Genelec has introduced Aural ID, a workstation personal plug-in for audio professionals working in music, film, broadcast, game audio design and academic research. According to the company, Aural ID helps such audio professionals confidently use and trust high-performance headphones for monitoring purposes by delivering a more truthful, reliable and completely personalized headphone listening experience, from stereo to immersive.
The Aural ID software technology is available in an easy-to-use DAW plug-in format.
Genelec says it uses simple video footage supplied by the user via the free Aural ID Creator mobile app to analyze how the user’s head, external ear and upper body affect and color the audio arriving from all directions. This effect is unique to every individual and is called the Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF). Aural ID’s cloud-based calculation engine then models the user’s head and upper torso features to calculate their HRTF. This information enables precise audio rendering in any direction within the Aural ID plug-in, which is available in VST, AAX and AU formats for easy integration into any DAW.
New to the plug-in version of Aural ID is compensation for the sound coloration that any headphones will introduce. There are two modes: a corrective EQ individually tailored for a library of specific headphone models within the plug-in and one that offers a more generalized response that supports any professional headphone model.
The Aural ID plug-in also allows users of Genelec Smart Active Monitors to import calibration files directly from Genelec’s GLM loudspeaker manager software. This helps the user to closely replicate the performance of their in-room monitoring system, creating a complete Genelec monitoring ecosystem with a more natural and satisfying connection between personalized in-room and headphone monitoring. The ability of the plug-in to create and store a virtual model of the user’s in-room monitoring setup further enhances the connection, allowing the intuitive solo and mute of any virtual monitor. Users can also perform fine adjustments of the virtual monitor spatial location, level alignment, listener orientation in azimuth and elevation, and total system equalization.
Aural ID empowers headphone users by giving them the confidence to switch between monitors and headphones freely, delivering mixes that translate consistently to the outside world.
Genelec Managing Director Siamäk Naghian
The Aural ID plug-in is available directly from the Genelec Cloud platform via a cloud-based subscription service, giving continuous access to the latest updates, future Aural ID features and immediate help desk access. Genelec has pricing options for both individuals and corporate/educational group licenses.
Commenting on the plug-in launch, Genelec managing director Siamäk Naghian explains:
“While we firmly believe that in-room loudspeaker monitoring is unrivaled during the recording and mixing process, high-quality headphones play an essential role as a supplementary monitoring tool. Aural ID empowers headphone users by giving them the confidence to switch between monitors and headphones freely, delivering mixes that translate consistently to the outside world. We’re also proud that Aural ID technology achieves this in a totally sustainable way, requiring no hardware changes or using otherwise precious natural resources. We feel sure that audio professionals will warmly embrace the new features, usability and flexible purchasing models that the Aural ID plug-in now offers.”