Lo-Fi Audio Plugins

A collection of plugins that add vintage character and nostalgic qualities to your music. These effects can make modern digital music sound like it’s being played through classic equipment or give it that popular “lo-fi” sound that’s both relaxing and atmospheric.

Plugin List

• AM Radio Simulator - Passes the music through a modeled AM broadcast and receiver chain
• Bit Crusher - Creates retro gaming and vintage digital sounds
• Cassette Artifacts - Records the music onto a modeled compact cassette and plays it back through a Type I/II/IV deck with Dolby B/C
• Digital Error Emulator - Simulates various digital audio transmission errors
• DSD64 IMD Simulator - Simulates audible intermodulation distortion from DSD64 ultrasonic noise
• FM Radio Simulator - Passes the music through a physically simulated FM broadcast and receiver chain
• G.726 Simulator - Simulates an ITU-T G.726 speech-codec encode/decode round trip with an optional noisy radio link
• GSM-FR Simulator - Simulates a 13 kbit/s GSM-FR speech-codec encode/decode round trip over a radio link with frame erasure concealment
• Hum Generator - Adds controllable electrical hum ambience for vintage/lo-fi listening
• MD Simulator - Simulates a MiniDisc-era ATRAC encode and decode round trip
• MP3 Codec Simulator - Simulates a clean low-bitrate MPEG Layer III encode/decode round trip
• Noise Blender - Adds atmospheric background texture
• SBC Codec Simulator - Simulates a Bluetooth A2DP SBC encode/decode round trip with optional link packet loss and concealment
• Simple Jitter - Compares tiny clock fluctuations or adds creative movement at larger settings
• SW Radio Simulator - Passes the music through a modeled shortwave broadcast, ionospheric path, and receiver
• Tape Artifacts - Records the music onto a modeled reel-to-reel tape and plays it back
• Vinyl Artifacts - Adds vinyl-style pops, crackle, hiss, rumble, and stereo noise bleed
• Vinyl Simulator - Cuts the input into a modeled groove and plays it back with a physical stylus model

AM Radio Simulator

AM Radio Simulator transforms the music through a modeled AM broadcast chain: transmitter processing and modulation, groundwave and skywave propagation, static and adjacent-channel interference, receiver tuning and detection, AGC, and an optional radio speaker. Use it to compare a strong local station with a fading nighttime signal, explore a crowded dial, or give music the bandwidth, distortion, fading, and interference of AM reception.

This effect requires an environment that supports its real-time processing. When that processing is unavailable, the audio remains unchanged and the HUD reports that the effect is unavailable.

How It Differs from Additive Lo-Fi Effects

• AM Radio Simulator changes the input signal by modulating, propagating, filtering, and detecting it. Its static, interference, and hum enter at modeled points in the radio chain, so they interact with tuning, the IF filter, and AGC.
• Noise Blender adds a general background noise texture, while Hum Generator adds a controllable hum layer. Choose them when you want those sounds without changing the music through a radio receiver.
• Vinyl Artifacts adds record-style surface noise without changing the original music signal. Vinyl Simulator is another signal-transforming physical model, but it models a record groove and stylus rather than radio transmission.

Sound Enhancement Guide

• Clear local broadcast: Use a strong Signal, little Skywave and Static, centered Tuning, and a wider IF Bandwidth. Select Table for a fuller radio-speaker response or Off for line output.
• Nighttime distant station: Lower Signal, raise Skywave, and use a moderate Fading Speed. Slow AGC makes level recovery more gradual, while Static adds occasional lightning-like bursts.
• Crowded dial: Raise Interference and set Interf. Offset to 9 or 10 kHz. Narrow IF Bandwidth rejects more of the adjacent station; small Tuning changes alter how much reaches the detector.
• Broadcast overload: Raise Mod Depth above 100% or lengthen Detector RC to hear AM-specific overmodulation and diagonal-clipping distortion. Reduce either control for cleaner reception.
• Fade depth: New instances use 1% Skywave for gentler level movement in Mono and a less pronounced nighttime fade. Raise Skywave to about 8% when you specifically want a deeper fade; larger values make the effect more extreme.
• Start with Mix at 100% when judging the radio model. Lower it only when you intentionally want some of the original stereo image to remain.

System Presets

Click Effect Presets in the effect header to try these complete radio settings.

• Local Daytime Station - A clear, wide-band local broadcast with little static.
• Pocket Transistor - A small-speaker radio with stronger compression, hum, and restricted bandwidth.
• Night Skywave - A weak nighttime signal with pronounced ionospheric fading.
• Summer Thunderstorm - A fading station interrupted by frequent atmospheric static.
• Stereo AM Broadcast - A clearer C-QUAM stereo broadcast without speaker simulation.

