k2k audio The invisible dimension. Phase controls how frequencies line up in time — repair artifacts from processing, lock harmonics together, or creatively scramble phase for new textures.
Phase Repair
What it does — Detects and corrects phase damage introduced by other processing, using five specialized repair modes that each target a different type of artifact.
When you’d reach for it — You ran a spectral effect and the result sounds “swimmy,” clicky, or smeared compared to the original. You have the original signal available and want surgical, targeted correction rather than blanket smoothing.
Quick example
- Connect your processed signal to the first input and the original (pre-processing) signal to the second input.
- Set the Mode to Phasiness for general tonal correction, or Cracks if you hear sharp glitches.
- Start with Strength around 0.70 and Sensitivity at 0.50.
- If artifacts remain, try switching the mode — Wobble for sustained-note shimmer, Clicks for splice-point pops, Leak for pre-echo bleed.
Parameters
| Parameter | What it controls | Range | Sweet spot hint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Type of phase damage to target: Phasiness, Cracks, Clicks, Wobble, Leak | 5 options | Start with Phasiness for general cleanup |
| Strength | How aggressively corrections are applied | 0.00 — 1.00 | 0.60 — 0.80 for transparent repair |
| Sensitivity | Detection threshold for identifying damaged regions | 0.00 — 1.00 | 0.50 catches most artifacts without false positives |
| Mag Floor | Magnitude threshold below which bins are left alone | -96 dB — 0 dB | -60 dB ignores noise floor |
Mode-specific parameters
| Mode | Parameter | What it controls | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phasiness | Sub-lens | Tonal or Broadband detection focus | 2 options |
| Phasiness | IF Refine | Uses instantaneous frequency for more precise correction | On / Off |
| Cracks | Sub-lens | Where to look: Sustain, Attacks, or All | 3 options |
| Cracks | Interpolation | Linear or Hermite curve across the crack | 2 options |
| Cracks | Max Frames | Maximum crack width to repair | 1 — 16 |
| Clicks | Sub-lens | Sustain or Attacks focus | 2 options |
| Clicks | Fade Frames | Crossfade length at splice boundaries | 1 — 32 |
| Clicks | Interp Mag | Also interpolate magnitude across the break | On / Off |
| Wobble | Sub-lens | Jitter (fast instability) or Drift (slow wander) | 2 options |
| Wobble | LPF Hz | Cutoff for the stabilizing low-pass filter | 0.5 — 20.0 Hz |
| Leak | Sub-lens | Forward or Backward leakage detection | 2 options |
| Leak | Direction | Repair forward only, backward only, or both | 3 options |
| Leak | Range | How far in time to search for leakage | 1.0 — 50.0 ms |
Harmonic Phase Repair
What it does — Restores the natural phase relationships between harmonics of pitched sounds, fixing timbral damage that standard phase repair misses.
When you’d reach for it — A vocal or instrument sounds “hollow” or “phasey” after processing even though the spectrum looks fine. The harmonics are all there but their phase alignment has drifted, changing the timbre.
Quick example
- Connect your processed signal to the first input and the clean original to the second input.
- Set Mode to Drift for sustained notes that shimmer unnaturally, or Lock if the timbre shifted noticeably.
- Adjust F0 Min and F0 Max to bracket the pitch range of your source material.
- Raise Harmonics if the source has rich overtone content (strings, brass).
