k2k audio Place sound in space. Pan between left and right, push it near or far, simulate distance — turn mono into a stereo stage.
Spatial Lab
What it does — Positions a mono source in a stereo field with panning, stereo width control, and optional Doppler simulation.
When you’d reach for it — You have a centered mono recording and need to place it somewhere in the stereo image, widen or narrow its spread, or create the illusion of movement through space with Doppler pitch shifting.
Quick example
- Connect a mono source to Spatial Lab.
- Turn Pan to around -60 to seat the sound left of center.
- Raise Width above 100 to push the image wider than natural stereo.
- Switch on Doppler, set Distance to 30 and Speed to 40 to hear the source glide past with a subtle pitch drop.
- Dial Mix back to around 70% to keep some of the dry signal anchoring the original position.
Parameters
| Parameter | What it controls | Range | Sweet spot hint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pan | Left-right position in the stereo field | -100 (hard left) to +100 (hard right) | 0 for center; subtle offsets (-20 to +20) feel natural |
| Pan Law | How loudness is compensated during panning | Equal Power / Linear / Sin-Cos | Equal Power works for most material |
| Width | Stereo spread via Mid/Side processing | 0 (mono) to 200 (extra wide) | 100 is unprocessed stereo; below 80 focuses the center |
| M/S Enable | Toggles Mid/Side width processing on or off | On / Off | Leave on unless you only need panning |
| Doppler Enable | Activates distance-based delay and pitch shifting | On / Off | Off for static placement, on for movement effects |
| Distance | Simulated distance from the listener in meters | 1 to 100 | 5-20 for close presence, 40+ for far-away atmosphere |
| Speed | Velocity of the moving source in meters per second | 0 to 100 | Low values (5-15) for gentle drift, 50+ for flyby drama |
| Gain | Output level trim | -12 dB to +12 dB | Keep near 0; bump up a couple dB to compensate if Width is low |
| Mix | Blend between dry input and processed output | 0% to 100% | 100% for full spatial effect; pull back for parallel blending |
Spatial Mix
What it does — Takes two mono sources and places each independently in a shared stereo field, with distance-based volume rolloff, high-frequency dampening, and width reduction.
When you’d reach for it — You have two separate elements (say a vocal and a guitar, or two synth layers) and want to position them relative to each other in one stereo image, creating depth and separation without reaching for a full mixer.
Quick example
- Connect the first source to Source A and the second to Source B.
- Set Pan A to -40 and Pan B to +40 to spread them apart.
- Push Dist B up to 60 to move the second source further back in the mix.
- Raise HF Rolloff to 50% so the distant source loses some high-end sparkle, the way real distance works.
- Adjust Gain to taste and check the stereo image.
Parameters
| Parameter | What it controls | Range | Sweet spot hint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pan A | Left-right position of Source A | -100 (hard left) to +100 (hard right) | Offset from center by 30-50 for clear separation |
| Dist A | Perceived distance of Source A | 0 (closest) to 100 (farthest) | 10-30 for a present, up-front sound |
| Pan B | Left-right position of Source B | -100 (hard left) to +100 (hard right) | Mirror Pan A for symmetric staging |
| Dist B | Perceived distance of Source B | 0 (closest) to 100 (farthest) | Push past 40 to hear real depth contrast with Source A |
| Vol Falloff | How much volume drops with distance | 0% to 100% | 50% is a natural starting point; lower for subtlety |
| HF Rolloff | How much high frequencies are absorbed over distance | 0% to 100% | 30-60% mimics air absorption; 0% keeps both sources bright |
| Width Reduction | How much stereo width narrows at greater distance | 0% to 100% | 40-60% creates convincing depth without collapsing to mono |
| Gain | Output level trim | -12 dB to +12 dB | Use to match loudness after distance attenuation |
| Mix | Blend between dry (summed mono) and spatialized output | 0% to 100% | 100% for full effect; ease back if the staging feels too extreme |