Parameters

Station

• Radio (on or off) - Switches the station’s transmission on and off. With it off the carrier disappears entirely, leaving the receiver with only atmospheric static, the adjacent station, and its own noise, and AGC opens up until that background becomes loud. Use it to hear the moment a station signs on or off the air. This is not the same as turning the effect off, which leaves the music untouched.
• Stereo Mode (Mono or C-QUAM) - Mono uses a traditional envelope-detector receiver. C-QUAM provides stereo reception and automatically blends toward mono when the signal is weak or mistuned. Switching modes can also change the timbre; Detector RC applies only to Mono. C-QUAM stereo operates at sample rates up to 192 kHz; at higher rates, reception is mono.
• TX Bandwidth (2.0 to 10.0 kHz) - Sets the transmitter’s audio bandwidth. Lower values sound darker and more restricted; higher values preserve more detail.
• Pre-emphasis (0 to 100%) - Boosts upper audio frequencies before transmission. Higher settings add presence but also drive bright peaks harder through the broadcast chain.
• Mod Depth (10 to 125%) - Sets AM modulation depth. Values above 100% create overmodulation and negative-peak clipping.
• Compression (0 to 20 dB) - Sets the depth of the broadcast limiter. Higher settings restrain peaks and make modulation more consistent.

Path

• Signal (-50 to 0 dB) - Sets received signal strength. Weaker settings expose more receiver noise and require more AGC gain.
• Skywave (0 to 100%) - Blends stable groundwave reception with delayed ionospheric paths. New instances default to 1% for gentle movement; around 8% gives a more severe nighttime fade, and higher values make the frequency-selective fading deeper.
• Fading Speed (0.05 to 2.0 Hz) - Sets how quickly skywave conditions vary.
• Static (0 to 100/s) - Sets the rate of lightning-like events. Raise it for a stormier, more intermittent signal; set it to 0 for none.
• Interference (-80 to 0 dB) - Sets adjacent-station strength. -80 dB switches it off; values closer to 0 dB make it stronger.
• Interf. Offset (5 to 10 kHz) - Sets adjacent-station spacing and the resulting carrier beat frequency. 9 and 10 kHz represent common channel spacing.

Receiver

• Tuning (-30.0 to +30.0 kHz) - Offsets the receiver from the desired station; positive values tune above the station and negative values tune below it. Small offsets reduce clarity and increase asymmetric filtering distortion; at large offsets, the station falls below the receiver noise floor. The direction also determines whether the receiver moves toward or away from the higher adjacent station set by Interf. Offset.
• IF Bandwidth (2.0 to 20.0 kHz) - Sets the receiver’s total IF passband. Narrow settings reject more noise and interference but remove more treble; wide settings retain more detail.
• AGC Speed (Slow, Mid, or Fast) - Sets how quickly automatic gain control follows signal changes. Slow emphasizes gradual recovery and pumping; Fast controls rapid fades more tightly.
• Detector RC (20 to 500 µs) - Sets the envelope detector’s discharge time. Longer values smooth the envelope more but increase high-frequency diagonal-clipping distortion at strong modulation.
• Hum (-80 to -20 dB) - Sets power-supply hum. -80 dB switches it off. Unlike an added hum layer, most of this control modulates receiver gain before detection.
• Hum Freq (50 or 60 Hz) - Selects the simulated power frequency.

Output

• Speaker (Off, Small, or Table) - Selects line output, a restricted pocket-radio speaker, or a fuller tabletop-radio response.
• Output Gain (-24 to +24 dB) - Adjusts level after receiver and speaker processing.
• Mix (0 to 100%) - Blends the original stereo signal with the simulated mono reception. 0% is unchanged stereo; 100% sends the same wet signal to left and right. Only 100% Mix makes the output fully mono.
• In C-QUAM, the wet signal is stereo when reception permits. Use Mix at 100% when judging the decoded stereo image.

Reading the HUD

• S METER shows, on an S1-to-S9 scale, the in-band signal strength the receiver has before AGC. Like the S meter of a real set it reads everything inside the passband, so the adjacent station, noise, and static lift it along with the station you want.
• AGC GAIN shows how much gain the receiver is currently applying. It normally rises as Signal falls or a fade deepens. It stops at +42 dB, so deeper fades and weaker signals remain quieter instead of being fully compensated.
• MODULATION shows the effective transmitter modulation percentage after transmitter filtering.
• FADE / EVENTS shows the current propagation gain change in dB and flashes with recent static and clipping rates. Frequent clipping suggests reducing Mod Depth or Detector RC when a cleaner result is wanted.
• STEREO follows the decoded stereo blend. It brightens as stereo reception opens and dims as the receiver automatically returns toward mono.

