PSP auralComp„AVOCADO”

Operation Manual

www.PSPaudioware.com

Table of Contents
PSP auralComp...............................................................................................................................1
Table of Contents............................................................................................................................2
End User License Agreement..........................................................................................................3
Credits.............................................................................................................................................4
Beta testing..................................................................................................................................5
Consultancy.................................................................................................................................5
About Ronald Prent.....................................................................................................................6
Foreword.........................................................................................................................................8
Ronald Prent................................................................................................................................8
Adam Taborowski.......................................................................................................................9
Overview.......................................................................................................................................10
Compressor – upper section......................................................................................................11
Compressor – side chain section Part 1: the linking.................................................................12Compressor – side chain section Part 2: the submix.................................................................13
Compressor – side chain section Part 3: the summing method.................................................15
Limiter section..........................................................................................................................16
Right (Configuration) Panel......................................................................................................17
Preset Handling & View Options..................................................................................................18
Preset Browser..........................................................................................................................18
Copy / Paste...............................................................................................................................19
A/B System...............................................................................................................................19
Undo / Redo..............................................................................................................................20
100% GUI resizing....................................................................................................................20
CONFIG section........................................................................................................................20
Minimum System Requirements...................................................................................................21
Windows....................................................................................................................................21
macOS Intel or macOS Silicon.................................................................................................21
Technical Specifications................................................................................................................22
Processing.................................................................................................................................22
Support..........................................................................................................................................232

End User License Agreement
PREFACE: This End-User License Agreement (“EULA”) is a legal agreement between you
and PSPaudioware.com s.c. (PSP) for the PSP product accompanying this EULA, which
includes computer software and may include associated media, printed materials, and “online”
or electronic documentation (“SOFTWARE”). By installing, copying, or using the SOFTWARE,
you agree to be bound by the terms of this EULA. If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA,
you may not use the SOFTWARE. The SOFTWARE is protected by copyright laws andinternational copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. The
SOFTWARE is licensed, not sold.
LICENSE: You can INSTALL and USE the current version of the SOFTWARE, or in its place
any prior version, on three computers simultaneously so long as you are the direct user or astudio client of those machines. If more users USE the software you must buy an additional
license for each workstation. The DEMO VERSION of the SOFTWARE is NOT LICENSEDFOR COMMERCIAL USE.
RESTRICTIONS: You may not transfer, modify, rent, lease, loan, resell, distribute, network,
electronically transmit or merge the SOFTWARE. You may not reverse engineer, decompile ordisassemble the SOFTWARE, or otherwise attempt to discover the SOFTWARE source code.
You are not permitted to copy the SOFTWARE or any of the accompanying documentation.
COPYRIGHTS: All title and copyrights in and to the SOFTWARE (including but not limited
to any images, photographs, animations, video, audio, music, text, and “applets” incorporated
into the SOFTWARE ), the accompanying printed materials, and any copies of the SOFTWARE
are owned by PSP. The SOFTWARE is protected by copyright laws and international treaty
provisions. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of the SOFTWARE or documentation is
subject to civil and criminal penalties.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The SOFTWARE is provided “AS IS” and without
warranty of any kind. The entire risk arising out of the use or performance of the SOFTWARE
and documentation remains with user. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, PSP
further disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied
warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with regard to the
SOFTWARE, and any accompanying hardware. To the maximum extent permitted by applicablelaw, in no event shall PSP be liable for any consequential, incidental, direct, indirect, special,punitive, or other damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss ofbusiness profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss)
arising out of this EULA or the use of or inability to use the SOFTWARE, even if PSP has beenadvised of the possibility of such damages.
MISCELLANEOUS: This EULA is governed by Polish law. Should you have any questions
concerning this EULA, or if you wish to contact PSP for any reason, please write to:
PSPaudioware.com s.c.
Bugaj 12; 05-806 Komorów, Poland.

3Credits
Concept & Specification: Ronald Prent
Design and coding: Adam Taborowski
Audio algorithms: Mateusz Woźniak & Adam Taborowski
Graphics: Adam Taborowski & Mateusz Woźniak
Platform development: Adam Taborowski
Installers: Piotr Dmuchowski
Product Manager: Antoni Ożyński
Manual: Adam Taborowski & Mike Metlay & Antoni Ożynski

4Beta testing

Consultancy

Alberto Rizzo Schettino (website)

Alan Meyerson (website)

Alvin Wee (website)

Arne Schumann (website)

Dave Way (website)

Darcy Proper (website)

Jason LaRocca (website)

Joseph Bach (website)

Jimmy Douglass (website)
Joanna Stefańska (website)
Ken Paul (website)
Kurt Oldman (website)

