tuned, and precise binaural reproduction using an average sized head seemed to please everyone regardless of head size. But, we also have a very natural sounding 5 band EQ for people who need to customize more to their taste, because we'll not win everyone over. I think the EQ is far more powerful than a headsize adjustment, which is going to assume the HRTF filter is exactly how you will perceive things.. but in our tests, it's not. There are too many variables.

Thanks very much for the comments!

Steven

Originally Posted by over-man ➡️

There are several ways to get custom HRTFs using scans of your ears for only a couple hundred dollars without leaving your house, and surely there are places in LA where you could get even better ones, albeit at a higher price point. I'd wager this will be standard tech in a couple of years and know several companies are working on this already for AR / VR / MR applications, as well standard video games.