Realphones 2 Ultimate by dSONIQ headphone mixing plugin interface

Realphones 2 Ultimate: Headphone Correction and Monitoring Plugin by dSONIQ Free Download

Rated 4.8/5 on Plugin Boutique (63 ratings)

Realphones 2 Ultimate is a headphone mixing plugin from dSONIQ that corrects headphone frequency response and emulates studio, club and car listening environments for more reliable monitoring.

VST3VST2AUWindowsmacOS64-bit

AVAILABLE ATPlugin Boutique

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Free trial available from the developer

01Overview

Mixes made on headphones often translate poorly to speakers, because timbre, stereo width and room space differ from what you hear on monitors. Realphones 2 Ultimate is built to close that gap. Its headphone frequency response correction aims for a linear sound with minimal coloration, while binaural positioning and room ambience recreate the feel of a control room. The plugin is available in VST3, VST2 and AU formats for Windows and macOS.

Best for

Headphone mixing
Low-end checking
Car mix checks
Stereo width monitoring
Mobile device translation
Studio-free mixing

Developer: dSONIQ
Category: Referencing Tools
Store: Plugin Boutique

02Key features

What you get

Headphone frequency response correction for about 200 headphone models
Binaural virtual positioning based on HRTF
Studio control room emulation for near- and far-field monitoring
Room ambience control for dry headphone signals
Club, car and consumer device emulations
Custom calibration profiles
System-Wide application with MIDI control support
Native Apple Silicon support on macOS

03In depth

Headphone Correction and Virtual Room Sound

Realphones uses headphone frequency response correction to reduce peaks and dips that distort timbre and musical balance. According to dSONIQ, the correction is based on multi-stage measurements taken since 2015, and the plugin supports about 200 headphone models.

The virtual acoustic space is built around a binaural angle set to 60 degrees, which places virtual sources in a layout similar to a standard studio monitor setup. Room ambience can be set to 100 percent to add captured control room acoustics to the dry headphone signal, so the mix is heard in a room context rather than inside the head.

Monitoring Environments for Mix Checking

Realphones includes emulations of studios, devices, cars and environments. Studio options include Studio 21A, Cinelab, dSONIQ Lab Studio and an updated Music Studio emulation. Car models include a Korean H Car Slrs 2016 and a German B Car 520 2014.

The club emulation is intended to reveal low-frequency issues that may not appear in a studio, and the car emulation lets you check a mix against the warmer sound many listeners know from their vehicles. Device emulations cover smartphones, laptops, TVs and Bluetooth speakers.

04Specs

Will it run?

Formats, systems and requirements as listed by Plugin Boutique. Missing details are left out, not guessed.

Developer	dSONIQ
Type	Plugin
Category	Referencing Tools
Formats	VST3, VST2, AU
Operating systems	Windows, macOS
Architecture	64-bit
Free trial	Yes

05FAQ

Questions, answered

What formats does Realphones 2 Ultimate support?

Realphones 2 Ultimate is available in VST3, VST2 and AU formats. It runs on Windows and macOS.

What are the system requirements?

On macOS, it requires OS X 10.9 or later and supports Intel and M1 Apple Silicon, in 64-bit only, in VST, VST3 and AU formats. On Windows, it requires Windows 7 or newer, in 32-bit or 64-bit, in VST and VST3 formats.