360pan suite 3

360pan suite is a plug-in suite for Windows and macOS designed to deliver up to third order ambisonics mixes for immersive audio: audio from all directions, intended for headphone reproduction, that stays where it is even when you turn your head.

You can do all your panning, distancing and even mixing from within the video window of your DAW (Reaper or Pro Tools HD/Ultimate). There is no need to have any plug-in interfaces open while working.

Buy the 360pan suite now

360pan

Panning and the distancing of sound sources, operated directly from the video window.

360monitor

Look around and listen to your immersive mix while you are making it, instant preview. Buy the headtracker now

360reverb

Convolution reverb with ambisonics impulse responses, helps adding depth to your mix.

360limiter

This true ambisonics limiter enables you to deliver great sounding mixes.

360radar

The radar shows you the location of your audio in your ambisonics mix.

360turner

Rotate or tilt an ambisonics recording so that misalignment and calibration errors of the microphone can be easily corrected.

360pan

360pan enables you to pan mono, stereo or four channel input files into ambisonics, using pucks that move on top of the (Pro Tools HD/Ultimate) video window.

Gain, distance and reverb width, along with the puck itself will show up in the (Pro Tools HD/Ultimate) video window when a panner is inserted and ‘show puck’ and ‘show overlay’ are switched on. The three sliders appear when you click the three slider icon that shows when you hover the mouse over a puck in the video window.

Signal Flow

It is possible to use the 360reverb in a traditional way using sends and busses, however it is designed to be used in a more clever way:

mono or stereo sources are converted up to ambisonics, while giving it a left-right, up-down, and distance position in the ambisonics bus. A panner is inserted on each sound source track to do this. So panners get mono or stereo (or even 4channels) of input and output ambisonics.

Each 360reverb creates a private ambisonics input, kind of a backdoor, only accessible by the 360pan instances. Each 360reverb shows up as a send destination in each 360panner. This ties the 360pan’s to the reverb in such away that you can adjust distance and reverb-width per panned source. This goes for an unlimited amount of sources even if there is only a single 360reverb in your project (which is the most usual setup).

Besides all this the usual main input of the reverb still functions (also simultaneously with the private input).

Position blur

Turn position blur up to create sound-objects that should appear bigger than a point-source. The panning position will then be their center, and they will become larger in the mix.

Head-locking audio

If position blur is turned all the way up, the audio is mono and will not move at all when the listener turns his head. You can use this to mix voice-overs or (mono) music that shouldn’t move.
Pan stereo music hard left and hard right and open up position blur halfway to create a head-locked effect in an ambisonics mix, That does not require separate head-locked tracks.

360monitor

360monitor scoops video frames out of the video window and sends them into a browser style drag-n-pan screen while decoding the ambisonics mix to binaural for headphones, (or 5.0) for speaker playback, so you can look around and listen to your immersive mix while you are making it.

In the picture the mix format selected is 8 channel (8 ch). This 360monitor is therefore on an eight channel bus (7.1). It folds the audio down to 2 channels for headphone listening. It does that in the way described technically in Appendix 2 ‘Ambisonics to binaural conversion’ from the 360pan suite manual.

Tip: 360monitor can be heavy on the CPU when it is visible. This is because it is transporting frames from the Pro Tools HD/Ultimate video window to the 360monitor user interface. The smaller the Pro Tools HD/Ultimate video window, the lighter 360monitor operates.

Head tracking

A low cost bluetooth connected head tracking unit that can be attached to your headphones and can steer the 360monitor. That more closely resembles the way your mix will be listened to by the end-user. Appendix 3 in the 360pan suite manual describes the use and calibration of the head tracker.

Please note that when you source this tracker elsewhere (not from Audio Ease) you have to ensure a battery is included.

Buy the headtracker now

360reverb

360reverb is the first truly omnidirectional convolution reverb. A single instance can can provide pan-following reverb with individually adjustable reverb width for an unlimited amount of sound sources.

The dry/wet balance and the spread controls only function on the main (traditional plug-in) input of the reverb. 360reverb accepts ambisonics input and delivers ambisonics output. There is a separate private input that is selectable in all 360pan plug-in instances.

The dry/wet balance and the spread controls do nothing on the private audio lines each 360pan has to the reverb. The distance and reverb-width parameters for the private inputs are set in the 360pan plug-in (or through the popup faders in the video overlay).

360limiter

360limiter is a first order to third order ambisonics, look ahead, brick wall peak limiter with adaptive automatic release time determination, and added EBU R128 (LUFS) loudness metering.

Your spatial audio mix will sound great compared to other mixes from other professional sources like the Google Spotlight Stories on YouTube.

Live ambisonic recordings often have a large dynamics range, where occasional peaks can prevent the user from gaining without clipping the peaks. When uploaded online (or on any other delivery platform) your mix can sound quiet compared to the rest. This is where the limiter comes into play. The 360limiter can, transparently, attenuate these peaks, enabling the user to gain the program without clipping.

360radar

360radar shows you when there is audio in your ambisonics mix or recording, but more importantly it shows where it is, all right in the video window.

360turner

The 360turner together with 360radar allows you to rotate or tilt an ambisonics recording so that misalignment and calibration errors of the microphone can be easily corrected.

Import
converter plug-ins

360fuma to ambix & 360ambix to fuma

The two main flavors in b-format channels are:

FuMa
channel ordering WXYZ with W 3dB lowered compared to AmbiX
AmbiX
channel ordering WYZX

360pan suite, Facebook, Oculus Video, YouTube, SamsungVR and Oculus all use AmbiX b-format.