Kevin Globerman (website)
Michał Mashtal Rypień
Paul Wolff (website)
Rafa Sardina (website)

Matt Boudreau (website)
Matthew Sim (website)
Michael A Buehlmann (website)
Michael “Big Mike” Corral (website)
Oleg “Yorshoff” Yershov (website)
Przemysław Gorlas (website)
Robert Aeberhard (website)
Scott Michael Smith (website)
Sebastian Witkowski (website)
Serge Tsai (website)
Stefan Boman (website)
Thomas Brewer (website)
Thor Legvold (website)
Thorir Fienberg (website)
Vance Powell (website)5

About Ronald Prent
Ronald Prent started his career at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands in 1980 as
an inexperienced assistant and has since established himself as one of the most accomplishedand innovative recording & mix engineers in the world. In fact, the concept for Wisseloord
Studios’ recent revival began with Ronald, who had returned home after many years of working
abroad, back to where his career had begun over 30 years ago. From 2011 until 2015, Ronald
served as chief engineer and partner, where he directed the creative and technical developmentof the facility while continuing to work his magic behind the mixing console. Ronald now
continues his recording, mixing, and consulting work through Proper Prent Sound, the company
he has formed with his wife, mastering engineer Darcy Proper. Having recently moved theirbusiness and family to the U.S., they are now based at Valhalla Studios in Auburn, NY.
While quite content to work in stereo, Ronald specializes in surround sound, pioneering insurround recording/mixing and playing a key role in the development of new technology used inprogressive high-resolution formats. In the early years of surround audio development, Ronald
was a “test pilot” for Sony and Philips’ DSD/SACD format. Many of the projects that he mixed
in those days are still held up as benchmark examples of creative surround mixing examples
include Guano Apes’ Don’t Give Me Names”, Kane’s So Glad You Made It, and Herbert
Grönemeyer’s Mensch. API’s flagship Vision console, which features simultaneous stereo andsurround mixing capability, and SPL’s benchmark MMC1 multichannel mastering console, are
two examples of technological excellence stemming from Ronald’s original and practical ideas.
Ronald has now expanded to immersive sound, working in Auro3D (9.1) and other 3D audio
formats. Some of his recent projects include Pure Audio Blu-Ray releases for artists like Ozark
Henry, Tiësto, and Mando Diao, as well as Peter Maffay’s Tabaluga soundtrack, which waspresented in Atmosphea (Shure’s 3D audio format) with accompanying animated video inplanetariums in Germany.
Not one to be limited to the studio, Ronald also puts his talents to work in live broadcast, mixing
live in stereo and surround for chart-topping clients throughout Europe, including the MTV
Music Awards. One of his more recent undertakings was an album release by renowned German
artist Peter Maffay – a live broadcast in 5.1 and stereo to 72 cinemas throughout the Germanspeaking market.
Ronald’s knowledge and insight are well appreciated by his colleagues in the academic world.
He’s been asked on numerous occasions to guest-lecture and give master classes on recording
and mixing for universities around the world, including McGill University, New York
University, Middle Tennessee State University, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. He has
participated in and hosted many workshops and panel discussions at professional seminars in6the U.S. and Europe, notably the informal PMC Listening Sessions at AES conferences where
his demonstrations never fail to draw a crowd.
His long list of clients includes such notable artists as Simple Minds, Rammstein, The
Scorpions, Mink DeVille, Richie Hawtin, Udo Lindenberg, Gotthard, Tina Turner, Ilse DeLange,
Live, Within Temptation, Herbert Grönemeyer, Clouseau, Lori Lieberman, Manowar, Alain
Clark, Peter Maffay, The Common Linnets, Ozark Henry, Raccoon, David Garrett, Jett Rebel,
and Kensington.
Ronald Prent
Proper Prent Sound
Recording/Mix Engineer/Consultant
Auburn, NY USA
ronald@properprentsound.com+1 (315) 567-5045

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Foreword
You now have at your command one of the most important and powerful tools for multi-channel
and immersive audio – the first in a series of plug-ins created in partnership with Ronald Prent.
Thank you for supporting us and being a part of this exciting immersive adventure.

