KVR Audio

greenmind72 · Post by **greenmind72** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 5:53 am

Hi All

I wanted to ask for people's thoughts on Can Opener Studio? I'm a newb, and hobbyist....perhaps this is overkill for me, but it caught my interest because I'm mainly using headphones as I learn to mix (and also because it's currently on sale).

I'm also interested in how this compares with (or complements) Toneboosters Morphit and Isone.....and likewise with the Sonarworks products. The Toneboosters tools seem to get good feedback here....but I suspect are doing different things compared to Can Opener Studio.

Thanks

Michael L · Post by **Michael L** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 7:15 am

They're totally different.

If you have no monitors, and want to enjoy the strong 'crossfeed' characteristics of speakers and add 2-band EQ, then Can Opener is a fast way to get a better spatial effect than the others.

If your concern is accuracy 'cuz you use cans to listen closely, only Morphit will compensate for the imperfect frequency response of your specific cans to make it 'flatter' and bring out missing qualities. I think its indispensable for that purpose.

If you want to hear how your mix will sound with different rooms, speaker sizes, and head sizes then Isone has more parameters to tweak than the others.

bmanic · Post by **bmanic** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:44 am

The best headphone correction combination I've ever found (and I've tried them all) is Goodhertz Can Opener Studio + Toneboosters Morphit (this is the order I run them in too).

It's amazing and highly recommended if you have any of the headphone models listed in Morphit.

MoodyB · Post by **MoodyB** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:49 am

As Michael L said, Morphit should be first on the shopping list if it supports your headphones.

dangayle · Post by **dangayle** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 7:05 pm

I always forget that I have these. Need to add them to my default template.

Liero · Post by **Liero** » Fri Mar 16, 2018 8:27 pm

bmanic wrote:The best headphone correction combination I've ever found (and I've tried them all) is Goodhertz Can Opener Studio + Toneboosters Morphit (this is the order I run them in too).

It's amazing and highly recommended if you have any of the headphone models listed in Morphit.

Why this combination in this order, do you know?

bmanic · Post by **bmanic** » Fri Mar 16, 2018 8:54 pm

No idea.. it's just the order I happen to have it in. As long as it's only filtering (which I guess it is) the order shouldn't matter. However there is a built in limiter in Morphit so I guess it makes sense to keep it last. Then again, I keep the limiter turned off and attenuate 6dB before the plugin chain to keep overs in check.

I'm not entirely sure how Can Opener Studio works though.. if there's anything more to it than simply filtering and crossfeeding stuff.

greenfly · Post by **greenfly** » Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:46 pm

[quote="bmanic"]No idea.. it's just the order I happen to have it in. /quote]

I put the can opener after sonarworks because it makes mixes sound a little wider and so tend to feel more informed about adding stereo width to tracks when I'm mixing in headphones.

Not sure if sonarworks is working the same way as morphit though. From what I remember Jeroen was using different logic in Morphit than what Sonarworks are doing with their headphone correction. I have both Morphit and Sonarworks on my template and either use Morphit or Sonarworks dependent on my mood but in both cases I put Can opener as the last item in the signal path.

It would be great to have a response from Jeroen on this given his credentials and background in psychophysics. I know from time to time he pops on to these boards.

Vortifex · Post by **Vortifex** » Wed Mar 21, 2018 9:34 pm

Deleted

Scoox · Post by **Scoox** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 2:52 am

I demoed Can Opener last night, I like how it sounds, but it's quite subtle. What does it actually do? Does it just apply some cross-feed and EQ? Or does it also apply HRTF processing?

plexuss · Post by **plexuss** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 3:19 am

I use Morphit and CanOpener together as well. I use Morphit over Sonarworks because Morph has a profile for my Stax. I go the opposite way: Morphit into CanOpener. It probably doesn't matter but my feeling is to EQ first and then process the stereo image with CanOpener.

plexuss · Post by **plexuss** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 3:21 am

Scoox wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2019 2:52 am I demoed Can Opener last night, I like how it sounds, but it's quite subtle. What does it actually do? Does it just apply some cross-feed and EQ? Or does it also apply HRTF processing?

I believe its cross-feed but its their own algo. Listen to the stereo image. When enagaged it should pull stuff that is more distinct in each ear, around more to the front. It gives me, at least, a sense of the side sources being more in front of me, like speakers. It's not totally in the front, just moved slightly to the front.

Scoox · Post by **Scoox** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 1:20 pm

plexuss wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2019 3:21 am
Scoox wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2019 2:52 am I demoed Can Opener last night, I like how it sounds, but it's quite subtle. What does it actually do? Does it just apply some cross-feed and EQ? Or does it also apply HRTF processing?
I believe its cross-feed but its their own algo. Listen to the stereo image. When enagaged it should pull stuff that is more distinct in each ear, around more to the front. It gives me, at least, a sense of the side sources being more in front of me, like speakers. It's not totally in the front, just moved slightly to the front.

Maybe it's just cross-feed, EQ and a (very) pretty GUI? I have used FL Studio's stock plugin Fruity Stereo Shaper and I can get it to sound very close to Can Opener.

In my opinion, Can Opener doesn't succeed in creating emulating speakers. It feels more like speakers than raw headphones, but it's far from the real thing. The real breakthrough would be a headmount multi-axis MIDI controller that's mapped to the speaker emulation software parameters to create a more realistic listening experience.

Jopmanajop · Post by **Jopmanajop** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 1:58 pm

This is what CanOpener does to the sound (Realistic mode). Cuts the lows in the side channel and creates those peaks and dips due to delay between channels. And yes, this is one of the most transparent crossfeed plugins. Another one is Airwindows Monitoring in "Cans C" mode (free). There are also Redline Monitor with extreme narrowing and Cans2Cones which is unusually extreme, but surprisingly helpful
For headphone mixing, mastering or just listening crossfeed is a must, better than "room simulation" plugins with their distracting reverb and phase issues

teilo · Post by **teilo** » Sun Nov 17, 2019 1:22 am

I have all of these plugins, as well as Sonarworks Reference. My preference is Sonarworks and CanOpener.

I use Reference and CanOpener in that order. It probably doesn't matter which order you have them when using Reference with a generic headphone profile as there is no difference between L and R correction curves, but if you have a custom profile from headphones you sent to Latvia, or purchased from them directly, then you definitely want Reference before CanOpener so that it flattens the L and R channels before CanOpener applies its crossover algorithm.

I can understand using Morphit only in those circumstances where Sonarworks does not have a profile for your headphones. But otherwise, the profiles in Sonarworks, IMO, are superior to Morphit. When you compare the two, it's like the Morphit measurement setup is lacking in sensitivity on the lows and mids, and thus under-corrects. I use Beyer Dynamics 990 Pros, which are supported in both plugins. The Sonarworks profile is definitely flatter to my ears. Morphit ends up with over-emphasized highs.

As for Isone: It just does too much. It's nice as a room simulation, so for listening fatigue it's good for longer sessions, but I prefer the crossover algorithm in CanOpener. If I want a room simulation, I throw Valhalla Room on after CanOpener with a 0.2s decay on the Medium Room setting @ 50% mix. It achieves about the same result.

As for monitoring scenarios, i.e., when if you must mix or master on headphones, CanOpener all the way.

Goodhertz Can Opener Studio and Toneboosters Morphit/Isone