Currently some technologies use FuMa ordering as their upload requirement. If you will be using the 360pan suite to create audio for:

JauntVR VR player
Audiokinetic's WWise
TSL's Surround Zone
HarpexB

Then make sure you insert a 360ambix to fuma in the ambisonics channel that you bounce, in order to get the FuMa channel order (and normalization) that is required.

No export/convert plug-ins required

360pan suite works with standard AmbiX channel ordering and normailization. This means you can directly use the output of any 360pan suite plug-in as AmbiX ambisonics signal. There is no need to use convert or export plug-ins. This also allows to mix any other plug-in that supports AmbiX ambisonics audio.

Support

Installation and authorization

The 360pan suite of plug-ins is protected using a single license. An iLok (second or third generation) USB key can be used but is not required, the license can also be activated on a machine (computer) using the ilok license manager application. A free ilok.com account is required for this.

There is only a single AAX and VST3 plug-in which, once installed, will manifest itself as a number of plug-ins in Pro Tools HD/Ultimate / Reaper / Nuendo.

On macOS installation is done by unpacking the downloaded zip file, opening the dmg file and dragging the 360pan suite plug-in (.VST3 or .AAXPLUGIN) into the right alias (shortcut) to copy it to your Plug-Ins folder.

On Windows unpack the zip file and then run the installer.exe to install the VST3 and AAX plug-ins.

In the downloaded you will also find the manual and the DAW templates.

Download plug-ins

Request a link to the downloads page with the latest 360pan suite plug-in downloads.

Manual: AAX / VST3

Plug-in format specific documentation for the VST3 and the AAX plug-in.

Example projects

Quick start: download & check out the example session / project for Pro Tools HD/Ultimate and Reaper.

DAW Templates

Wrap your head around the basic DAW setup for ambisonics audio production using one the 360pan suite templates for Pro Tools HD/Ultimate or Reaper.

EULA

The 360pan end user license agreement (eula).

Call for help

+31 30 244 6335

Email support

support@audioease.com

SUPPORT HOURS
MONDAY-FRIDAY 9AM-5PM CET

LOCAL TIME @AudioEase
SATURDAY 4:11 PM

Frequently asked questions

Installation

First time Altiverb 7 installation

Welcome to Altiverb 7 !

Install iLok software
First please make sure you have installed the latest ilok software from:
www.ilok.com
When you do not have an ilok.com account, please create one for free at ilok.com.

Get the Altiverb 7 license
If you do not have the Altiverb 7 license on your ilok account yet, you can request it here:
www.audioease.com/authorization

Then run the ilok license manager app, log in to your account and choose to activate the Altiverb 7 license to your iLok (2nd generation or up) key. Once you did this you can install and use Altiverb 7 on any Mac or PC you connect this ilok key to.

Request an Altiverb 7 downloads email
To get the latest Altiverb 7 installer, please request a link to the current downloads page at:
www.audioease.com/download

Full install
Check your email, open the downloads page from the link in the email and then proceed to download the latest first time full Altiverb 7 installer (that is the large 7 GB download, not the plug-in updater).

Extract the zip file with the OS default tool (macOS: Archive Utility, Windows: choose Extract All...) and then run the Altiverb 7 installer to install Altiverb 7.
The installer will ask you where to install the impulse responses and what plug-ins to install (or at what locations, on Windows) and it will then proceed to install Altiverb 7 and all impulse responses.

Then open your DAW and you will find Altiverb 7 is available as effect ready to add reverb to your audio.

Update Altiverb 7

Update to latest version 7
To update an installed Altiverb 7 to the latest simply request a link to the downloads page and download the latest plug-in updater. The update installer will take care of updating, no need to uninstall or anything.
www.audioease.com/download

Update old 7 to the latest 7
When you are updating a really old Altiverb 7 installation to the latest you can best download the latest first time full Altiverb 7 installer (not the updater) to make sure the impulse responses (IRs) get updated to. The Altiverb 7 impulse responses core library gets updated every few years and if you update from an old Altiverb 7 it is required to re-install the latest complete IR set.

New impulse responses (IRs)
We are continuously looking for, traveling to and recording the nicest acoustics from all around the world. We add new IRs to the Altiverb collection regularly and to install these simply open the IR Browser in Altiverb 7, hit the NEWS button and Altiverb will show you what IRs are available for download. And a single click on the download button is enough to add the IR to your collection.

Upgrade old Altiverb to version 7
You can upgrade an old Altiverb version (version 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6) to version 7. Check your options at:
www.audioease.com/store/#upgrade

Uninstall Altiverb 7

Follow this guide to remove Altiverb 7 from your system. Please note you do not need to uninstall when updating Altiverb 7. The installers will take care of this.

Windows
Simply uninstall Altiverb 7 via the add/remove software Control Panel.

macOS
To uninstall Altiverb 7 on Mac OS X please delete the Altiverb 7 plug-ins from here:

Audio Unit:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/`
MAS:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/MAS/`
VST:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/`
AAX:	`/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/`
RTAS:	`/Library/Application Support/Digidesign/Plug-Ins/`

Then remove the following folders:
/Applications/Audio Ease/Altiverb 7
/Users/Shared/Altiverb

And the Altiverb 7 preferences file:
/Users/name/Library/Preferences/com.audioease.suite.Altiverb7.plist *

* Please note Mac OS X hides the Library folder in your user folder (since 10.7). You can go there by hitting the GO menu item in the menu bar when you have a finder window open. Then hold down the option (alt) key and a link to the User Library will appear.

Installer damaged and can’t be opened

Here's what you can do when the newly downloaded installer fails to run because the macOS reports the downloaded installer failing verification (or reports it is damaged and cannot be opened).

