3D PANNER FOR PODCASTERS
Podcasts your listeners can step inside.
Most podcasts put every voice in the middle of the listener's head. 3D Panner lets you place hosts, guests, sound effects and ambience around the listener with HRTF binaural rendering, so an episode feels like a room they're sitting in.
Why podcasts suit binaural audio
A lot of podcast listening happens on headphones and earbuds, which is exactly where binaural audio works. You don't need a new format or a special app: a binaural episode is an ordinary stereo file that plays on every podcast platform.
Placement also makes voices easier to follow. When each speaker comes from their own direction, the listener's ears separate them without effort, even when people talk over each other.
Audio drama and fiction podcasts
Audio drama has no picture, so sound carries the whole scene. Put characters around the listener, have one walk behind them, put a door on the left and rain overhead. Binaural placement tells the listener where they are without a single line of narration.
What you can do with it
- Give each host and guest their own spot around the listener, so every voice is easy to pick out.
- Place sound effects and ambience around and behind the listener, instead of on top of the voices.
- Move a character or a sound through the scene with an LFO or a path you draw on the XY pad.
- Build a podcast intro that travels around the listener's head.
- Choose from up to 20 different HRTF measurements to find the one that sounds most natural to you.
How to make an immersive podcast episode with 3D Panner
- Record each voice on its own track, as dry as you can.
- In your DAW, load 3D Panner on every voice, sound effect and ambience track.
- Keep the main host in front. Place co-hosts and guests a little to each side, so each voice has its own place.
- Put ambience and sound effects around and behind the listener, and move them when the story moves.
- Export as usual, and tell your audience the episode is made for headphones.
QUESTIONS
Which podcast editing software does it work in?
Any DAW that loads VST3, AU or AAX plugins, such as Reaper, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton Live and Cubase.
Will a binaural episode play on Spotify and Apple Podcasts?
Yes. It's a regular stereo file, so it plays on every podcast platform. Listeners hear the 3D placement on headphones.
Does it work for audiobooks?
Yes. It suits audiobook production with several narrators or sound design, where placing each voice helps the listener follow along.
Do I need a binaural microphone?
No. Record with the podcast mic you already have. 3D Panner adds the placement afterwards.
3D PANNER
Hear it in 3D.
One-time $29.99. Every update included, no subscription.