A couple of weeks ago, we received an intriguing email from Inspired Acoustics, best known until now for the pipe organ samples they’ve created for the Hauptwerk platform. They were finishing up development of an intriguing new reverb processor called Inspirata, and it has just now gone on sale.
Inspirata takes a new approach to reverb design that aims to offer both the realism of convolution and the flexibility of algorithmic reverb generation. Although it’s based on extensive real-world measurements, Inspired Acoustics say that Inspirata is neither a convolution nor an algorithmic processor, but something they call a 'computational reverb'.
In essence, what Inspired Acoustics have done is capture impulse responses for thousands of source/listener positions within each space, and then used these to create a simulation that enables sources to be positioned anywhere and freely moved within the recreated space. Parameters such as source and listener position can be automated without any clicks or glitches; you can even change the entire room model instantaneously without mishaps, which should please dubbing mixers whose CPUs are on the brink. Being a multichannel plug-in, Inspirata also will let you send multiple sources into multiple different positions in the virtual space — and output its reverb to formats up to a whopping 22.2-channel surround.
Inspirata was apparently created by a team of practising acoustic consultants — an expertise that shows in the tech-heavy press release they've sent — but our early experiments have proven it to be an uncannily realistic reverb that offers an unprecedented quality of ‘being there’.
Inspirata is available in a number of versions. Immersive is aimed at the movie and video-game post-production markets, and carries a price of €1999. It allows you to mix up to 48 sources in 22.2 surround, at sample rates up to 384kHz. Down from that is the Professional edition (€599), which can accommodate 16 sources, surround sound up to 7.2, and sample rates up to 96kHz. The Personal edition costs €209, and is aimed at music producers who only require a stereo-in/stereo-out reverb. Finally, Inspirata Lite costs €99, and has only two preset positions for source and listener. However, Inspired Acoustics are generously giving Lite away for free, to anyone who signs up for it by 31st January 2021 — click HERE for more info.
Stay tuned for an in-depth review in an upcoming edition of Sound On Sound.