Make sure you use the macOS default 'Archive Utility' to open the downloaded zip file (other utilities could corrupt the installer app while unpacking the zip file).
Please check if there is a security update available for your macOS and please install this.
Open Safari and check if you can visit https://www.audioease.com.
When you can visit the website in Safari, then please retry downloading the installer. If the download fails to run, you can try using a different browser. Any of the following: Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari, will do.

zip file unzipping fails on Mac

Perhaps the download is broken, in which case a new download with another browser may work. Otherwise the solution may be to use Terminal, a built-in program on the Mac.

Make sure you use the macOS default 'Archive Utility' to open the downloaded zip file (other utilities could corrupt the installer app while unpacking the zip file).
In case that does not solve it, open Terminal. You can use the Mac search at the top right and start typing Terminal. It will appear, click on it to open the program.
Type “unzip” and a space, then drag/drop the zip file into the Terminal window.
Press Enter and the zip file will be unzipped, storing all files on your computer.

Altiverb screen saver

Did you loose track of the screen saver? The plug-in should offer to install it, but you can also download the screen saver and copy it to:/Library/ScreenSavers/

Download Altiverb screensaver

First time Speakerphone 2 installation

Welcome to Speakerphone 2 !

Install iLok software
First please make sure you have installed the latest ilok software from:
www.ilok.com

Get the Speakerphone 2 license
If you do not have the Speakerphone 2 license on your ilok account yet, you can request it here:
www.audioease.com/authorization

Then run the ilok license manager app, log in to your account and choose to activate the Speakerphone 2 license to your iLok (2nd generation or up) key. Once you did this you can install and use Speakerphone 2 on any Mac or PC you connect this ilok key to.

Request a Speakerphone 2 downloads email
To get the latest Speakerphone 2 installer, please request a link to the current downloads page at:
www.audioease.com/download

Full install
Check your email, open the downloads page from the link in the email and then proceed to download the latest first time full Speakerphone 2 installer (a large 4.5 GB download, not the plug-in updater).

Extract the zip file with the OS default tool (macOS: Archive Utility, Windows: choose Extract All...) and then run the Speakerphone 2 installer to install Speakerphone 2 and all samples. The installer will ask you where to install the samples and what plug-ins to install (or at what locations, on Windows) and it will then proceed to install Speakerphone 2 and all samples.

Then open your DAW and you will find Speakerphone 2 is available as effect ready to worldize (futz!) your audio.

Update Speakerphone 2

Update to latest version 2
To update an installed Speakerphone to the latest version simply request a link to the downloads page and download the latest plug-in updater. The update installer will take care of updating, no need to uninstall or anything. www.audioease.com/download

Uninstall Speakerphone 2

Follow this guide to remove Speakerphone 2 from your system. Please note you do not need to uninstall when updating Speakerphone 2. The installers will take care of this.

Windows
Simply uninstall Speakerphone 2 via the add/remove software Control Panel.

macOS
To uninstall ASpeakerphone 2 on Mac OS X please delete the Speakerphone plug-ins from here:

Audio Unit:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/`
MAS:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/MAS/`
VST:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/`
AAX:	`/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/`
RTAS:	`/Library/Application Support/Digidesign/Plug-Ins/`

Then remove these folders:
/Applications/Audio Ease/Speakerphone /Library Application Support/Audio Ease/Speakerphone /Library/Frameworks/SpeakerPhonePublicSupport.framework

And the Speakerphone 2 preferences file:
/Users/name/Library/Preferences/com.audioease.suite.Speakerphone2.plist *

* Please note Mac OS X hides the Library folder in your user folder (since 10.7). You can go there by hitting the GO menu item in the menu bar when you have a finder window open. Then hold down the option (alt) key and a link to the User Library will appear.

License activation

Register a new serial number

If you have just purchased an Audio Ease product and received a serial number you can register this here:
www.audioease.com/ed

Why register?
When registered you can access the downloads and immediately get licenses to activate the software.

When you have purchased your software directly at audioease.com there is no serial number. In this situation you can get your licenses directly at:
www.audioease.com/authorization

Get iLok license

If you have just purchased at audioease.com or registered a serial number you can immediately get an iLok license for your product.

Simply go here: www.audioease.com/authorization
fill in your registered email address and proceed.

iLok key broken / lost / stolen

In case your iLok key is lost, stolen or broken we will help you out right away, even in case you have not invested in additional insurances or coverage at ilok.com.

Send a message to support@audioease.com and we will provide you with a 30 days expiring backup license so you can continue your work immediately. A spare iLok USB key is required for this, as the software (Altiverb, Speakerphone and Indoor) requires the ilok usb key. This means the software will not work without an ilok usb key with a license on it.

To resolve this situation permanently you may have to acquire another iLok USB key. We can help here too:
We can send you one at a not-for-our-profit-price, which will normally takes 2-6 weekdays in Europe (6-20 weekdays to the rest of the world), available at: audioease.com/store. Depending on your location purchasing locally might be quicker.

Transfer license to another user

Yes, you can sell / transfer your license to another user.

You can transfer a license from your ilok account to someone else's ilok account (the new owner) by using the iLok License Manager (choose Transfer License...).
Please note: while PACE/ iLok fees apply, there are no fees imposed by Audio Ease.

Do please send a message to support@audioease.com with the name, email address and ilok user account info of both you and the new owner.

We will then transfer the software registration at audioease.com to the new owner, so that they will be able to access all downloads and (future) upgrades.

More then one computer with a single license

You can use the software with a single license on more then one computer. Simply connect the ilok usb key with the license on it to a computer and you can install and use the software.

However you can use the software only at one computer at a time.

