PSPaudioware’s latest release adds another handy utility plug-in to the company’s ever-growing product range, and offers a handy, all-in-one solution for tackling phase and timing issues in stereo and multi-miked sources.
Despite its name, PSP stereoAligner2 is actually a completely new plug-in, with PSPaudioware saying that the number in its name has been used so that the naming remains consistent with the other offerings in their stereoSeries line-up. The new tool can be used for everything from fine-tuning the sound of spaced mic arrays to matching the polarity of the top and bottom mics on a dual-miked snare, and offers detailed control over the likes of time alignment, phase adjustment, polarity, width, balance and gain.
A built-in goniometer offers a visual overview of the signal’s stereo information, while levels can be monitored using the plug-in’s peak meter. A set of buttons offer some useful functions such as polarity inversion (individual left/right and absolute options are provided), left/right swap and mono summing, with more in-depth adjustment provided by variable Delay, Balance, Width, Gain and Phase controls — the latter offers separate adjustment of phase across low, mid and high frequency bands.
The lower half of stereoAligner2's GUI.
Key Features
- Precise control of the phase between the left and right channel to fix inter-channel phase issues or to obtain a proper mono signal from a stereo recording.
- Detailed control of the inter-channel delay to fix inter-channel latency issues due to asymmetric distances between sound source and microphones.
- Control of the stereo balance whenever a stereo track has improperly adjusted levels between channels.
- Individual left or right and common left and right polarity flip to fix issues with polarity settings — kick/snare front/back or top/bottom microphones, for example.
- Channel swap function to tackle incorrectly swapped channels, routing issues on recordings or to simply choose the track’s most appropriate stereo layout in the mix.
- Goniometer (X-Y scope) to control the stereophonic properties of the output signal.
- Peak level meter to control the overall output digital peak level.
Compatibility
PSP stereoAligner2 is supported on PCs running Windows 7 or higher, and Macs running macOS 10.14 and above. VST, VST3, AU and AAX plug-in versions are available.
Pricing & Availability
PSP stereoAligner2 is available now, and is being offered at an introductory price of $49 until 10 December 2025, when it will increase to its full cost of $99. Additionally, anybody who purchases the plug-in during the introductory offer period will also receive early access to PSP’s upcoming stereoAnalyser2 metering plug-in one month before it officially launches.
