Lewitt – purveyor of microphones and pro audio gear – has just released its very first plugin, and it could be a godsend for mix engineers. If you’re unable to get down to a studio, club, or simply working on the go, Lewitt’s Space Replicator is a quick and convenient way to to test out your mix in its intended environment.
The Space Replicator plugin virtually emulates the acoustics of different spaces, from “million-dollar mixing studios”, to a bluetooth speaker playing in a kitchen.
Lewitt’s new plugin comes loaded with a wide range of possible listening scenarios. You can emulate the sound of a Lewitt studio, or you can even take a trip overseas to the Vienna Synchron Stage recording studios or Berlin’s Watergate club PA and DJ booth (both with and without a crowd).
You can also scale things down to more everyday scenarios. The plugin allows you to check how your mix might sound on a car radio (from four different positions), as well as in a living room on a smartphone or laptop. You can even hear how it might sound coming from a TV speaker or soundbar in a living room.
Space Replicator also allows you to hear how your mix might sound through five different headphone brands. There’s also a Transparent option, which should simulate the ideal frequency response on your headphones. The result was determined by a panel, and should, in theory, just make your mix sound great.
The plugin was created by capturing real acoustic spaces and turning them into “virtual acoustic spaces with extremely high resolution”.
“The perception of sound depends on the room, the speaker system, and the listener,” a company representative explains. “Traditional solutions [suggest] that the direction of sound waves is a property of the room and the speaker system… [they neglect] your individual binaural profile.”
“By rendering the spaces for your personal binaural profile… you will get a lifelike experience,” they say.
Audio engineer Wytse Gerichhausen of White Sea Studio has already given it a seal of approval. “When Lewitt approached me to sample my studio for their plugin, I was skeptical – as I always am,” he says. “But the moment I tried Space Replicator I struggled to tell the difference between my real speakers and the simulation. That says a lot.”
Space Replicator works with any pair of headphones, and costs £89. For more information, head to Lewitt.