When you need to run the software in two locations (two rooms / two machines) at the same time this requires two licenses. This means purchasing two copies of the software. We do not offer any second license deals or discounts.

General troubleshooting

Native Apple silicon support

Altiverb 8, Speakerphone 3 & Indoor 2 are universal (native Apple silicon and Intel)

360pan suite 3 works fine using Rosetta 2 on the Apple silicon machines. The performance is great.

The latest BarbaBatch, Snapper and Make a Test Tone are all universal applications, supporting both Apple silicon & Intel.

Last update: Dec 6, 2024

iLok key broken / lost / stolen

In case your iLok key is lost, stolen or broken we will help you out right away, even in case you have not invested in additional insurances or coverage at ilok.com.

Send a message to support@audioease.com and we will provide you with a 30 days expiring backup license so you can continue your work immediately when you have a spare ilok key.

To resolve this situation permanently you may have to acquire another iLok key. We can help here too:
We can send you one at a not-for-our-profit-price, which will normally takes 2 to 5 shipping days in Europe (6-20 days to the rest of the world), available at: audioease.com/store. Depending on your location purchasing locally might be quicker.

Pro Tools error: not a valid 64 bits plug-in

Pro Tools states it is not a valid 64 bits plug-ins

Most likely the installer or the plug-in got corrupted in transit. Please download the latest updater installer on the computer you want to use it on. Then move the downloaded zip file on the desktop and there choose to extract it using the Mac OS X default Archive Utility app. Once you did this please run the updater installer from the desktop to install the correct aaxplugin and this should cure the problem.
The aax plug-in can get corrupted when transferred on some external (or network) drives. The plug-in won't validate properly then.

Authorization Wire Exception

"Speakerphone / Altiverb cannot run, because an error occurred. Encrypted Channel Bad Channel ID (or USB error or frame is an invalid size)"

Authorization Wire Exception invalid size

Errors like these can be solved by downloading and installing the latest ilok software from www.ilok.com. Altiverb, Speakerphone, Indoor and 360pan suite require this software.

Windows Authorization Error

Windows Authorization Error: Altiverb 7 Regular cannot run because it is corrupted please try reinstalling the product

This error means the graphics card driver on your system is not up to date. Even when Windows states this is up to date, Altiverb 7 can generate this error and you will find there is a newer driver available (and this will solve this error).

Please try to update your graphics card driver.

Find out what graphics card you have in your system (right click on your desktop, choose change screen resolution, hit advanced settings, that would show you the manufacturer"s name and the model).
Then please go to the manufacturer"s website, hit support/drivers and find the latest driver for your graphics card and download and install this.
Restart your computer.
The problem should be gone now.

Plug-in not found in Cubase / Nuendo

The plug-in is installed correctly (Altiverb / Speakerphone / Indoor / 360pan suite) and the ilok software is up to date and still the plug-in cannot be found in Cubase (or Nuendo).

Let's clear Clear the Cubase vst preferences to force a re-scan of all vst plug-ins (in case the plug-in is blacklisted)

Remove all plist/xml files with VST in the file name from the Cubase preferences folder, check this post where to find the preferences folder.
Then restart your computer.
After the restart run Cubase. Cubase will now re-scan all plug-ins and it should load the plug-in again.

360pan suite

Windows: Pro Tools 2023 & up not supported

Currently the 360pan suite cannot detect the video window in Pro Tools 2023 & up on Windows. Until this has been resolved in an update we advice to stay on Pro Tools 2022 for 360pan suite on Windows.

HDX hardware & 360reverb

When using HDX hardware the Hybrid Engine needs to be Enabled for the private (pre-fader) sends from the 360pan plug-in to the 360reverb to work.
When the Hybrid Engine is disabled the distance cannot be controlled for a panned source. The 360reverb does work as normal reverb insert/aux effect on HDX systems with disabled Hybrid Engine.

Essential Reaper preferences

When you use the VST3 360pan suite plug-ins in Reaper you will have to verify two settings in Reaper's preferences are properly set up, else the suite will not function properly.

In Reaper choose Preferences... from the bottom of the Options menu and then first go to:

Reaper preferences - turn off Anticipative FX Processing

1. Audio -> Buffering
and then TURN OFF the Anticipative FX Processing
2. Audio -> Buffering
and then TURN OFF the Live FX multiprocessing
these two options will ensure the 360reverb to function properly (else you will get sync problems)

Reaper preferences - VST-parameter-automation

3. Plug-Ins -> VST
Under VST Compatibility please set the Parameter automation notification to:
Process all notifications
this will ensure automation is written to track when you control the panner pucks from the video overlay (without the panner plug-ins being open).

Reaper preferences - automation-do-not-add-points.png

4. Editing Behavior -> Automation
When recording automation and stopped should be set to: Do not add additional points.
This to ensure you can nudge the time cursor and then drag pucks and write automation this way (like in the tutorial/example project).
5. Reverb last
When creating a bus for 360Reverb, make sure it is last, or right before the monitor.
6. Your Video window can not be Docked, and the video window can not be full screen.
These are not in the settings window. You right-click on your video to undock it if it is embedded in another window.

No (or not all) 360pan suite plug-ins Reaper ? Clear cache

It could be some or all 360pan suite plug-ins are missing the first time you run Reaper after installing the 360pan suite VST3 plug-in. Reaper then needs a gentle push to see all plug-ins in the suite.

