New Music Gear Monday: Acustica Audio Sienna Headphone Mixing Plugin

Headphone room simulation plugins are all the rage these days and for good reason – they really do help provide a reasonable simulation of a good playback environment so you can get better mixes using just headphones. While most of the plugins in this category focus on simulating one particular studio environment, Acustica Audio has come up with a different approach with its new Sienna plugin, offering a wide variety of studios, listening devices and speaker system simulations.

At its core, Sienna is fairly simple if you want it to be. There are 3 levels to the plugin. The fastest and easiest is called Reference since it provides a minimum of control. Here you’re able to select the headphones that you’re using from the more than 180 different models available, then adjust the 3 controls to taste – Dry/Wet, something called Magic Q, and Output. Magic Q adjusts the simulation algorithm so if you turn it to the left you’ll get what the company refers to as a “more clinical sound,” while turning it to the right makes it more euphonic. You can then store these settings if you’re using more than one set of headphones.

The next plugin level is called Rooms. Here you’re able to select from a variety of room simulations (the number of choices depends upon the package that you buy), choose a “Smart Preset” that will change the sound of your chosen room, then set the 3 main controls. This time, Dry/Wet becomes Input Trim that helps simulate between clean and cranked monitors, a Depth control, and the same Output control.

If you still can’t get what you want or you’re a relentless tweak-head, then there’s Guru mode, which allows you to adjust a wide array of room simulation parameters.

Sienna comes in 3 different packages. Volume A comes with simulations of 3 studios, 7 different high-end monitors, and 2 consumer devices. Volume B brings 6 more control rooms and 9 more monitor speakers, and Volume C features 27 more monitors, including audiophile speakers and consumer devices. You must purchase Volume A before you can add on the additional volumes. It’s currently available in VST, AU, AAX formats and at sample rates up to 96kHz.

Volume A has an introductory price of $105 (normally $175) available until April 18th. Volumes B and C are available for $81 each.

You can find out more here, or watch the video below for a quick overview of Sienna Reference.

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