This small Bluetooth device latches on to your headphones and tracks your head movements in order to augment the immersive spatial audio experience created by Nx technology.
Pair the Nx Head Tracker with the Nx Virtual Mix Room or Abbey Road Studio 3 plugin in order to recreate on headphones the spatial acoustics of a high-end room, improving your headphone mixing and recording experience.
Use the Nx Head Tracker along with the Nx 3D audio apps to experience the music, movies and games you love in 3D audio – on your computer, tablet or mobile device, using any set of headphones.
Features:
Augments the realism of Nx software for immersive 3D audio
Tracks your head movements in 360 degrees (full sphere)
Use it with the Nx Virtual Mix Room or Abbey Road Studio 3 plugin to make better mixing decisions on headphones
Use with the Nx 3D audio apps to experience 3D audio on any headphones
Up to 6 users can use 6 Nx Head Trackers simultaneously
Requires Bluetooth 4.0 BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy
Why Head Tracking Matters
When you hear sounds in the real world, your physical head movements help your brain create a sense of 3D audio depth. Your brain remembers where the sound used to be and where it is now, and combines this with its knowledge that the head (and not the external object) has moved. It then uses this information to locate the external sound source and construct a 3D “audio scene.”
However, when you listen to sound on headphones, the audio scene constantly shifts with your head, and your experience of 3D auditory space is gone.
By tracking your head movements and adjusting the audio to the direction and orientation of your head, the Nx Head Tracker (combined with Nx software) helps reconstruct the realistic three-dimensional experience of sounds coming at you from external sources in the real world.
Nx Head Tracker, Webcam – or the Best of Both Worlds?
There are several ways you can track your head movements to enhance the Nx experience:
With the Nx Head Tracker
Using your computer’s camera
Using both simultaneously (what we call “sensor fusion” – see table below)*
Using the Nx Head Tracker has several advantages over using your webcam:
Speed and accuracy: The Nx Head Tracker is faster and more accurate, providing a smoother tracking experience.
Freedom of movement: With a webcam, you must face your computer’s camera at all times. With the Nx Head Tracker you are free to move around.
Full 360° tracking: A webcam can track your head movements in ±30 degrees only. The Nx Head Tracker will track them in full 360 degrees.
Multiple users: With a webcam, only one user can use Nx software at a time; with the Nx Head Tracker, several users (each with his or her own Nx Head Tracker) can experience Nx simultaneously on the same audio source.
Here’s a more detailed comparison between the different options:
Head Tracker
Webcam
Sensor Fusion*
For Use With
Both stationary and mobile devices
Stationary devices only (desktop or laptop)
Stationary devices only (desktop or laptop)
CPU Consumption
Low
High
High (slightly higher than webcam alone)
Tracking Angle
360° (full sphere)
60° (+/-30°)
360° (full sphere)
Tracking Speed (Refresh Rate)
50 frames per second (fps)
Up to 30 fps in good lighting conditions
Up to 80 fps
Lighting
Does not require lighting
Sensitive to lighting conditions
Minimally sensitive to lighting conditions (will not work in complete darkness, but will work even under poor lighting)
Distance from Your Device
Approx. 10-20 feet, depending on Bluetooth range
3-6 feet, depending on lens field-of-view angle
3-6 feet (same as webcam)
Tracking Orientation and Position
3 degrees of freedom: orientation only (yaw/pitch/roll)
6 degrees of freedom: orientation (yaw/pitch/roll) + position ( XYZ)
6 degrees of freedom: orientation (yaw/pitch/roll) + position ( XYZ)
Multiple Users
Allows up to 6 users, each with his own Nx Head Tracker, to experience Nx simultaneously on the same audio source.
(Separate headphone outputs needed; number of users depends on the available Bluetooth hardware.)
Only one user at a time
Only one user at a time can use the “sensor fusion” option; additional users can use Nx Head Tracker devices in order to experience Nx simultaneously on the same audio source.
If you have one webcam and one Nx Head Tracker, you can either choose the “sensor fusion” option for a single user, or assign the webcam to one user and the Nx Head Tracker to the other.
* Available with the Nx Virtual Mix Room plugin only; currently not available with the Nx application for 3D audio.