PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Neilson/Clyne
Tel: (615) 662-1616
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WAVES EXPANDS CONVOLUTION REVERB SERIES
AIMING FOR MARKET LEADERSHIP— Company offers IR surround version, light version, improved stereo version,
and a dedicated website for customer download of reverb samples —
NAMM WINTER SESSION, ANAHEIM, CA, January 20, 2005 — In a bid to position itself as the new leader in sampled reverb software, Waves Ltd. has expanded its IR Convolution Reverb plug-in series with the new IR-360, for multi-channel surround sound; IR-1 Version 2, which now lets users capture their own samples; and IR-L, an entry-level light version offering simpler controls. Waves has also developed www.Acoustics.net, a dedicated website offering a newly expanded library of downloadable impulse response samples created by the company and submitted by users.“We’re challenging the status quo by offering more products, better samples, and far more control over the sound than our competitors — all with the pristine sonic quality for which Waves is known,” commented Waves CEO Gilad Keren.
Waves first shook up the convolution reverb market with the original IR-1, the only sampling reverb to offer traditional reverb controls that affect the impulse response sample itself rather than just filtering the resulting sound. This approach retains the sample’s signature sound but allows much more flexible use than with conventional convolution reverbs. IR-360 is now the first surround sound convolution reverb to offer this control, and IR-360 and IR-1 Version 2 both now include newly added controls for even greater customization.
The setting of each environmental parameter can generally be varied from 0.25 to 4 times its natural value. For example, the user can vary the RT60 (reverberation time) of an actual sampled space, and change the size of that space. There are options to shape the decay envelope to suit the application, change the reverb density, analyze the frequency response and derive the room nodes, use de-correlation to optimize the stereophonic character of the reverb, and add gain and pre-delay to each portion of the reverb curve, among other controls. Exclusive filtering techniques enable the damping to be precisely controlled, while a 4-band parametric EQ allows tone adjustment of the reverberation.
A new feature now lets IR-360 and IR-1 Version 2 users capture the sound of acoustic spaces and hardware devices by playing an included sweep signal into an acoustic space or through an outboard processor and recording the result. The software then lets users import the recording to create a custom impulse response that’s ready to use.
Samples of actual environments in the newly expanded library employ a unique combination of microphone array, including ORTF, and Soundfield microphones mounted on a computer-controlled turntable, for accuracy and realism. Venues included well-known spaces such as the Sydney Opera House, Rome’s Santa Cecilia Concert Hall, Manhattan’s Birdland jazz club, and many more. Each was sampled from multiple locations, at 96 kHz and 32-bit floating point for maximum resolution, dynamic range, and SNR.
The IR-360
IR-360, initially available only in HTDM format, offers surround sound capabilities by adding extra modules to IR-1, so that authorization of a system for IR-360 also allows operation of IR-1 alone. Configurations available include mono and stereo to 5-channel Discrete Surround (doing 4 or 5 convolutions); mono to 5-channel Sound Field (3 convolutions); efficient stereo to 5-channel Sound Field (3 convolutions); and full stereo to 5-channel Sound Field (6 convolutions).In addition, two surround-to-surround options — Sound Field Surround to Surround (6 convolutions) and Efficient Discrete Surround to Surround (4 convolutions) employ mixdown techniques to deliver the maximum practical benefit and efficiency. Both components offer 5 to 5 and 5.1 to 5.1 with LFE passed to the output without additional processing.
The IR-1 Version 2
IR-1 has been upgraded to Version 2, with both HTDM and Native versions. Among other new features, Version 2 offers a Convolution Start Control, allowing users to trim the beginning of a sample to eliminate unwanted predelay; an ER (Early Reflections) Buildup Control for adjusting the buildup slope of early reflections to control the attack sound of the transients; and a Dry Gain Mode that offers adjustment of the wet and dry signal gains separately instead of mixing between them as with the traditional dry/wet control.The IR-L
The entry level plug-in is IR-L, which uses the same convolution engine and samples but with a more basic feature set. It can be upgraded to either the IR-1 or IR-360. IR-L is available in two versions: Native and HTDM. Controls include Reverb Time with a ratio of 1:0.25; Convolution Start/Length controls; Direct in/out; Global pre-delay to all IR components; Latency display and Dry delay; Dry/wet control; Crosstalk; Output; and graphical display of IR properties.In addition to the new releases, Waves is offering a set of IR libraries on DVD, with improved sound and additional miking options as well as surround versions for most sampled venues. A new library preset handling system organizes presets dynamically by scanning the preset folder and developing menu contents based on its findings. Existing and old IR libraries are supported.
www.Acoustics.net
In conjunction with the product line expansion, Waves unveiled a new web site, www.Acoustics.net, which enables users to upload, download and exchange IRs they have created along with providing access to papers and other information on the technology behind the system. The site acts as a repository for the captured impulse responses of historic and important acoustic environments, preserving them for posterity as originally proposed by the late Michael Gerzon at an AES forum almost 30 years ago (several Waves products and technologies employ research by Michael Gerzon, such as Ambisonics). In addition, Professor Angelo Farina of the University of Parma, Italy, has been deeply involved in this technology, contributing his vast experience in sampling acoustics to the IR development team.Waves’ IR Convolution Reverb plug-in series is available immediately with MSRPs as follows:
IR-360 — $1800 HTDM
IR-1 — $1200 HTDM/$800 Native
IR-L — $600 HTDM/$400 Native
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About Waves Ltd.:
Waves is a leading provider of audio DSP solutions for professional, broadcast, and consumer electronics audio markets. Waves has ten years of expertise in the development of psycho-acoustic signal processing algorithms that leverage knowledge on the human perception of hearing to radically improve perceived sound quality. Waves’ award-winning processors are utilized to improve sound quality in the creation of the world’s most popular music, movie soundtracks, and multimedia titles. Waves offers computer software solutions and hardware plus software solutions for the professional and broadcast markets. Waves also offers semiconductor with embedded software solutions under the Maxx brand for the consumer electronics audio applications. Waves’ Maxx technology dramatically enhances audio performance in consumer applications and has been licensed to several leading companies, including Motorola and Microsoft. For more information, visit the Waves web site at http://www.waves.com.Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
Waves Contacts:
North America Offices:
Waves, Inc., 306 West Depot Avenue, Suite 100, Knoxville, TN 37917;
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Waves Ltd., Azrieli Center, The Triangle Tower, 32nd Floor, 132 Derech Petach-Tikva,
Tel-Aviv 67027, Israel; Tel: 972-3-608-4000, Fax: 972-3-608-4056, Email: info@waves.com,
Web: http://www.waves.comWaves Public Relations:
Neilson/Clyne, Inc., 169-B Belle Forest Circle, Nashville, TN 37221;
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