Hi everybody,

I just wanted to ask if there is an software-only alternative to Focusrites VRM BOX, to compare different soundsytems/speakers with only headphones.

Thnx


the original thread about the hardware:
http://audiosex.pro/index.php?/topic/65-focusrite-vrm-box/

 

Comparing sound systems/speakers with headphones............................................ YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

 

To be honest I'm not sure if this really makes that much sense... I mean comparing MONITORS with HEADPHONES?

But I'm thinking of Toneboosters Plugins:
http://www.toneboosters.com/tb-isonesurround/ <-- Surround simulation, free
http://www.toneboosters.com/tb-omnisone/ <-- Spatial Image editor, free
http://www.kvraudio.com/product/tb-isone-by-toneboosters <-- Surround simulation, extended version of the first one, 15 €

Theres also Redline Monitor by 112db
http://www.112db.com/redline/monitor/ <-- 99 €, costs as much as VRM Box, so I would rather buy the VRM box

hope one of these could help *yes*

 

http://www.112db.com/redline/monitor/

http://www.toneboosters.com/tb-isone/

I have tried the aforementioned plugins. Isone is free and there was a [k] redline around a few ywars ago, and they were ok. I have the VRM Box and for me it was a game changer. It DOES NOT replace proper room treatment or hardware monitors, but it gives you a consistent mix environment that you can carry around with you along with your cans. If you go and mix elsewhere, you can trust your second reference remains stable.

 

All these new promising tools to simulate different monitors make me laugh a lot.

If it would be possible to listen to the most expensive monitors with cheep ones or headphones,
that would make these useless...!

The main point is..., that you have low quality headphones compared to hi quality monitors.
There is no physical way to realize this !!! It just can't !!!

Turn on your brain and think about this again !
Don't get fooled..., by false promises.

There is no way around as to train your ears, have more systems and learn how they sound.
With time you learn how your system has to sound to be good on all systems.

Have some good real monitors and some crap PC-Speakers to compare your mixes.
Listen to very good quality CD's and compare your sound against it. (Big helper and never fails...)

Those magic boxes or software promising to sound like expensive ones are made to make money of
people who are insecure and seek for a short way to their problems.

Have faith in your self, learn it the right way and stay away from those things.

That money you don't spend on these fakes is more money you have for real monitors.

cheers

 

I believe it's more of a marketing gimmick than anything really useful, too. Toneboosters plugin does everything this box does for free. And a proper room with proper monitors [still] can't be emulated. There's just so much variables in a speaker [like dynamic response], other than frequency response, and in the room. Just think about it. No way. ;) But also, it can come in handy for a quick check of how it possibly would sound on a lower quality audio system.

 

Thnx for the links everybody.

I know that there is no 100% comparison with real gear but to have something to make a subjective idea of...

 

So did i with all those Guitar Amp sims that poped-up a decade ago.
Nowadays i can hardly tell the difference if it is a real Amp or an Amp-sim.

So don´t laugh in a couple of years the technique may have developed so much that they can actually simulate an expensive monitors like they nowadays can simulate expensive guitar amps.

Although it´s always gonna be a little difference between simulation and real things
But if it´s a very little difference like when you compare a guitar amp-sims with a real amp today (its always that "moving air" experience)i cant see why i wouldn´t try one of those in the future when they have "refined" the gadget.

 

Interesting post.

I've been using the VRM box for a few months now and my mixes have improved tremendously. I have a set of Dynaudio BM5A monitors, and while they are great to mix with, I hear the benefit in trying different references, whether it be virtual or the actual environment. If I play my tracks in the car for example, I hear unpleasant resonances that I couldn't distinguish with the monitors. But after using the VRM box, alot of those resonances were audible in some settings, and ultimately corrected.

I tried the Toneboosters plugs that were mentioned, and while they were effective, the quality was not comparable the VRM box. They are free, so go figure. I will definitely incorporate them into my mixing process, but more as an effect instead of an actual reference.

Is it a gimmick? To the cynical perhaps, or to those who have never used it. Discounting virtual references is like discounting a company like NI for creating virtual grand pianos; there is nothing that will replace actually sitting in front of and playing that piano, but the digital sampling is "good enough" so to speak. The typical listener can't distinguish the sound quality between a 128 Kbps mp3 and a 24 bit wav file, so I don't think they will care if you mixed in a set of virtual monitors.

Last but not least, make sure you have a good set of cans.

 

Just discovered this free plugin, may it helps?
http://bedroomproducersblog.com/2013/04/11/virtual-studio-by-beyerdynamic/