The Stereo Width Ear Trainer allows you to create stereo space in multiple ways and hear how each sound. Placing sounds on a virtual stage, it also test whether you can correctly identify width cues without resorting to loudness. You can have precise control by using your computer keyboard or by simply clicking and dragging with your mouse.
For starters, choose a sound source on the stage area. Press keys 1, 2 or 3 on your keyboard to toggle between Spark, Chords and Pulse sources. After choosing a source, use arrow keys to pan them left and right (horizontal axis) and up and down (depth, vertical axis). If you hold Shift as you hit an arrow key, you’ll move the source in bigger increments. Alternatively, just click and drag the source pucks around on stage using your mouse.
How to Use the Stereo Width Ear Trainer
In the Width section, there are five choices for how the stereo image is created. Click Method buttons to choose one. Coincident Mono sets all sources to center. Pan constellation uses equal power panning. Adding a small amount of delay on opposite channel creates width (Haas Halo). Increasing the difference signal between two channels expands the width (M/S stretch). Opposite polarity create a wide effect (Phase trap) that might not translate well in mono.
To further adjust the sound, use sliders found under the method buttons. The Field width slider adjust the intensity of the selected stereo effect. If you choose the Haas halo method then the Haas offset slider set the delay time. The L/R balance slider moves the mix between the two speakers, either to the left or right. Finally, the Room level slider control the overall master volume for the stage.
With the Monitor matrix, you can break down what’s going on in your mix. The stereo L/R is your regular mix. Mid microscope sums the channels to isolate the content in the middle of the stereo image. The side microscope subtracts the channels to isolate the stereo difference material. Left speaker alone: Hears that channel as a mono signal. Right speaker alone: Lets you hear that channel in mono. The mono sum bench combines the two channels to show cancellations or other phase issues.
As you tweak the controls, watch the Correlation meter and Vectorscope. The former is measuring plus or minus one on how well the two sides (mid and side) correlate. A value near plus one is good if the audio is played back in mono. Near zero or negative suggest possible phase issues which may cause the mix to collapse when summed to mono. The latter, the vectorscope, depicts the relationship of the mid and side signals. A wide horizontal trace means lots of stereo information, whereas a vertical trace mean mono.
Level: Listen in Blindfold Spatial Round: Click Deal to start another spatial round. (There are several modes for this.) Duel Mode, Width: You will hear two fields. Which one do you think is wider? For Order Mode, Width, rank three fields from narrowest to widest. In Cause Mode, diagnose the width cause by identifying the processing method used to create the sound. Click on the audition button for each option and listen as many times as desired before making your selection.
When you click the Bloom soundstage button, all sources animate from center outward to create a smooth visual and audio transition into the chosen width method. The mono fold test lets you listen to the first four beats in stereo and then four more that are summed to mono, so you can quickly check if your current settings cause any phase issue. Place source on center mark resets the selected source to the middle of the stage.
You will get the best results using headphones. You would of gotten the best results using headphones. They will provide a consistent stereo image without your room’s acoustics interfering with phase cues. For example, the Side microphone mode really lets you isolate the stereo difference signal effectivey when using headphones.
Turn down the volume a bit to prevent fatigue from extended use. Play with the Haas halo and Phase trap options on your own and listen to what they do in mono. Something that sounds wide in stereo often ends up comb filtering or losing energy when summed to mono. The correlation meter will alert you if it’s getting near this dangerous territory. Knowing the risk makes you a more informed mix engineer when delivering to various playback systems.
At the top is a quick reference guide to tips and controls in the help panel. Expand or collapse by clicking How to play. You can also use the fullscreen button to make the widget expand across your screen so that you get a better look at the meters and stage. Customize your view and take advantage of the tips as you practice.
First try it on the stage using a few sources and listen to what each method does to their location. Next go to the training section and see if you can perceive the width of the sound. Using these tools regularly will train your ear to spot any problems with stereo imaging in your mix. Enjoy experimenting with the stereo field.