Solution:In Reaper choose Preferences... from the bottom of the Options menu and then open the VST tab in Plug-Ins:

Hit the Re-scan... button
Choose (from the popup menu) Clear cache and re-scan VST paths for all plug-ins
Quit and restart the Reaper app

Reaper preferences - Clear Cache and rescan to make the plug-ins appear

Clearing the cache should solve warnings like this:

360monitor video preview: Allow Screen Recording for Pro Tools.app

The video preview in the 360monitor AAX plug-in only functions (on modern systems and recent Pro Tools versions) when the Pro Tools.app is allowed to record the computer screen in the macOS system preferences.
Make sure you set this option to fully benefit from the 360pan suite plug-ins options.

360pan suite example projects, tutorials

Quick start: download & check out the example project / session featuring a short 360 video of us running around at Audio Ease, mono panning audio, a true ambisonics (b-format) FX recording, binaural preview and export suggestions.

Open the practice project START and open the workflow video and practice along with the video.

Available for Pro Tools, Reaper and Nuendo at:
www.audioease.com/360/#example

360pan suite goodies, free productivity tools

Here we offer a bunch of free "spatial treats" that we use at Audio Ease ourselves on a daily basis. There are no warranties, and almost all of it builds upon either Google's Omnitone or Here we offer a bunch of free "spatial treats" that we use at Audio Ease ourselves on a daily basis. There are no warranties, and almost all of it builds upon either Google's Omnitone or FFMPEG:
www.audioease.com/360/#goodies

Stereo music (headlocked, fixed stereo) in ambisonics

True headlocked stereo is not possible in the ambisonics audio format.
Ambisonics audio is a 3D audio sphere and headlocked (fixed) stereo sound does not fit into this.
This is simply impossible.

Headlocked mono is possible, that is the top channel only.

360pan suite offer to mix to the top channel using the position blur control.
More position blur (more mix to top) is more mono, more inhead/headlocked.
When you pan your stereo source hard left and right (-90 and +90) in the ambisonics sphere and you set the position blur to half way (somewhere between 0.40-0.60) you will find there is stereo sensation while you cannot really identify things turning when you look around in the 3D sphere.
If you move the position blur control more towards 1 you will find it will rotate less, but it will also be more mono. That is the trade off.

Altiverb 8

User Created IRs

Do you have customer IRs, or did you add your own IRs, impulse responses, to Altiverb 7?
You have to copy these to the new location Altiverb 8 uses to ensure Altiverb 8 also finds these.
The new location is:
/Users/Shared/Audio Ease/Altiverb/Impulse Responses/User Created IRs

You can also verify Altiverb 8 uses this location, in the preferences tab in the plug-in:

Backward Compatibility

Altiverb 8 is backwards compatible with Altiverb 7. when you install the upgrade license replaces your altiverb 7 license, and the Altiverb 8 plug-in will be loaded in your older sessions, sounding identical to Altiverb 7 (and Altiverb 6 and Altiverb 5).

Forward compatibility is limited: sessions made with Altiverb 8 don’t load reliably on systems with altiverb 7 installed because new functions may have been used in the Altiverb 8 session that are lacking in Altiverb 7.

No XL (multi-channel) options in Pro Tools

Problem: Altiverb 8 XL is installed, however Altiverb 8 is only available in mono and stereo (no surround or multi-channel options).
Or opening sessions made with Altiverb XL results in inactive plug-ins.

This could be due to incorrect plug-in cache in Pro Tools.

Solution: Force a re-scan of the plug-in.
First make sure Pro Tools is Quit. Then please remove these files: /Users/Shared/Pro Tools/AAXPlugInCache/Altiverb 7.aaxplugin.plugincache /Users/Shared/Pro Tools/AAXPlugInCache/Altiverb 8.aaxplugin.plugincache

Now open Pro Tools. Pro Tools should re-scan the Altiverb plug-in and it should discover the XL multi-channel surround options now.

Altiverb 8 in Digital Performer

There will be no MAS Altiverb 8 plug-in.
Before you upgrade to Altiverb 8 please save the settings of your MAS Altiverb 7 plug-in instances in your projects as Altiverb presets (irp files). You can do this in the Altiverb IR browser.
These will be converted by the Altiverb 8 installer so you can load your settings into your Altiverb 8 Audio Unit instances when you replace them. In case in a while you need to turn back to an old project where you have not done that we can provide temporary licenses so you can do this still.

You can also use this handy preset converter app to convert old presets to the new one.
Download Preset Converter app

Tip for Pro Tools users: enable new parameters

All new parameters in Altiverb 8 are not automatically enabled for automation when you open a session that was started with Altiverb 7. Ensure to enable these if you rely on automation.

Of course when you insert a new Altiverb 8 instance all parameters do get enabled directly (if you have this enabled in the pro tools preferences).

Enable new paramters for automation in Pro Tools

Speakerphone

TIP: In Pro Tools enable the two new parameters

If you upgraded to Speakerphone 3, do enable to two newly added parameters for automation.
Pro Tools won't do that automatically for you.

Can I move the 5 GB samples to an external drive?

Yes, of course!
Hit the little triangle icon in the top right corner of the Samplebay module in Speakerphone.
Then from the menu that pops up you can open the current Samples folder. Then move this to an external drive and then in the Speakerphone plug-in open the same menu again and use the CHANGE SAMPLES FOLDER option to point Speakerphone to the new location.
Then quit and open your DAW and from then on Speakerphone should use the samples from the external drive.

Speakerphone 3 in Digital Performer

There will be no MAS Speakerphone 3 plug-in.
Before you upgrade to Speakerphone 3 please save the settings of your MAS Speakerphone 2 plug-in instances in your projects as Speakerphone presets (spp files). You can do this in the Speakerphone preset browser.
These will be converted by the Speakerphone 3 installer so you can load your settings into your Speakerphone 3 Audio Unit instances when you replace them. In case in a while you need to turn back to an old project where you have not done that we can provide temporary licenses so you can do this still.

