Waves Audio Nx – Virtual Mix Room over Headphones User Guide
Virtual Mix Room
User Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 – Introduction ............................................................... 3
1.1 Welcome ............................................................................................................................ 3
1.2 Product Overview ............................................................................................................. 3
1.3 Components ...................................................................................................................... 4
Chapter 2 – Quick Start Guide ...................................................... 5
Chapter 3 – In
3.1 Interface ............................................................................................................................. 7
3.2 Controls ........................................................................................................................... 10
INPUT METERS ................................................................................................................................... 10
HEAD TRACKING ................................................................................................................................. 11
VIRTUAL MIX ROOM WINDOW (Mono, Stereo, and Surround) ......................................................... 12
VIRTUAL MIX ROOM WINDOW (Ambisonics Component) ................................................................. 14
HEAD MODELING ............................................................................................................................... 15
ROOM AMBIENCE .............................................................................................................................. 16
SPEAKER POSITION ............................................................................................................................. 17
OUTPUT METERS ................................................................................................................................ 18
HEADPHONE EQ ................................................................................................................................. 19
terface and Controls ............................................... 7
Chapter 4 – The Head Tracking Application ............................... 20
4.1 Camera Tab ..................................................................................................................... 20
4.2 Bluetooth Tracker Tab .................................................................................................... 21
4.3 Connecting the Nx Head Tracker .................................................................................. 23
Appendix A – Inputs/Outputs in the Surround Components ....... 24
Appendix B – Tr
oubleshooting Guide ......................................... 27
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Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room – User Guide
Chapter 1 – Introduction
1.1 Welcome
Thank you for choosing Waves. In order to get the most out of your Waves processor, please
take the time to read through this manual.
We also suggest you become familiar with www.waves.com/support. There you will find an
extensive answer base, the latest tech specs, detailed installation guides, new software
updates, and current information on licensing and registration.
By signing up at www.waves.com, you will receive personalized information on your registered
products, reminders when updates are available, and more.
1.2 Product Overview
The Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room plugin is a virtual monitoring tool that allows you to hear the
ideal acoustics of a high-end mix room – inside your headphones.
When you monitor on headphones, Nx allows you to experience your mix in the spatial context
of a highly optimized studio control room, with either a stereo or a surround speaker
configuration. It lets you judge mix depth, panning, stereo image, balance and reverb with
confidence, giving you an accurate representation of how your headphone mix will translate to
speakers. Paired with your favorite headphone set, it will provide you a good and reliable
reference point for your mix.
Nx is a binaural processing plugin. It uses state-of-the-art mathematical modeling of human
psychoacoustics to achieve a natural, immersive and transparent spatial sound over
headphones. For enhanced realism, Nx can also track your head movements in real time.
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Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room – User Guide
1.3 Components
Nx has several components to support different input channel settings: mono, stereo, 5.0, 5.1,
7.1 surround and Ambisonics B-format (1
stereo signal containing all the mix channels in their virtual positions, and playing to the L and R
channels of your headphones:
Each of the surround components, as well as the Ambisonics component, has two versions –
one with the same number of input and output channels (though only the L and R outputs are
playing audio), and one with only two output channels:
Nx contains these components:
• Mono to Stereo
• Stereo to Stereo
st
order AmbiX). The output of Nx is always a binaural
• 5.0 to Stereo
• 5.0 to 5.0 (only L and R outputs play audio)
• 5.1 to Stereo
• 5.1 to 5.1 (only L and R outputs play audio)
• 7.1 to Stereo
• 7.1 to 7.1 (only L and R outputs play audio)
st
order AmbiX Ambisonics-to-Stereo (on Quad channels)
• 1
st
order AmbiX Ambisonics-to-Quad (on Quad channels, only L and R outputs play)
• 1
See Appendix A at the end of this user guide for more information on the inputs/outputs of the
surround components.
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Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room – User Guide
Chapter 2 – Quick Start Guide
1. Since Nx is a monitoring-only plugin, insert only one instance of NX plugin on your master
buss (not on individual tracks). Make sure that the plugin is bypassed when you later
bounce the mix.
2. Open the plugin, and the head tracking application will automatically open as well. This
application can use your computer’s camera or the Nx Head Tracker to track your head
movements. The application will automatically initiate the camera tracking, scan for Nx Head
Tracker device/s, and connect to them if any are found. The plugin will automatically detect
that the camera or the Nx Head Tracker is active and connect to it. You can also select
manually which one to work with. (Please refer to chapter 4 for more details on the head
tracking application.)
Basic instructions for good camera tracking:
(a) Make sure there is enough light in the room to enable a tracking rate of at least 20
frames per second. Webcams generally have a tracking rate of up to 30 fps. The optimal
rate is anywhere between 25 and 30 fps.
(b) Be no more than 5-6 feet away from the camera (optimal distance varies by camera)
(c) Move no further than 30 degrees left or right relative to the camera.
Basic instructions for connecting an Nx Head Tracker:
(a) Have your system’s Bluetooth turned on.
(b) Open the Nx Virtual Mix Room plugin.
(c) Power up the Nx Head Tracker:
Mac: The head tracking application will automatically connect to the Nx Head Tracker.
Windows: Pair the Nx Head Tracker in your system’s Bluetooth settings. The head
tracking application will then automatically connect to the Nx Head Tracker.
(d) Select the Nx Head Tracker in the Tracking Device menu of the Nx Virtual Mix Room
plugin.
(e) Mount the Nx Head Tracker on the top of the headphone arc with the logo side facing
forward. L and R on the Nx Head Tracker device should correspond to L and R on your
headphones. Inaccurate positioning of the Nx Head Tracker will result in inaccurate head
tracking.
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Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room – User Guide
3. Now move your head around, and see the virtual head in the GUI of the Nx Virtual Mix
Room move in sync with you. Note that in many DAWs, you will need to play audio first in
order for the virtual head to start moving.
4. Decide where you want to be located, and press the Sweet Spot button in the Head
Tracking section, on the left side of the Nx plugin interface. This will now be your center
position in the Virtual Mix Room.
5. Listen to the audio you’re playing. Take a few minutes to let your ears adjust to the effect.
Listen to a good reference you’re familiar with.
The default values of the plugin’s controls are a good place to start. We recommend you
wait a bit before you start playing with the Room Ambience and Speaker Position knobs.
6. To get the most out of Nx, it is highly recommended that you set the values in the Head
Modeling section to your own individual head measurements. For detailed information on
how to do this and why, read below.
If you choose not to enter your individual head measurements, it is recommended that you
stick with the default values, which are the average for the human population. Radical
departures from the recommended values will seriously distort the effect.
7. A tip on using Nx for surround monitoring on your regular headphones:
Each Nx surround option (5.0, 5.1, 7.1) has two different versions – surround-to-surround
and surround-to-stereo. For example, when you open Nx on a 5.1 surround session, you
can either choose either regular 5.1 component, or the 5.1-to-Stereo component.
If you just want to route surround audio to your stereo headphones, the simplest way to do
this is to choose the surround-to-stereo component (5.1-to-Stereo or 5.0-to-Stereo).
If you do not want to change the routing settings of your existing session, use the surround-
to-surround component (5.1-to-5.1 or 5.0-to-5.0). You will then need to route the L and R
channels to your headphones, either from the I/O settings of your DAW or from an external
patch.
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Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room – User Guide
Chapter 3 – Interface and Controls
3.1 Interface
7.1 Surround Component
5.1 Surround Component
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Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room – User Guide
5.0 Surround Component
Stereo Component
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Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room – User Guide
Mono Component
Ambisonics 1st order AmbiX Component
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Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room – User Guide
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