Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room Plugin Now Compatible with Multiple Head Trackers for Recording Sessions; Waves plugins updated (April 19th, 2017 / v9.91)

Waves Audio has introduced two Nx combos with multiple Nx Head Trackers: the Nx Virtual Mix Room plugin + 6 Nx Head Trackers ($375 intro - save $198), and the Nx Head Tracker 5-Pack ($295 intro - save $100). These combos enable improved headphone monitoring during recording and mixing sessions with multiple participants.

Waves has also announced a new version of Waves plugins (April 19th, 2017 / v9.91), available for download via Waves Central.

Powered by Waves' Nx technology, Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room is a virtual monitoring plugin that simulates the ideal acoustics of a high-end mix room inside any set of headphones. Nx lets you hear the same natural depth, natural reflections and panoramic stereo image you would be hearing from speakers in an actual room, turning your headphones into a more reliable mixing and monitoring tool by letting you hear everything with real-world dimension, rather than flat in your head.

The Nx plugin has now been updated to work with up to six Nx Head Trackers at the same time. This allows as many as six musicians (or five musicians and one engineer) to hear Nx simultaneously in their headphones while recording. Alternatively, two (or more) mixing engineers can now use Nx to mix together on headphones.

Having the right headphone monitor mix is often what separates an average recording session from a great one. With Nx, recording engineers can provide the musicians with clearer, more open headphone mixes that spread across the full three-dimensional audio spectrum, as if you were listening to monitors in a real room. This provides a better recording experience, as the musicians enjoy a more open, uncongested mix, with greater detail and clarity, and can deliver great performances more easily.

When recording vocals in particular, Nx helps the vocalist perform better by reducing the effect of hearing their inner voice, in that it moves the sound from inside the head to the outside – thus staying true to how the singer is used to hearing and perceiving his or her voice in playback. This contributes to an overall more natural vocal performance while also reducing the potential for out-of-tune singing. Also, since vocalists are often not accustomed to hearing themselves through headphones, Nx makes them feel comfortable and helps them to stay in tune.

Changes in Waves plugins v9.91 / April 19th, 2017, update:

• Version 9.91 across-the-board update of all Waves plugins.
• All plugins now have control mapping for Avid S3 and S6 control surfaces.
• H-EQ: New H-EQ Lite components that require less CPU and are well suited for live sound or when processing resources are limited. They do not include the Spectrum Analyzer and Analog sections.
• H-EQ: New Solo function - Any parametric band can now be soloed by touching its Frequency, Q, or Gain controls. This provides a momentary check of the band's processing. For a latching solo of a band, click on its solo button.
• H-EQ: New Smooth feature which eliminates noises that can occur while controls are moved in certain older H-EQ versions. When a session with instances of older H-EQ versions loads, 'Smooth' will automatically set to Off. New instances of H-EQ in new or old sessions will load with Smooth On.
• Nx Virtual Mix Room: Support for up to 6 Nx Head Trackers at the same time.
• Nx Virtual Mix Room: Nx Head Trackers can be renamed from the WavesHeadTracker application. The name is permanent and saved on the Nx Head Tracker device itself.
• Nx Virtual Mix Room: The Head Tracker's status color is now also shown in the plugin's tracking device drop down menu.
• Waves Central 1.3.1.4: Support for installing version 9.91.