Nx Ocean Way Nashville is a Waves studio utility plugin that replicates the acoustics and monitoring of the Ocean Way Nashville control rooms over any pair of headphones. It is designed to help producers create headphone mixes that translate to speakers.
Mixing on headphones often means judging depth, balance and reverb in a space that feels closed in. Nx Ocean Way Nashville uses Waves Nx immersive audio technology to place your headphone mix inside the acoustics of Ocean Way Nashville's control rooms, with monitoring modeled on the studio's Ocean Way HR1 and HR5 far and near-field monitors. The developer says it was designed and approved with Ocean Way founder Allen Sides, aiming to make headphone decisions more reliable for mixes that need to hold up on other systems.
The plugin recreates the control room environment rather than only adding a generic stereo effect. You can judge mix depth, balance, stereo imaging and reverb within the modeled room. Waves says the goal is to avoid the closed-in feeling that many producers associate with mixing on headphones.
You can also adjust how much studio ambience you hear, so you can dial the room sound up or down depending on the decision you are making.
Nx Ocean Way Nashville includes EQ correction for over 270 headphone models, which the developer presents as a way to get a more accurate response from the headphones you already own. A personalized head anatomy calibration is also included to improve the precision of the response.
For added realism, optional head tracking is available through a webcam or the Nx Head Tracker, which is sold separately.
Formats, systems and requirements as listed by Plugin Boutique. Missing details are left out, not guessed.
| Developer | Waves |
|---|---|
| Type | Plugin |
| Category | Utility |
| Formats | VST2, AU, AAX |
| Operating systems | Windows, macOS |
It is available in VST2, AU and AAX formats. The listed operating systems are Windows and macOS, with macOS Monterey 12 through Sequoia 15 supported for VST, AU and AAX, and Windows 10 and later for VST and AAX.
You need a compatible host that supports VST2, AU or AAX on Windows or macOS. Optional head tracking requires a webcam or the Nx Head Tracker, which is sold separately.
The plugin is designed to work over any pair of headphones, and it includes EQ correction for over 270 headphone models to improve response accuracy.