You can also use this handy preset converter app to convert old presets to the new one.
Download Preset Converter app

Updated Pro Tools now Speakerphone 2 is gone

If Speakerphone 2 is gone after you updated Pro Tools to 2023.3 (or later) and you are on a Apple Silicon Mac (M1/M2/M3 ARM) then you have to open Pro Tools Using Rosetta to get Speakerphone 2 working.

Speakerphone 2 requires Open Using Rosetta on the Apple silicon (M1/M2/M3/etc) macs. Speakerphone 3 adds native support for apple silicon. You can check your upgrade options here.
You need to open Pro Tools using Rosetta in order to use Speakerphone 2.
To ensure Pro Tools opens using Rosetta:

open the Finder
go to the Applications folder
select the Pro Tools app
hit get info
tick the box to Open Using Rosetta.

Pro Tools AAE-9173 error (Audio processing deadline was not met)

In Pro Tools 2024.3.1 & 2024.6 this AAE-9173 error can occur when a clip is played back through the Speakerphone 2.2.2 AAX Plug-In.

This problem only occurs on Intel macs with Pro Tools 2024.3.1 & 2024.6 and Speakerphone v2 (not v3!).
You can workaround this problem by Updating Pro Tools to 2024.10 or up.
If updating Pro Tools is no option, then you can try these workarounds:

Increasing the H/W Buffer Size in the Pro Tools Playback Enging settings
Disabling Dynamic Plug-in Processing in the Pro Tools Playback Engine settings
Disabling Optimize Performance at Low Buffer Sizes in the Pro Tools Playback Engine settings
Or reverting to an earlier Pro Tools (in Pro Tools 2024.3 this error does not occur).

Pro Tools playback engine settings to prevent the AAE-9173 error

Windows use Speakerphone as non-admin user

By granting this directory read & write permissions for all users an admin user can enable all users on Windows to use the Speakerphone VST (or AAX) plug-in:
C:\ProgramData\Audio Ease\Speakerphone

Without setting this Speakerphone will crash when a non-admin user tries to use the plug-in.

Challenge/response hard disk activation (authorization)

The challenge/response hard disk authorization is only available in the older (32 bits only) Speakerphone 2.0.5.
You are free to use this one instead of the latest, the 2.0.5 installer is available from the downloads page.

We strongly discourage running this old Speakerphone 2. This version will not be updated anymore. We recommend to use the latest Speakerphone 2.1. This one does require the iLok (2nd generation or up) key yes. Whenever your ilok key breaks or you loose it, we will always help you (supply a new license for a replacement key).

Resources not found error message Pro Tools 10

Most likely the Speakerphone 2.1 installer removed the resources from an older Speakerphone 2.0.5 installation however the installer failed to remove the Speakerphone 2.0.5 RTAS plug-in. When Pro Tools 10 now loads the Speakerphone 2 RTAS you get this error message. Then later Pro Tools scans the AAX and decides not to load the RTAS anymore.

Solution:
We need to fix this in the installer of course, but when you delete the Speakerphone.dpm (the RTAS plug-in) from: /Library/Application Support/Digidesign/Plug-Ins/ this error message will be gone.

Altiverb 7

Updated Pro Tools now Altiverb 7 is gone

If Altiverb 7 is gone after you updated Pro Tools to 2023.3 (or later) and you are on a Apple Silicon Mac (M1/M2/M3 ARM) then you have to open Pro Tools Using Rosetta to get Altiverb 7 working.

Altiverb 7 requires Open Using Rosetta on the Apple silicon (M1/M2/M3/etc) macs. Altiverb 8 adds native support for apple silicon. You can check your upgrade options here.
You need to open Pro Tools using Rosetta in order to use Altiverb 7.
To ensure Pro Tools opens using Rosetta:

open the Finder
go to the Applications folder
select the Pro Tools app
hit get info
tick the box to Open Using Rosetta.

?? questionmarks and no text in Altiverb 7 interface

Problem: Non-readable text in the Altiverb 7 user interface.
Solution: Follow this guide to allow Altiverb to access the font again:
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/font-book/fb34862/mac

Altiverb uses the system font Arial. Altiverb does not install this, it should be on your macOS by default. If your system does not have the Arial font or the macOS system prevents Altiverb somehow from using it, Altiverb could look like this:

No Altiverb 7 in Logic after installing/updating

Problem: Installed or updated Altiverb 7 and now it does not show up in Logic.
Solution: Restart your mac.

Somehow (we are still trying to find out why) the macOS ignores Altiverb 7 until the computer has been restarted. This is why Logic (or Ableton Live, or any other DAW that uses Audio Unit plug-ins) does not show the Altiverb

What is the difference between Regular and XL ?

Altiverb 7 Regular and XL sound exactly the same and come with the same IRs.
There are three differences:

Altiverb 7 Regular supports

up to stereo input and output
sampling rates up to 96kHz
plug-in formats on windows: aax native and vst, on mac: aax native, vst, audio unit, mas and rtas

Altiverb 7 XL supports:

up to 5.1 surround in and output
sampling rates up to 384 kHz
all plug-ins formats Altiverb 7 Regular supports + TDM on Mac OS X

So, in short, if you do not have sessions on 192k and you work in stereo only, Altiverb 7 Regular will do just fine.
If, at a later stage, you would like to upgrade from Regular to XL this is possible. The upgrade cost is just the price difference so you won't loose any money going for Regular first.

Extra IR set download problem

Problem: The IR set gets downloaded when you click the download button in the NEWS section in the IR Browser. It starts downloading but then nothing happens, the set does not load or show up.