Recommended Settings

1. Strong Local Station
   • TX Bandwidth: 6.0 kHz, Mod Depth: 90%, Signal: -10 dB, Skywave: 5%, Fading Speed: 0.1 Hz, Static: 0.5/s
   • Interference: -80 dB, Tuning: 0 kHz, IF Bandwidth: 12 kHz, AGC Speed: Fast, Speaker: Table, Mix: 100%
2. Nighttime Distant Station
   • TX Bandwidth: 4.5 kHz, Signal: -35 dB, Skywave: 75%, Fading Speed: 0.3 Hz, Static: 6/s
   • Interference: -55 dB, Interf. Offset: 9 kHz, IF Bandwidth: 6 kHz, AGC Speed: Slow, Detector RC: 150 µs, Speaker: Small, Mix: 100%
3. Crowded Adjacent Channel
   • Signal: -25 dB, Skywave: 40%, Fading Speed: 0.5 Hz, Static: 3/s
   • Interference: -28 dB, Interf. Offset: 9 kHz, Tuning: +0.5 kHz, IF Bandwidth: 6 kHz, AGC Speed: Mid, Speaker: Small, Mix: 100%

Bit Crusher

An effect that recreates the sound of vintage digital devices like old gaming consoles and early samplers. Perfect for adding retro character or creating a lo-fi atmosphere.

Sound Character Guide

• Retro Gaming Style:
  • Creates classic 8-bit console sounds
  • Perfect for video game music nostalgia
  • Adds pixelated texture to the sound
• Lo-Fi Hip Hop Style:
  • Creates that relaxing, study-beats sound
  • Warm, gentle digital degradation
  • Perfect for background listening
• Creative Effects:
  • Create unique glitch-style sounds
  • Transform modern music into retro versions
  • Add digital character to any music

Parameters

• Bit Depth - Controls how “digital” the sound becomes (4 to 24 bits)
  • 4-6 bits: Extreme retro gaming sound
  • 8 bits: Classic vintage digital
  • 12-16 bits: Subtle lo-fi character
  • Higher values: Very gentle effect
• TPDF Dither - Makes the effect sound smoother
  • On: Gentler, more musical sound
  • Off: Raw, more aggressive effect
• ZOH Frequency - Affects the overall clarity (4000Hz to 96000Hz)
  • Lower values: More retro, less clear
  • Higher values: Clearer, more subtle effect
• Bit Error - Adds vintage hardware character (0.00% to 10.00%)
  • 0%: No DAC bit-weight mismatch; Random Seed has no audible effect
  • 0.1-1%: Subtle digital DAC coloration
  • 1-3%: Classic hardware imperfections
  • 3-10%: Creative lo-fi character
• Random Seed - Controls the unique character of imperfections (0 to 1000)
  • Changes the fixed imperfection pattern used by Bit Error
  • Audible only when Bit Error is above 0%
  • Same value always recreates the same imperfection pattern

Cassette Artifacts

Cassette Artifacts combines cassette frequency response, tape compression, hiss, wow and flutter, dropouts, and head-alignment changes. Use it for a complete cassette-deck character rather than a noise layer added over unchanged music.

How It Differs from Other Lo-Fi Effects

• Tape Artifacts gives a cleaner, wider-band open-reel sound with selectable speed. Cassette Artifacts is darker and offers cassette-specific Deck Grade, Tape Type, noise reduction, dropouts, and head alignment.
• Wow Flutter (Modulation) reproduces only the speed variation of a transport. Choose it when you want the wobble without tape saturation, the Type and bias behavior, the noise reduction, or the hiss.
• Saturation and Hard Clipping add nonlinearity on its own, without the frequency-dependent behavior and the transport of a tape machine.
• Vinyl Artifacts, Noise Blender and Hum Generator add noise without changing the music’s frequency response or dynamics.

Sound Character Guide

• Deck Grade moves from the wide, steady Reference sound toward the darker and less stable Portable sound.
• Raise Record Level for stronger compression and saturation; lower it for cleaner dynamics. Use Output to match loudness afterward.
• Tape Type changes noise and headroom. Type I is the noisiest, Type II is balanced, and Type IV keeps bright peaks cleaner.
• Noise Reduction lowers hiss. Dolby C is stronger than Dolby B, while Off gives the rawest cassette background.
• Raise Wow/Flutter, Hiss, or Dropouts for a more worn sound. Azimuth darkens and shifts the high frequencies between channels.

System Presets

Click Effect Presets in the effect header to switch between complete cassette-deck characters.

• Flagship Deck Metal - A quiet, steady reference deck using metal tape and Dolby C.
• Hi-Fi Chrome - A clean Type II cassette with restrained hiss and pitch movement.
• Pocket Cassette Player - A portable-player sound with noise, wobble, and head misalignment.
• Worn Mixtape - A heavily used tape with dropouts, wobble, and rougher saturation.
• Hot Deck Saturation - A deliberately hard-driven cassette sound with stronger tape compression.

Parameters

Compact cassette speed is fixed, so there is no Speed control.