Ronald Prent
I started working in immersive audio in the early 2000s at Galaxy Studios, and got completely
into it with the beginning of SACD, doing a lot of pioneering work for Sony and Philips.
During that time, together with Paul Wolff of API (nowof Fix Audio), we built the multi-channel version of
API 2500, still the only multichannel analog compressor
out there. It offers full control of threshold preference
and side chain selections, resulting in a great and opensounding multichannel bus compression. To this day, it
is my go-to buss compressor in any immersive audio
format.
Being a longtime early user of the PSP plugins, I took
my chances and reached out to them 7 years ago.
We discussed whether they would be interested in
making a multichannel compressor and limiter plug-in
following the concepts that Paul and I used in the API
2500, but taken further thanks to things only plugins cando.
This led to the development of the Aural Seriesof Ronald Prent Signature Immersive plugins. We beganwith PSP auralControl, a project initiated by Scott
Michael Smith and Thorir Fienberg and has becomea daily studio lifesaver. Now we are introducing the
PSP auralComp – multi-channel compressor andlimiter - Avocado edition.
PSP has taken our ideas and turned them into a fabulous compressor and limiter withan unbelievably open and punchy sound, controlling your audio but also keeping your image
stable and powerful.
I’m really looking forward to hearing how you use this fantastic new approach to buss
compression, one that will give you back what you have been missing all along.
Ronald Prent - Immersive Mix Engineer, Proper Prent Sound, Auburn, NY, June 2023

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Adam Taborowski
Ronald Prent contacted us about 7 years ago with an idea to create a very complex multi-channel
compressor. We were busy with other projects that time, but we promised to come up witha solution. Ronald has helped us many times as a beta tester on multiple projects, and I was
honored to get amazing feedback from Ronald during my 7-year crafting journey with the
PSP InfiniStrip plug-in. Reading those emails with ideas and unpacking presets brought a lot of
joy and satisfaction to my work life, so I was incredibly excited to do my part in this very
special collaboration with Ronald on his first signature plug-in.
I was raised on rock and metal
music. As a kid, I was more focusedon melody and lyrics than soundquality or tone. I was not able topoint out those elements in themusic until the day I heard theWarriors of the World album –which was mixed by Ronald Prent.
Sound quality, power, clarity, tone,
and punch changed my view of themusic; I started to be aware of those
exciting
elements
and
their
importance. Without this experience
I wouldn't have chosen this carrier
path... Ronald’s work made me become a sound engineer. Who would have guessed that 20
years later I’d be working with the master himself?
Over these 2 years of development I had ups and downs – a lot of work and rearranging
concepts, coding, drafting, building, crafting, you name it. I jog in the woods whenever I feela little bit low. I always listen to music while doing that – and whenever Ronald's mixes were in
my ears, I was blown away - ”Am I really working with the guy behind my favorite albums?”
Thank you, PSPaudioware, for this amazing opportunity. What an exciting journey!
Thank you to everyone involved in this project: beta testers, alpha testers, friendly souls on ourlife paths. Thank you – it means a lot.
Thank you to my support group More67s – you guys rock! Our weekly meetings give me a lotof strength and inspiration, and I wouldn't make it without you, my friends.
Adam Taborowski – Plug-in Blacksmith, PSPaudioware, Stockholm, Sweden , June 2023

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Overview
PSP auralComp is designed to handle the complex process of multi-channel compression in thesimplest way possible.
The main part of the plug-in consists of compressor strips for each channel on the current
bus/track channel configuration, with support for up to 16 channels for a single multi-channelbus.
The control part (right panel) of the plug-in controls multi-channel configuration and allows you
to quickly group compressors to set up multiple parameters at once.
PSP auralComp is also equipped with an output stage brick wall limiter for final peak control of
the compressed multi-channel signal.

10Compressor – upper section
Each compressor is independent from the others, but they can be grouped using controls on theright panel to aid in adjusting the same parameter on multiple channels at once.
ATTACK knob:
Adjusts the attack time from 0.1 ms to 160 ms.
RELEASE knob:
Adjusts the release time from 25 ms to 2500 ms.
THRESH knob:
Adjusts the compression threshold between –40 dB and +10 dB.
MAKEUP knob:
Adjusts the amount of post-compression gain (up to +20 dB)
added to the signal to make up for the reduction in volume fromthe compressor. This gain is added before the MIX knob.
RATIO knob:
Adjusts the compression ratio between 1:1 to ∞:1.
MIX knob:
Adjusts how much of the compression signal is mixed with thesource audio signal at the output. At 0% only the original audio
signal is output, and at 100% only the compressed signal is
output.
LED Meters: display the channel's input level, gain reduction
applied by the compressor, and output level.