When this happens the Altiverb plug-in fails to copy/move the downloaded IR set to the Audio Ease IRs folder.
It could be Altiverb is not allowed to write in the Audio Ease IRs folder.

Solution: Try locating the folder in the finder (or explorer), hit get info and then verify your user (and the admin group) can read&write in the folder. If you make changes make sure to also apply to all enclosed items too. If this does not help, try using the default location as IRs folder:
/Users/Shared/Altiverb/IRs

You can change the IR folder location in the preferences tab in the Altiverb plug-in:

Altiverb 7 ir folder location in preferences

Import / add IRs, impulse responses

Altiverb 7 supports loading your own files as IRs.
Any wav audio file can be used as impulse response.

Simply add your file(s) to your User Created IRs folder, the default location is:
/Users/yourusername/Library/Application Support/Altiverb/ *

* Please note the MacOS system hides the Library folder in your user folder. You can still open this folder through the GO menu in the Mac finder. Then hold down the option (alt) key and a link to the User Library will magically appear.

Your third party impulse responses folders, libraries can be loaded through:
/Users/Shared/Altiverb/Third Party libraries

If you have recorded the Altiverb sine sweep to create an IR, then drag your mono or stereo recordings as wave file onto the drag and drop import window in the Altiverb plug-in. You can choose to save your IR into the User Created IRs folder.

Surround in Reaper (Altiverb 7 XL)

There is a little trick you need to pull off to get this to work:

open the add fx window in Reaper on the 6 channel track
then right click on the Altiverb plug-in and make sure this option is checked:
☑️ inform plug-in when track channel count changes

When you then insert Altiverb 7 it should become 6 in 6 out and you will be able to choose the surround IRs in the IR Browser.

IRs missing after installing the latest Altiverb 7 update

Most likely you were working with old older (version 7.0/7.1) IR set before and you recently installed the latest Altiverb 7 plug-in updater. This new Altiverb 7 plug-in however requires the latest core IR set.
To fix this please download the latest first time full Altiverb 7 installer and run this.
Once you installed this you will have all IRs again.

> You can request a link to the latest downloads at:
www.audioease.com/download

Altiverb 7 Windows Authorization Error

Altiverb 7 Windows Authorization Error: Altiverb 7 Regular cannot run because it is corrupted please try reinstalling the product

This error means the graphics card driver on your system is not up to date. Even when Windows states this is up to date, Altiverb 7 can generate this error and you will find there is a newer driver available (and this will solve this error).

Please try to update your graphics card driver.

Find out what graphics card you have in your system (right click on your desktop, choose change screen resolution, hit advanced settings, that would show you the manufacturer’s name and the model).
Then please go to the manufacturer’s website, hit support/drivers and find the latest driver for your graphics card and download and install this.
Restart your computer.
The problem should be gone now.

Altiverb recalls only Teldex IR in Digital Performer (DP)

There is a situation where the Altiverb plug-in can revert to default settings when loading a project in Digital Performer.

This is caused by the fact the Digital Performer (DP) supports three plug-in formats: MAS, AU (audio unit) and VST.

How?
Example: When you save a project with the Altiverb MAS plug-in. And you then change the default plug-in type in DP to AU and re-open this project. DP will load Altiverb, but DP fails to transfer the saved Altiverb MAS plug-in settings to the now Altiverb AU plug-in, and Altiverb then reverts to loading the default settings (which is the Teldex IR).

When this suddenly occurs you are most likely using a different plug-in format then you used before. Try to find out what you used before, force DP to load this Altiverb plug-in from the plug-in settings in the DP preferences and then restart DP and re-open your project. The right settings should load again then.

If you need any help with this let us know. Send us for instance a project file that will not open correctly, then we can quickly help you out.

Altiverb screen saver

The macOS Altiverb 7.4.3 installer currently fails to install the screen saver. You can download the screen saver and copy it to:/Library/ScreenSavers/

Screensaver

Mono to stereo and stereo to stereo

What is the difference between the mono to stereo and the stereo to stereo options in a stereo out Altiverb ?

Best way to understand this is to go back with me to our sampling session when we recorded to room's acoustics for the IR in Altiverb.

mono to stereo
We put a single speaker in the center of the stage and two mics in the audience.

This results in a mono to stereo IR.
When you playback your audio through this IR in Altiverb, it will sound like your audio comes out of that single speaker from the center of the stage (mono!) picked up with two microphones (stereo!).
This IR gives a stereo reverb, however the input is (mixed to) mono, as there is only a single source on stage.

When you want to process a vocal (mono) or direct recorded electrical guitar or something where the panning is not important the mono to stereo IR will do just fine (pro: costs half of the processing then a stereo-to-stereo IR, so it is more efficient in cpu and memory).

stereo to stereo
back to recording the room
this time we put two speakers on stage, one on the left and one on the right side of the stage and we record again with the two mics in the audience.

When you playback your stereo audio through this IR in Altiverb your stereo signal comes out of these two speakers.
Easy to picture here that your original panning will be maintained using a stereo to stereo IR.

So basically it comes down to this:
is your input stereo or is it panned in stereo ?
use a stereo - stereo IR, else you will loose the stereo information in the reverb (although the reverb is stereo).

Sometimes even when using stereo panned sources a mono to stereo IR can be preferred as you do not want the panning to be reflected in the reverb levels. But this is a mixing decision which depends on taste mostly (and music style) and I dare not to advice on that :-)

Speakers and Phones IR set

We have removed some sets from the Altiverb IR library (mainly user submitted IR sets) that do not meet up to our current standards. The Speakers and Phones set is one of these. You can copy the original set from your Altiverb 6 Impulse Responses folder (if you still have this) to the Third Party IRs folder in the Altiverb 7 Impulse Responses folder.
Then you can then load these IRs again in Altiverb 7.

