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Parsec faceplate in Studies
Studies

Parsec

3D Perception Creature

Part of Studies

A subscription opens all of Studies, in two plugins (Studies Effects and Studies Instruments), with new devices as we release them.

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Or own the plugin

Price: $20

The original plugin with its own interface, as a one-time purchase.

 See the standalone interface

Description

Parsec is a spatial manipulation device that scatters sounds through the stereo field in three dimensions. Set an exact location, or use the modulator to throw them wildly around the room.

It works two ways. SPEAKERS mode is an effect for studio monitors, built from minute phase offsets and filtering. BINAURAL mode uses HRTF encoding for precise placement on headphones, so foley mixers and game composers can put their sounds in a head-spinning 3D space.

Parsec in the Handbook

Signal path

In SPEAKERS mode, SHIFT delays one channel and TRANSFER filters the two sides against each other. In BINAURAL mode, Parsec sums your input to mono and places it with AZIMUTH and ALTITUDE. The imaging LFO moves whichever mode is playing. SPREAD adds a high-passed layer on top in both modes, and BLEND mixes the result with your dry sound.

  1. Imaging LFO

    MOD
    Sets how much a sine LFO moves the imaging controls. In SPEAKERS mode it shortens the SHIFT delay a little and pulls both TRANSFER filters down. In BINAURAL mode it swings the sound around the AZIMUTH setting, and at full MOD the sound travels between straight ahead and twice the angle you set. It moves ALTITUDE more gently. At high MOD and RATE settings the quick changes start to sound like tremolo.
    RATE
    Sets the speed of the LFO, from 0.001 to 5 Hz.

  2. 3D imager

    SHIFT
    In SPEAKERS mode, SHIFT delays one channel by up to 3 ms. Turn it left of center to delay the left side and right of center to delay the right. It's very sensitive, so start with small moves.
    TRANSFER
    In SPEAKERS mode, TRANSFER sweeps a low-pass filter on each side in opposite directions, between 1 kHz and 15 kHz. Turn it left to darken the left side and right to darken the right. At the center both sides sit at 8 kHz. Combine it with SHIFT for a wide range of spatial effects.
    AZIMUTH
    In BINAURAL mode, AZIMUTH sets the horizontal angle, from -720 to +720 degrees, with straight ahead at the center. That's two full turns around your head in each direction.
    ALTITUDE
    In BINAURAL mode, ALTITUDE sets the vertical angle, from -40 degrees below the horizontal plane up to 90 degrees, straight over your head.
    MODE
    Switches between SPEAKERS for a standard stereo setup and BINAURAL for headphones, with a short crossfade. BINAURAL sums your input to mono and runs at 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz only. At other sample rates the switch reads NO HRTF and Parsec stays in SPEAKERS. You can also use BINAURAL with speakers for some unusual effects.

  3. Spread

    SPREAD
    Adds a high-passed copy of your input on top of either mode, with the left side delayed by up to 5 ms. Turning it up raises the cutoff from 300 Hz to 5 kHz and makes the copy louder. Add it for extra sparkle on guitars, foley and percussion.

  4. Master

    BLEND
    Sets the mix between your dry input and the spatial sound. It starts fully wet.
    GAIN
    Sets the output level, from silent up to double. Noon is unity.

Try thisIn BINAURAL mode, MOD swings the sound around the current AZIMUTH, so with AZIMUTH at the center the sound stays put. Turn AZIMUTH off center first, then raise MOD to set the sound orbiting your head.

Demo
This video shows the standalone plugin.
Good to know

In Studies

Parsec is in Studies Effects, under Spatial. In the standalone plugin the knobs change with the mode. In Studies we put all four on the 3D IMAGER card and added BLEND, which starts fully wet so Parsec sounds the way it always has.

HRTF data

The HRTF data files in Parsec are the result of a Discrete Fourier Transform of the measurements made in the MIT Media Lab by Bill Gardner and Keith Martin.

Bundle

The standalone plugin is also part of the Space Kit.

Formats
Studies: Audio Units, VST2 and VST3 on Mac, VST3 on Windows · Apple silicon native
Systems
Current macOS and Windows 10/11 x64
Parsec | 3D Perception Creature

Standalone version

The original plugin with its own interface, as a one-time purchase.

AU · VST2 · VST3 · macOS · Windows