• Deck Grade (Reference, Hi-Fi, Consumer or Portable) - Chooses the deck character. Reference is widest and steadiest; Portable is darkest and least stable. Start with Consumer for a familiar home-deck sound.
• Tape Type (Type I, Type II or Type IV) - Changes tape noise and headroom. Type I is noisiest, Type II is balanced, and Type IV keeps bright peaks cleaner.
• Noise Reduction (Off, Dolby B or Dolby C) - Reduces hiss. Dolby B is moderate, Dolby C is stronger, and Off leaves the raw cassette background. Use Dolby Level Error if you want the brighter or duller sound of mismatched decks.
• Bias (-6.0 to +6.0 dB) - Changes treble and distortion. Start at 0 dB. Small positive values sound cleaner and darker; small negative values sound brighter and rougher. Extreme negative settings become distorted without continuing to brighten.
• Record Level (-12.0 to +18.0 dB) - Controls how hard the tape is driven. Start at +9 dB. Raise it for denser compression and saturation; lower it for cleaner dynamics. Match loudness afterward with Output.
• Wow/Flutter (0 to 1%) - Controls pitch instability. 0% is steady, the 0.200% default gives audible cassette movement on sustained notes, and higher values create a worn-deck warble.
• Hiss (-92.0 to -42.0 dB re 250 nWb/m) - Controls tape hiss and signal-related modulation noise. Raise it for a noisier tape or set it to the minimum to switch the noise layer off. The status line shows the resulting background level for the current settings.
• Dropouts (0 to 20 events/min) - Sets how often brief signal dips occur. 0 disables them, 2 events/min gives occasional wear, and higher values sound increasingly damaged.
• Azimuth (-6.0 to +6.0 arcmin) - Simulates head misalignment. Move away from 0 to soften treble and change the left/right timing; the sign selects which channel leads.
• Dolby Level Error (-3.0 to +3.0 dB) - Simulates a mismatch between recording and playback decks when Noise Reduction is on. Positive values sound brighter and hissier; negative values sound duller. Start at 0 dB.
• Output (-24.0 to +24.0 dB) - Adjusts the level after the whole chain. Use it to match loudness when you compare with bypass, or to bring back the loudness a high Record Level setting has cost.
• Mix (0 to 100%) - Blends the cassette sound with the original. Start at 100% to judge the full effect; lower it for a subtler result. Intermediate values can soften the highest frequencies because the two paths partly cancel there.

Reading the Status Line

The line below the controls shows the effective wow/flutter and background-noise level for the current settings. Use it to compare changes in Tape Type, Noise Reduction, Record Level, and Hiss. off means the tape-noise layer is disabled, and measuring… means the displayed estimate is updating.

Recommended Settings

1. Ordinary Cassette Deck (default)
   • Deck Grade: Consumer, Tape Type: Type I, Noise Reduction: Dolby B, Bias: 0.0 dB, Record Level: +9.0 dB
   • Wow/Flutter: 0.200%, Hiss: -60.5 dB re 250 nWb/m, Dropouts: 2.0 events/min, Azimuth: +2.0 arcmin, Dolby Level Error: 0.0 dB, Output: 0.0 dB, Mix: 100%
   • A familiar home-cassette sound with softened treble, audible compression, light pitch movement, and occasional dropouts.
2. Reference Deck, Metal Tape with Dolby C
   • Deck Grade: Reference, Tape Type: Type IV, Noise Reduction: Dolby C, Bias: 0.0 dB, Record Level: +9.0 dB
   • Wow/Flutter: 0.040%, Hiss: -60.5 dB re 250 nWb/m, Dropouts: 0.0 events/min, Azimuth: 0.0 arcmin, Dolby Level Error: 0.0 dB, Output: 0.0 dB, Mix: 100%
   • The cleanest cassette preset: wide, steady, and quiet, with strong high-frequency headroom and no added wear.
3. Ferric Tape, No Noise Reduction
   • Deck Grade: Consumer, Tape Type: Type I, Noise Reduction: Off, Bias: 0.0 dB, Record Level: +9.0 dB
   • Wow/Flutter: 0.200%, Hiss: -60.5 dB re 250 nWb/m, Dropouts: 2.0 events/min, Azimuth: +2.0 arcmin, Dolby Level Error: 0.0 dB, Output: 0.0 dB, Mix: 100%
   • Raw ferric cassette playback with clearly audible hiss in quiet passages and no noise-reduction coloration.
4. Home Deck, Slightly Over-Biased
   • Deck Grade: Consumer, Tape Type: Type I, Noise Reduction: Dolby B, Bias: +2.0 dB, Record Level: +12.0 dB
   • Wow/Flutter: 0.300%, Hiss: -58.0 dB re 250 nWb/m, Dropouts: 4.0 events/min, Azimuth: +3.0 arcmin, Dolby Level Error: -1.0 dB, Output: +0.5 dB, Mix: 100%
   • A darker, more compressed home-deck sound with extra wobble, hiss, misalignment, and occasional dropouts.
5. Portable, Worn Tape
   • Deck Grade: Portable, Tape Type: Type I, Noise Reduction: Off, Bias: -2.0 dB, Record Level: +12.0 dB
   • Wow/Flutter: 0.480%, Hiss: -54.0 dB re 250 nWb/m, Dropouts: 8.0 events/min, Azimuth: +4.0 arcmin, Dolby Level Error: 0.0 dB, Output: +1.0 dB, Mix: 100%
   • An intentionally degraded portable-player sound with narrow bandwidth, strong wobble, noise, distortion, and frequent dropouts.