You can also download the original set from:
http://fokkie.home.xs4all.nl/IR.htm

Snapper

Snapper does not appear when selecting audio files

Snapper could act weird on your macOS system. In these ways: Snapper does not (always) appear when selecting audio file or Snapper crashes on quitting the application or preferences are not recalled properly.
Some check box has to be checked in the Mac OS System Preferences to ensure Snapper works properly. Maybe this somehow did not work on your system.

Please try this:

first quit Snapper (make sure it is not running)
then delete the Snapper preferences file: com.audioease.snapper.plist. This file is the Preferences folder in the User Library. Open the Mac Finder, hit the GO menu, hold down the option (ALT) key and a link to the Library folder will appear. Go to the Preferences folder and delete the file.
then please restart your mac (important)
now run snapper
open the mac os system preferences
go to the security and privacy settings panel
then to the privacy tab
select the accessibility panel on the left
open the lock on the bottom left (and fill in your password) to make changes
if Snapper is listed here, please select it and hit the - (minus) button to remove it from the list
now quit and run snapper and it should be added to the list again
make sure the box for Snapper is ☑️ checked. If it IS already checked then please un-check and ☑️ re-check it
quit and start Snapper

snapper 2 vital macos system setting in security and privacy panel

Snapper & video file preview in the finder

Snapper opens when you select any file that contains audio, also video files.
This sometimes is a problem, when you want to use the space bar to quickly preview the video in the finder.
There is a simple hack for this:

Use: SHIFT + SPACE BAR to preview the video

This works, even when Snapper is showing you the audio waveform of your selected video in the finder.

Write permissions error

Snapper uses a temp folder to write the drag export files (selections) into when you drag (a selection) out of Snapper. Somehow on your system Snapper is unable to write in this folder.

By default the drag export folder is:
/Users/Shared/Snapper

You can check in the Snapper preferences what you currently use. Open Snapper, go to the preferences, open the export tab, then close to the bottom you should find:

Hit the Folder... button to change the location (we recommend this: /Users/Shared/Snapper)
When this is set, quit Snapper, then start Snapper and then check in the Snapper Preferences if this option is still set correctly.
If not, we have to reset some things, see below.**
If the folder is correctly set, then let's open the /Users/Shared folder in the Finder, select the Snapper folder, hit get info and under sharing & permissions ensure your user and the everyone group are set to Read & Write.
Hit the circle with the three dots and hit 'apply to enclosed items'.
Now dragging audio (selections) out of Snapper should work again.

** If the settings in the Snapper preferences do not stick, something's wrong.
This problem is most likely solved by removing the Snapper cache and preferences.

Open the Mac Finder, hit the GO menu, hold down the option (ALT) key and a link to the Library folder will appear. Open the Caches folder and delete these four folders: com.audioease.snapper com.audioease.snapper.filestate com.audioease.snapper.view com.audioease.snapper.waveform
Go to the Preferences folder and delete this file:
com.audioease.snapper.plist

Then restart the mac (this is important, as the macOS caches the prefs).

Retrieve Snapper activation info (key code)

You can request your Snapper activation code by clicking on the Lost / forgot key code link at:
https://www.audioease.com/snapper/#support
This can be handy when you lost or misplaced the key code to unlock the Snapper demo to the full version.

Store / purchase / upgrade

iLok USB Key is USB A

The iLok USB key available for purchase at audioease.com is the USB A type, not USB C.

Upgrade old software

Any piece of old software can be upgraded to the current version at:
https://www.audioease.com/store/#upgrade

The upgrade requires:

we still sell this software
your old copy has not been upgraded to the latest before
you know your registered email address

Sales tax at audioease.com/store

If you live outside the European Union (EU) and not in the United Kingdom (UK) then you do not pay sales tax at audioease.com.
If you purchase as a EU/UK business with a valid sales tax registration number (BTW), (you can provide this on the address page) then you do not pay sales tax.
If you are from the EU/UK and you do not have a business sales tax number, you pay local sales tax (BTW) on the downloads and Dutch sales tax (BTW, 21%) on the USB keys.
If you are located in The Netherlands you always pay sales tax.

Educational discount policy

Audio Ease does not extend educational discounts.

What is 360pan suite for ?

360pan

Signal Flow

Position blur

Head-locking audio

360monitor

Head tracking

360reverb

360limiter

360radar

360turner

Import converter plug-ins

360fuma to ambix & 360ambix to fuma

No export/convert plug-ins required

Specifications

Minimum requirements

Download

Version history

Support

Installation and authorization

Manual: AAX / VST3

Call for help

Frequently asked questions

Installation

License activation

General troubleshooting

360pan suite

Altiverb 8

Speakerphone

Altiverb 7

Snapper

Store / purchase / upgrade

Free goodies

Offline 360 video player with spatial audio!

All local

Video webm

Audio

Mac OS ffmpeg droplets(including ffmpeg)

optimized for Pro Tools video droplet

webm droplet

Jump inspector droplets

Crop stereoscopic video droplet

Manual

Example project workflow videos

Two manuals

DAW Templates

Position blur

Export 360pan suite audio to YouTube

Export audio for Facebook

Offline side load in Gear VRthrough Samsung VR app

AUDIO EASE B.V.

Import
converter plug-ins

Offline 360 video player
with spatial audio!

Mac OS ffmpeg droplets
(including ffmpeg)

Offline side load in Gear VR
through Samsung VR app