11Compressor – side chain section Part 1: the linking
Each compressor is triggered by a fully customizable side chain (key) signal, making
PSP auralComp one of the world’s most flexible multi-channel compressor plug-ins. Scenarios
like “rears are listening only to the fronts, sides are listening partially to the center channel,
ceilings are listening to the high end information of all channels, and the LFE is excluded” arevery simple to set up.
LINK knob:
Adjusts the side chain signal blend between individual
channel's signal and currently selected side chain submix.
0% link means that the compressor is being triggered
entirely by its own channel's signal.
100% link means that the compressor is being triggered
entirely by the currently selected side chain submix.
KEY menu:
Selects one of the 8 available submixes (named alphathrough theta) to trigger the compressor
SIDE CHAIN display:
Shows va isualization of the currently selected key submix.
Vertical bars represent levels of the signals used in the side
chain submix.
The horizontal dotted line represents the actual level of theside chain signal triggering the compressor. This signal
contains all the processing applied to the submix (applying
gains, summing signals with the selected method, filtering
the side chain) and is further determined by the LINK knob
setting.

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Compressor – side chain section Part 2: the submix

GAIN faders:
Adjust the levels of signals creating the side chain submix shown in the popup window. The
example shown above shows the beta side chain submix.
NAME control:
Sets the name for the submix. Double-click to rename the submix via a popup dialog box.
FILTER TYPE control:
Selects one of the available options• OFF – disables filtering the submix• HPF – enables a high pass filter with adjustable frequency
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•
•
•

BANDPASS – enables a band pass filter with adjustable frequency and Q
EQUAL POWER – enables a special filtering curve designed by PSPaudioware toequalize energy across entire spectrum
LPF – enables low pass filter with adjustable frequency

FILTER FREQUENCY knob:
Adjusts the side chain filter's frequency from 20 Hz to 20 kHz for the submix shown in the
popup window.
FILTER Q knob:
Adjusts the side chain filter's Q from 0.01 to 10.0 for the submix shown in the popup window.
SETTINGS control:
Allows you to copy/paste settings between different submixes.

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Compressor – side chain section Part 3: the summing method
Due to the complexity of surround sound (multiple signals, many phase shifted on purpose),
PSP auralComp is equipped with different summing methods for the side chain trigger signal.
•••

Natural – a simple blend in the same way any DAW would blend signals on a bus.
Rectified – signals are rectified before blending and creating a summed submix.
RMS – signals are analyzed to derive the RMS (root mean square) level, and this is used
to trigger the compressor

A choice of summing method should be based on the actual material being compressed.
Simple explanation with dual mono signal:
Right channel is muted, so compressor isonly triggered by the Left channel's signal.
Trigger level (dotted lines on the display) is
equal to the Left channel’s input level(left bar on the display).
Left and Right channels are triggering thecompressor.
Trigger level (dotted lines on the display) is
equal to the sum of both channels, so it ishigher than either of the single levels(the left and right bars on the display).
Left and right channels are triggering thecompressor. Right channel is flipped.
Trigger level (dotted lines on the display) is
equal to the sum of both channels – which is–∞ dB in this case. The signals cancel eachother out
Same case as above, but using the Rectified
method.
Trigger level (dotted lines on the display) is
equal to the sum of rectified channels – so it
is higher than either single-channel level,
even though they are out of phase.
Same case as above, but using the RMS
method.
Trigger level (dotted lines on the display) is
equal to the RMS sum of both channels – so
it is higher than either single-channel level,
but slightly lower than with the Rectified
method, and it depends less on the numberof channels in the submix.

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Limiter section
INPUT knob:
Sets the input gain of the plug-in (before
compression) between –10 dB and +10 dB.
BRICKWALL button:
Enables limiting.
DRIVE knob:
Sets the input gain of the limiter between 0 dB
and +20 dB. It allows you to raise the overall
volume level and smash the signal if needed. It
is applied after compression and before
limiting.
CEILING knob:
Sets the threshold of the limiter between –20 dB
and +0 dB.
OUTPUT knob:
Sets the output gain of the plug-in (after
limiting) between –10 dB and +10 dB.

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Right (Configuration) Panel
CHANNEL SETUP menu:Your current channel setup should be detected automatically when
you insert PSP auralComp. However, some different hostapplications give only the number of channels instead of the specificsetup (like 7.1 DTS or 7.1 SDDS). In this case you can manuallychange PSP auralComp's channel setup by clicking the Channel
Setup button. You can manually set Mid-Side processing for stereo
tracks.
QUICK SELECT buttons:
Click a channel name to enable linking for the channel. Linking isrelative inside a group. The last-used group will be enabled for thechannel.
Use the Quick Select section on the Right Panel to create typicallinking groups.

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Preset Handling & View Options
We provide all PSP plug-ins with a collection of factory presets. These presets can be used as astarting point for further adjustments, or for quick fixes. You access presets from thePSPaudioware standard PRESET BAR at the top of the plug-in interface.

