Wave Arts Panorama 7

The Sequencer view, which allows you to create ‘waypoints’ between which the pan path is interpolated.

Can a plug‑in really convey the impression of 3D spatial panning on both headphones and stereo loudspeakers?

Several DAWs include a binaural panner, but Wave Arts’ Panorama 7 takes the concept further. It uses 3D audio and acoustic environment modelling algorithms to simulate the way sound behaves in real spaces, and it works not only on headphones but can create a 3D output that works with stereo speakers too. An important feature is that it includes boundary reflections: as the sound is moved around the virtual space, the reflections change, reinforcing the illusion that sources are moving around the listener. AU, VST and AAX hosts are supported, on Mac OS and Windows.

As the sound is moved around the virtual space, the reflections change, reinforcing the illusion that sources are moving around the listener.

The most significant addition in this version is a ‘pan sequencer’, which can automatically move the pan position of mono or stereo sources between user‑defined ‘waypoints’ around the head icon in the middle of the virtual space. This can be thought of as a surround auto‑panner, and the sequencer has note value options and multipliers, so that the panning effect can be tempo‑sync’ed. (If you prefer to control the panning path using DAW automation, you can do that in the usual way.) Panning can...