Digital Error Emulator

An effect that simulates the sound of digital audio transmission errors, from faint interface clicks to vintage CD player imperfections and wireless dropouts. Use it when you want nostalgic digital character or obvious glitch texture during listening.

Sound Character Guide

• Subtle Digital Playback Character:
  • Simulates S/PDIF, AES3, and MADI transmission artifacts
  • Adds faint, occasional digital imperfections
  • Useful when clean playback feels too perfect
• Consumer Digital Dropouts:
  • Recreates classic CD player error correction behavior
  • Simulates USB audio interface glitches
  • Great for 90s/2000s digital music nostalgia
• Streaming & Wireless Audio Artifacts:
  • Simulates Bluetooth transmission errors
  • Network streaming dropouts and artifacts
  • Modern digital life imperfections
• Creative Digital Textures:
  • RF interference and wireless transmission errors
  • HDMI/DisplayPort audio corruption effects
  • Unique experimental sound possibilities

Parameters

• Bit Error Rate - Controls how often errors occur (10^-12 to 10^-2)
  • Very Rare (10^-10 to 10^-8): Subtle occasional artifacts
  • Occasional (10^-8 to 10^-6): Classic consumer equipment behavior
  • Frequent (10^-6 to 10^-4): Noticeable vintage character
  • Extreme (10^-4 to 10^-2): Creative experimental effects
  • Default: 10^-6 (typical consumer equipment)
• Mode - Selects the type of digital transmission to simulate
  • AES3/S-PDIF: Professional interface bit errors with sample hold
  • ADAT/TDIF/MADI: Multi-channel burst errors (hold or mute)
  • HDMI/DP: Display audio row corruption or muting
  • USB/FireWire/Thunderbolt: Micro-frame dropouts with interpolation
  • Dante/AES67/AVB: Network audio packet loss (64/128/256 samples)
  • Bluetooth A2DP/LE: Wireless transmission errors with concealment
  • WiSA: Wireless speaker FEC block errors
  • RF Systems: Radio frequency squelch and interference
  • CD Audio: CIRC error correction simulation
  • Default: CD Audio — CIRC Error Correction (Interpolated)
• Reference Fs (kHz) - Sets the reference sample rate used only by Dante / AES67 / AVB packet-loss modes to scale the 64/128/256-sample packet length
  • Available rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz
  • Other modes use their own fixed or current-sample-rate timing
  • Default: 48 kHz
• Wet Mix - Controls the blend between original and processed audio (0-100%)
  • Note: For realistic digital error simulation, keep at 100%
  • Lower values create unrealistic “partial” errors that don’t occur in real digital systems
  • Default: 100% (authentic digital error behavior)

Mode Details

Professional Interfaces:

• AES3/S-PDIF: Single-sample errors with previous sample hold
• ADAT/TDIF/MADI: 32-sample burst errors - either hold last good samples or mute
• HDMI/DisplayPort: 192-sample row corruption with bit-level errors or complete muting

Computer Audio:

• USB/FireWire/Thunderbolt: Micro-frame dropouts with interpolation concealment
• Network Audio (Dante/AES67/AVB): Packet loss with different size options and concealment

Consumer Wireless:

• Bluetooth A2DP: Post-codec transmission errors with warble and decay artifacts
• Bluetooth LE: Enhanced concealment with high-frequency filtering and noise
• WiSA: Wireless speaker FEC block muting

Specialized Systems:

• RF Systems: Variable-length squelch events simulating radio interference
• CD Audio: CIRC error correction simulation with Reed-Solomon-style behavior

Recommended Settings for Different Styles

1. Subtle Digital Playback Character
   • Mode: AES3 / S-PDIF (I²S) — Bit Error (Hold), BER: 10^-8, Fs: 48kHz, Wet: 100%
   • Perfect for: Adding faint, occasional digital imperfections
2. Classic CD Player Experience
   • Mode: CD Audio — CIRC Error Correction (Interpolated), BER: 10^-7, Fs: 44.1kHz, Wet: 100%
   • Perfect for: 90s digital music nostalgia
3. Modern Streaming Glitches
   • Mode: Dante / AES67 / AVB — UDP Drop (128 samp), BER: 10^-6, Fs: 48kHz, Wet: 100%
   • Perfect for: Contemporary digital life imperfections
4. Bluetooth Listening Experience
   • Mode: Bluetooth A2DP — Digital Transmission, BER: 10^-6, Fs: 48kHz, Wet: 100%
   • Perfect for: Wireless audio memories
5. Wireless Dropout Texture
   • Mode: WMAS / DECT / Axient — RF Squelch, BER: 10^-5, Fs: 48kHz, Wet: 100%
   • Perfect for: Obvious radio-style interruptions and glitch texture

Note: All recommendations use 100% Wet Mix for realistic digital error behavior. Lower wet mix values can be used for creative effects, but they don’t represent how real digital errors actually occur.