Preset Browser
The PSP auralComp edition features a comprehensive new preset management and browser
system. To access the preset browser, you click the preset name window at the top of the plug-in(which displays ‘Default’ when the plug-in loads).

The new preset management bar has three main categories which can be accessed with the tabs
at the top of the preset browser: Application, Designer, and My presets.
Application – shows all factory built-in presets grouping by application.
Factory presets are built into the plug-in and cannot be directly edited!
You can adjust them and save separately as user presets.
Designer – shows all factory built-in presets grouped by designer.
My presets – shows only user presets.
This view shows all of the presets you have created and saved, or downloaded and added to yourcustom presets for PSP auralComp.
To add categories to the preset list, you can create new subfolders in the preset directory.
For Windows users, this is located at:
C:\Users\Username\Documents\PSPaudioware.com\User Presets\PSP auralComp

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For Mac users, this is located at:~/Documents/PSPaudioware.com/User Presets/PSP auralComp
You can always check the exact path by clicking on the "Show file in Finder" tab at thebottom of the preset browser window.

To select a preset, click a preset name in the right window. When clicked, the preset will beapplied so that you can audition it. To confirm the preset choice, you can click the preset nameonce more to load it.
Each preset has own picture; click on it to open the designer's website.

Copy / Paste

The Copy/Paste feature allows you to quickly transfer settings between plug-in instances.
To use this feature, you can click ‘Copy’ at the top of the plug-in below the preset browser
window. Then, open a new instance of the plug-in on another track (or on the same track) andclick ‘Paste’ to paste the settings to the new instance of the plug-in.
This feature can be particularly useful for processing similar instruments or sounds when only a
few minor tweaks are needed.

A/B System

The A/B system for quickly checking and auditioning changes to the plug-in settings.
The A/B Button at the top of the interface below the preset browser window allows you to A/B
between the current and previous setting of the plug-in. This can be used to audition changes
made to your mix, or to audition between two presets.
The A>B Button quickly copies the settings of the A setting to the B setting. This allows you tosave your place and apply further tweaks and the audition them with the A/B Button.

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Undo / Redo

The Undo/Redo feature of the plug-in lets you quickly navigate between setting changes.
To use this feature, use the undo/redo buttons (CCW and CW arrows, respectively) locatedbelow the preset browser window.
These buttons will undo changes to the current plug-in settings, or allow you to undo a presetchange depending on the last action in the plug-in.
100% GUI resizing

Scroll this percentage up or down to change the GUIs zoom factor. Double click to reset its state
to the default size (100%).
You can resize the plug-in interface by just dragging the right bottom corner of the plug-in toany size you like.
CONFIG section

Clicking the three parallel lines glyph opens the CONFIG menu where you can open the
manual, check the current plug-in version number and turn hints on or off.

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Minimum System Requirements
In order to run PSP auralComp in 30-day trial mode or activate it, you need an iLok userID
which you can create for free at www.ilok.com and you need to install the free iLok LicenseManager application (but you don't need any hardware dongle).
You can activate the license in 3 separate locations, each of which can be either a computer oran iLok dongle (2nd generation or above). You can move these licenses at any time using
PACE's iLok License Manager software.
Windows
VST3• Windows 7 – Windows 11• 64-bit VST3 compatible application
AAX• Windows 7 – Windows 11• Pro Tools
All DAWs• The latest iLok License Manager application installed

macOS Intel or macOS Silicon
AudioUnit• macOS 10.10 – macOS 12.01 Monterey• 64-bit AudioUnit compatible host application
VST3• macOS 10.10 – macOS 12.01 Monterey• 64-bit VST3 compatible host application
AAX• Pro Tools
All DAWs• Up to date iLok License Manager application installed
VST3 is trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. AAX and Pro Tools are trademarks
or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. AudioUnit, OSX and macOS and macOS
Silicon are trademarks of Apple Inc. iLok is a treadmark of PACE Anti-Piracy, Inc.
21

Technical Specifications
Processing•

All internal processing done with 64 bit double precision floats.

•

32 and 64 bit floating point audio streams supported•

Sample rates up to 192kHz supported.

22

Support
If you have any questions about any of our plug-ins, please visit our website
www.PSPaudioware.com where you can find the latest product information, free software
updates, online support forum and answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Problems with the installation, activation or authorisation?
Please watch our troubleshooting video tutorials on our YouTube channel.
You can also contact us by e-mail: support@PSPaudioware.com.
We will gladly answer all of your questions. As a rule we respond within 24 hours.

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PSPaudioware.com s.c.
Bugaj 1205-806 Komorów
Poland.
ph. +48 601 96 31 73
www.PSPaudioware.com
contact@PSPaudioware.com

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