ROAD
TEST Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room
By Richard Chycki & Head Tracker
I
started my first Nx session by repeatedly pulling my headphones off of my ears , wondering if the speakers were accidentally left on – while staring straight at the speaker cut indicator . That was weird , in a very good way … Mixing through headphones has always been somewhat of a juggling act – comparatively cost-effective , excellent detail without the effects of external and often deleterious ambiences / reflections versus an exaggerated listening field that ' s unnaturally fixed in position . Waves aims to transcend the limits of conventional headphone monitoring with the innovative Nx Head Tracker and Virtual Mix Room software . The system creates a virtual mix environment to emulate the effect of listening to speakers ( both stereo and surround ) in an “ optimum mix room environment ” through headphones .
Overview The Nx is comprised of both a software and hardware component – the Nx Virtual Mix Room plugin and the optional Nx Head Tracker hardware . Like all Waves plug-ins , the Nx Virtual Mix Room installs via the Waves Central application .
Instantiating the plug-in and selecting your webcam as the tracking source loads the Waves Head Tracker application , which runs in the background . It immediately locks on to the user ’ s face / head position and translates its position into aviation terms like yaw , pitch , and roll . This information in turn manipulates the virtual room acoustics in direct relation to the user ’ s head position . Detailed adjustments are possible via a low light mode for enhanced face / head detection , by inputting the user ’ s head dimensions in the Head Modeling section for improved accuracy , and the ability to lock one ’ s head position in a selected sweet spot .
While the camera tracking approach is useful for self-recording / monitoring users who are either using laptops with built-in webcams or workstations with an attached camera , the situation becomes complicated in applications where the listener is either in poor lighting or for a listener who has no camera access , such as a vocalist tracking in a booth .
The Nx Head Tracker is designed to overcome those exact scenarios . The tracker is rectangular and diminutive , roughly double the size of the single AAA cell that powers it . It attaches to the top of your headphones with the included elastic strap , tracks your three-dimensional head movements , and sends that telemetry to the plug-in via Bluetooth . And because no facial recognition is used , up to 360-degree tracking is possible . Having the Nx tracking above 25 fps delivers optimum realism , so selecting low-light mode on the Camera + NX Tracker option ( which utilizes both the Head Tracker and webcam simultaneously and combines the advantages of each ) can bring the head tracking rate up to 80 fps .
Monitoring It ’ s recommended that the Nx be placed last in your master buss plug-in chain . Having said that , it must be physically bypassed when you print or bounce with this configuration . I found that tapping off the master buss out , feeding an aux with the Nx plug-in , and in turn sending that aux to a headphone amp eliminates the possibility of an inadvertent print of the Nx on a mix . Plus , that opens the door for an artist to use the Nx for monitoring . ( More on that later .)
The principle of the Nx system is the use of psychoacoustic technology to emulate a welltuned mix room so a user can make better mix decisions . In stereo mode , the virtual positions of the speakers can be adjusted from zero degrees ( mono ) to a very wide 180 degrees , defaulting to a standard of 60 degrees . Surround modes also allow for speaker adjustments , though in both cases , the subwoofer is not position adjustable .
There is also an ambience control meant to reduce the “ over-intimacy ” of headphone listening and place the mix into a virtual room . In my opinion , ambience is highly subjective and in this application is not adjustable , except for moving from a default setting of 25 . I found reducing the ambience level to a setting of 3-5 was just enough to move the mix outside of headphones ; higher settings reduced the intelligibility of the mix .
Just as speaker choices are critical to complementing your mix environment , it goes without saying that the quality of headphones is critical to your work in this application .
Sessions After critical listening in my “ optimum ” environment , the Nx was a very satisfying replication of a speaker set-up . The motion of the audio was dead accurate to my head movement but felt a bit obvious or washy as I tried to compensate by tweaking the ambience and speaker width parameters back and forth looking for their sweet spot . Having said that , the overall synthetic effect I was experiencing was slight and I had the Nx under surgical conditions deliberately to push it to the limit . Higher fps head tracking rates made it feel more realistic .
In reviewing the plug-in ’ s ambience option with a high transient source like a drum kit , I confirmed that less is more in my applications . I prefer a mix room on the deader side , with ambience being supplied by the actual mix . Your tastes may vary .
Using the Nx for an extended period , I felt no image shift switching from speakers to the Nx-enhanced headphone feed . Admittedly , after a while , mixes felt a touch less satisfying when monitoring in headphones without the Nx . Read : Addicting .
I brought a test vocalist into the studio and had her sing with the Nx engaged and she absolutely loved it , repeating words like “ real ,” “ live ,” and “ open .” Her pitch was better and her body language showed she was relaxed . As a result , her performance was improved . The implications here stretch beyond studio work ; think of all the performers using in-ear monitoring and the benefits they could enjoy from this technology .
Running the Nx in a surround session , I found it excitingly unusual to monitor 5.1 mixes through stereo headphones . I had the sensations of sound emanating from behind me , but I still missed the physicality of the surround environment .
One quick cheat : Even though its primarily designed as a monitoring plug-in , the Nx made a pretty cool down-and-dirty upmixer and spatial enhancer for individual tracks added to a mix .
Summary Waves has performed a pretty astounding feat with their psychoacoustic technology at a ridiculously affordable price point . Am I ready to give up speakers ? Not quite yet , but I could see a set-up with Nx being another option for mix monitoring , useful for mobile or in-transit mix work , or for performers who don ’ t enjoy wearing headphones .
In short , the Nx is amazing technology . I wouldn ’ t be a bit surprised if it becomes a staple in everyday virtual reality applications .
Richard Chycki is a multi-platinum mixer , engineer , and producer who has worked with acts including Rush , Dream Theater , Skillet , and Aerosmith .
20 • CANADIAN MUSICIAN