DSD64 IMD Simulator

An effect that recreates a subtle, often-debated side effect of DSD64 playback: the ultrasonic noise that DSD carries above the audible range can, through the small imperfections of real DACs, amplifiers, and speakers, create intermodulation distortion (IMD) — extra grit and tones that fall back down into the range you can hear. This effect reproduces that audible result so you can hear and adjust it. It is a simulation and does not generate a real DSD stream.

This effect requires a sample rate of 88.2 kHz or higher (88.2 / 96 / 176.4 / 192 kHz). At 44.1 / 48 kHz it cannot work and is bypassed (the dry signal passes through unchanged) with a warning shown. Set the sample rate to 88.2 kHz or higher in the app’s audio settings to use this effect.

Sound Character Guide

• Very subtle “digital grit”: a faint, constant sandy noise floor plus a fine harshness that follows the music.
• Demonstration tool: makes the usually-inaudible DSD64 ultrasonic IMD audible and adjustable.
• Creative texture: with higher Amount and Analog Nonlinearity it becomes an obvious lo-fi scratch/edge effect.

Parameters

Main parameters

• Amount (-40.0 to +50.0 dB) - Overall level of the generated distortion.
• Dry-Wet (100:0 to 0:100) - Balance of dry signal to generated distortion, shown as a dry:wet ratio. 100:0 = dry only; 100:100 (center) = full dry plus full distortion; 0:100 = distortion only.
• Ultrasonic Level (-48.0 to -18.0 dBFS RMS) - Level of the simulated DSD ultrasonic noise. More noise produces more distortion.
• Noise Color (-100 to +100%) - Moves the ultrasonic noise lower or higher in frequency and tilts its balance.
• Analog Nonlinearity (0.00 to 10.00%) - How imperfect (non-linear) the simulated analog gear is. Higher values produce more distortion.
• Even Bias (0 to 100%) - Balances the make-up of the distortion. Lower values favor distortion that follows the music (Attached); higher values favor the constant, noise-like distortion (Additive) plus the Cross component.
• Signal Coupling (0 to 200%) - Strength of the music-dependent distortion (Attached and Cross). At 0, only the constant Additive noise remains.
• IMD Path HPF (0.0 to 8.0 kHz) - Limits distortion generation to frequencies above this point. 0.0 = Off (full-range, like an amplifier); around 2.5 kHz emulates a system where only the tweeter produces the distortion. The dry signal is never affected.
• Scratch Tone (3.0 to 14.0 kHz) - Center frequency of the audible “scratch” character.

Advanced / utility parameters

• Noise Texture (0 to 100%) - Adds resonant ripple to the ultrasonic noise for a slightly different texture.
• Cross Sideband (0 to 100%) - Amount of distortion created by the music mixing with the ultrasonic noise.
• Output Trim (-24.0 to +12.0 dB) - Final output level adjustment.

Visualizations

• Term Contribution meters - Real-time levels of each part of the effect:
  • Additive - the constant noise-only distortion, present even with no input.
  • Attached - distortion that sticks to and follows the music.
  • Cross - distortion from the music mixing with the ultrasonic noise.
  • Total IMD - the combined distortion that is generated.
  • Output - the final output level (dry plus distortion, after Dry-Wet and Output Trim).
• Analog Transfer Curve - Shows the distortion curve created by Analog Nonlinearity and Even Bias, in the same in/out style as the Saturation plugins.
• Difference-Frequency view - A static graph showing which audible frequencies the ultrasonic noise produces, based on the current noise settings.

Recommended Settings

• Subtle (default): Amount +24 dB, Ultrasonic Level -30 dBFS, Analog Nonlinearity 1.40%, Even Bias 20%, Signal Coupling 150%, Cross Sideband 75%, Scratch Tone 10.5 kHz.
• Tweeter-only IMD: IMD Path HPF 2.5 kHz, Signal Coupling 80–150%, Cross Sideband 50–100%, Scratch Tone 9–14 kHz.
• Obvious effect: raise Amount, Ultrasonic Level, and Analog Nonlinearity.

FM Radio Simulator

FM Radio Simulator passes the music through a modeled FM broadcast and receiver chain: broadcast audio processing and pre-emphasis, stereo multiplex (MPX) composition with the 19 kHz pilot, FM modulation of a carrier, multipath propagation and antenna noise, receiver tuning, IF filtering, hard limiting, FM discrimination, pilot-PLL stereo decoding, and de-emphasis. Because the signal really is FM modulated and demodulated, the characteristic behaviors of FM reception emerge from the physics instead of being synthesized: the bright hiss that rises as the signal weakens, the stereo noise penalty and automatic blend toward mono, click and sputter noise below the FM threshold, and multipath distortion.

This effect requires an environment that supports its real-time processing. When that processing is unavailable, the audio remains unchanged and the HUD reports that the effect is unavailable.