Parameters
| Parameter | What it controls | Range | Sweet spot hint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Repair strategy: Lock (restore relationships to original), Drift (stabilize wandering relationships), Both (Lock then Drift) | 3 options | Drift for subtle shimmer, Lock for obvious timbre shifts |
| Strength | Blend between damaged and repaired phase | 0.00 — 1.00 | 0.60 — 0.80 |
| Sensitivity | Detection threshold for damaged harmonics | 0.00 — 1.00 | 0.50 |
| Mag Floor | Ignore bins below this level | -96 dB — 0 dB | -60 dB |
| Harmonics | Number of harmonics to track and repair | 4 — 32 | 16 covers most tonal content |
| F0 Min | Lowest fundamental frequency to detect | 20 — 500 Hz | 50 Hz for bass, 100 Hz for vocals |
| F0 Max | Highest fundamental frequency to detect | 200 — 2000 Hz | 800 Hz for vocals, 2000 Hz for violin |
| LPF Alpha | Smoothing factor for Drift mode (lower = smoother) | 0.01 — 0.50 | 0.10 balances stability and responsiveness |
Transient Repair
What it does — Targets phase and magnitude damage specifically at note onsets, using four scans that each address a different way transients get broken by spectral processing.
When you’d reach for it — Your drum hits sound soft or “pre-echoed” after processing. Attacks that were sharp in the original now feel diffuse, smeared, or have a ghostly buildup right before the hit.
Quick example
- Connect your processed signal to the first input and the original to the second input.
- Set Scan to Pre-Echo if you hear ghost energy before attacks, or Smearing if hits feel mushy.
- Narrow Focus Lo and Focus Hi to the frequency range where transients live (200 — 8000 Hz is a good start).
- Adjust Attack to match the onset duration of your material — shorter for clicks, longer for plucked strings.
Parameters
| Parameter | What it controls | Range | Sweet spot hint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scan | Type of transient damage: Pre-Echo, Dispersion, Smearing, Phase Breaks | 4 options | Pre-Echo is the most common spectral processing artifact |
| Strength | How much correction to apply | 0.00 — 1.00 | 0.70 |
| Sensitivity | Detection threshold for damaged onsets | 0.00 — 1.00 | 0.50 |
| Mag Floor | Ignore bins below this level | -96 dB — 0 dB | -60 dB |
| Focus Lo | Low frequency boundary for the repair region | 20 — 20000 Hz | 200 Hz to skip sub-bass |
| Focus Hi | High frequency boundary for the repair region | 20 — 20000 Hz | 8000 Hz captures most transient energy |
| Attack | Duration of the onset region to analyze and repair | 10 — 200 ms | 50 ms for percussive material |
Phase Playground
What it does — Creative phase manipulation with six modes for smoothing, scrambling, locking, pushing, shifting, or inverting the phase of your signal within a target frequency range.
When you’d reach for it — You want to design new textures, add stereo width tricks, create comb-filter effects, or just experiment with what happens when you mess with phase on purpose. This is a sound design tool, not a repair tool.
Quick example
- Connect any signal to the input.
- Set Mode to Randomize and Amount to around 30% for a subtle decorrelation effect.
- Use Freq Lo and Freq Hi to limit the effect to a specific band — randomizing only above 2000 Hz keeps the low end solid while adding air.
- Try Push mode with a small Push value (1 — 3 ms) for comb-filter coloring.
Parameters
| Parameter | What it controls | Range | Sweet spot hint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Effect type: Smooth, Randomize, Lock, Push, Shift, Invert | 6 options | Randomize and Push are the most immediately useful for sound design |
| Amount | Wet/dry blend of the phase manipulation | 0 — 100% | 20 — 50% for subtle texture, 100% for full effect |
| Freq Lo | Low frequency boundary of the affected range | 20 — 20000 Hz | 20 Hz for full-range, higher to protect low end |
| Freq Hi | High frequency boundary of the affected range | 20 — 20000 Hz | 20000 Hz for full-range |
| Push | Time offset per frequency (Push mode only) — creates comb-filter patterns | -20.0 — +20.0 ms | 1 — 5 ms for classic flanger-like coloring |
| Shift | Constant phase rotation applied to all bins (Shift mode only) | -180 — +180 degrees | 90 degrees for maximum stereo difference when mixed with dry |
| Seed | Random number seed for Randomize mode — same seed always gives the same result | 0 — 999999 | Change it until you like the texture |