How It Differs from Additive Lo-Fi Effects

• FM Radio Simulator does not synthesize “radio-like” noise and mix it on top. It modulates the music onto a carrier, degrades that carrier, and demodulates it. Hiss, clicks, and distortion appear only where the receiver physics creates them, and they react to Signal, Tuning, the IF filter, and the stereo decoder, showing the same physical tendencies as real FM reception.
• Noise Blender adds a constant background noise texture without changing the music; choose it when you only want ambience. It can also be chained after this effect to stand in for ignition-style impulse interference, which this model does not include.
• Digital Error Emulator reproduces digital transmission errors such as dropouts and concealment artifacts — a different family of degradation from analog FM reception.
• AM Radio Simulator is the matching physical model for AM broadcasting; FM Radio Simulator reproduces the wideband FM sound with its stereo multiplex, pilot lock, and FM-specific noise behavior.

Sound Character Guide

• Clean broadcast: with a strong signal, the chain mainly contributes the broadcast processing itself — the 15 kHz bandwidth limit and the density of the station’s limiter set by Processing.
• Weak-signal hiss: as Signal falls, a bright, airy hiss rises first in stereo. Switching Stereo to Mono makes the same reception noticeably quieter, for the same reason mono is quieter on a real tuner.
• Fringe reception: near the FM threshold, clicks and sputter appear, the receiver blends to mono, and the program finally sinks into noise.
• Multipath color: reflections add a harsh, hollow distortion whose character follows Path Delay; raising Fading turns it into the flutter of mobile reception.

System Presets

Click Effect Presets in the effect header to try representative FM reception conditions.

• Powerhouse Broadcast - A strong station with more broadcast processing.
• Distant Station - Reception near the service-area edge, with hiss and early stereo degradation.
• City Drive Multipath - Fast-changing reflections and multipath distortion for mobile listening.

Parameters

• Radio (on or off) - Switches the station’s transmission on and off. With it off the carrier disappears entirely, so the receiver has nothing left to limit but its own noise floor and produces the full-scale hiss of an empty channel. Use it to hear the moment a station signs on or off the air. This is not the same as turning the effect off, which leaves the music untouched.
• Emphasis (50 or 75 µs) - Selects the pre-emphasis/de-emphasis time-constant pair (50 µs: Japan/Europe, 75 µs: the Americas). On a clean signal the pair nearly cancels; the choice subtly changes how hiss and distortion are voiced.
• Processing (0 to +18 dB) - Drive of the broadcast limiter — the station’s “loudness”. 0 dB is nearly transparent; higher values sound denser and louder in the way heavily processed stations do.
• Signal (0 to 70 dBµV) - Carrier level at the antenna input. The noise floor is fixed by physics (75 Ω thermal noise plus receiver noise figure), so this control sets the carrier-to-noise ratio and is the main degradation axis. Around 50 dBµV and above reception is essentially clean; near 30 stereo hiss is clearly audible; near 15 the Auto blend has moved to mono; at 6 and below clicks multiply and the program sinks into noise.
• Tuning (-200 to +200 kHz) - Detunes the receiver from the station. Small offsets pass almost unnoticed; from roughly ±40 kHz the sound becomes increasingly distorted, asymmetric, and quieter as the sidebands slide out of the IF passband. At ±200 kHz the station is fully outside the passband, leaving only receiver noise.
• IF Band (80 to 240 kHz) - Receiver IF filter width. Narrow settings represent a receiver built for crowded conditions: they truncate the FM sidebands and increase distortion, especially together with detuning. Wide settings are cleaner for a strong, centered station.
• Multipath (0 to 100%) - Effect amount for two delayed reflections: at 100% the first reflection reaches the same amplitude as the direct wave, and the second is 60% of the first. As the reflections grow the interference nulls deepen, converting FM into amplitude and phase errors that the limiter cannot fully remove — from a subtle coloration at low settings to the harsh, sputtering distortion of severe multipath near 100%.
• Path Delay (0.5 to 50 µs) - Delay of the first reflection (the second is fixed at 2.7 times). Short delays give a broad, phasey coloration; longer delays produce sharper, more localized distortion.
• Fading (0 to 20 Hz) - Rotation rate of the reflection phases. 0 Hz freezes the multipath pattern; higher values create the flutter and picket-fencing of reception in a moving car.
• Stereo (Auto / Stereo / Mono) - Auto blends continuously from stereo to mono as pilot lock and signal quality degrade, like a real receiver. Stereo forces the decoder on and exposes the full stereo noise penalty on weak signals. Mono discards the L−R subchannel for noticeably quieter weak-signal reception.
• Output (-24 to +24 dB) - Output trim after demodulation.
• Mix (0 to 100%) - Blends the demodulated signal with a latency-aligned dry signal. 100% is full radio reception; lower values mix the original back in without comb filtering.

Reading the HUD

• The graph shows the MPX spectrum seen at the demodulator output on a logarithmic frequency axis, with markers at 15 kHz (end of the L+R region), the 19 kHz pilot, and the L−R subchannel around 38 kHz (23 to 53 kHz band). As Signal falls, the noise floor rises toward higher frequencies — the triangular noise spectrum characteristic of FM — and swallows the L−R region first. This is the visible reason stereo reception becomes noisy before mono does.
• The signal meter and dBµV readout show the received carrier level set by Signal and varying with multipath interference.
• CNR is the estimated carrier-to-noise ratio. Clicking starts to appear as it approaches the FM threshold around 12 dB.
• The ST lamp and percentage show the current stereo blend: 100% is full stereo, 0% is mono. With Stereo set to Auto, the percentage falls as the signal degrades.
• MPath shows the first reflection level relative to the direct wave in dB (−∞ when Multipath is 0%).
• Clicks counts recent FM threshold clicks per second and highlights when clicking becomes frequent.
• If the WASM engine is unavailable, the HUD shows a notice and the plugin passes audio through unchanged.

Recommended Settings

1. Strong Local Station
   • Emphasis: 50 µs, Processing: 6 dB, Signal: 50 dBµV, Tuning: 0 kHz, IF Band: 230 kHz
   • Multipath: 0%, Fading: 0 Hz, Stereo: Auto, Mix: 100%
   • Clean stereo with only the broadcast processing character. Raise Processing to compare station sounds.
2. Suburban Reception
   • Signal: 30 dBµV, Tuning: 0 kHz, IF Band: 230 kHz, Multipath: 20%, Path Delay: 5 µs, Fading: 0.5 Hz
   • Stereo: Auto, Mix: 100%
   • Clearly audible stereo hiss over the music. Compare Stereo: Mono to hear the stereo noise penalty disappear.
3. Fringe Reception
   • Signal: 15 dBµV, IF Band: 180 kHz, Multipath: 40%, Path Delay: 12 µs, Fading: 2 Hz
   • Stereo: Auto, Mix: 100%
   • The Auto blend has moved to mono and reception flutters. Force Stereo to hear why receivers blend.
4. Barely a Signal
   • Signal: 6 dBµV, Tuning: +30 kHz, Multipath: 60%, Path Delay: 12 µs, Fading: 5 Hz
   • Stereo: Auto, Mix: 100%
   • Below the FM threshold: sputtering clicks, heavy noise, and a program that fades in and out of the static.

Model Notes

The effect processes the first stereo pair as one broadcast chain; a mono input is broadcast with an empty L−R channel. RDS, adjacent stations, and interference sources are outside this model. For a multiband “big station” sound, place a Multiband Compressor before this effect; for impulse-type interference, chain Noise Blender or Digital Error Emulator after it.

G.726 Simulator

G.726 Simulator passes the selected mono channel or stereo pair through a real ITU-T G.726 encode/decode round trip at an 8 kHz codec rate. A stereo pair is combined to mono before encoding, and the decoded signal is sent to both selected channels. Use it to hear the bandwidth, adaptive differential quantization, and prediction-error character of digital telephone speech coding. With Bit Error Rate at its default the path stays completely clean; raising it adds the bit errors of a wireless link such as DECT.

The four modes are the standard G.726 rates: 16, 24, 32, and 40 kbit/s. The default 32 kbit/s setting is the historical DECT full-slot speech mode. Lower rates spend fewer bits on each 8 kHz sample and make granular quantization, rough sustained tones, and slope overload more apparent. The codec is designed for speech, so full-band music exposes its limits strongly.

If the plugin reports that the effect is unavailable, try another sample rate or channel mode. Until then, the input remains unchanged.

Sound Enhancement Guide

• Representative telephone speech: Start with 32 kbit/s, Output at 0 dB, and Mix at 100%. Spoken voice reveals the narrow 8 kHz path and characteristic adaptive-ADPCM texture while staying close to the historically common operating point.
• Compare rate-dependent artifacts: Switch between 40, 32, 24, and 16 kbit/s on the same speech passage. At lower rates, listen for coarser vowels, rougher sustained tones, and slower recovery after abrupt level changes.
• Expose the codec with music: Use percussion, bright sustained notes, or dense mixes at 16 or 24 kbit/s. These sources stress a speech-oriented predictor and make bandwidth and prediction-error artifacts easier to identify.
• Add radio bit errors: Raise Bit Error Rate toward -4.5 to -2 to hear code words break up into crackling and rough patches. Leave it at -6 for a clean encode/decode comparison.
• Blend the effect: Reduce Mix when you want some codec character without replacing the entire signal. The dry path is delayed to align with the decoded path, avoiding a separate comb-filter effect.
• Match levels before comparing: Adjust Output only to compensate for perceived or measured loudness differences. It does not change the G.726 bit allocation.

Parameters

• Bitrate — Selects the standard G.726 rate: 16, 24, 32, or 40 kbit/s. Each 8 kHz sample uses 2, 3, 4, or 5 ADPCM bits respectively. Lower settings increase quantization and predictor-error artifacts; higher settings preserve the reconstructed waveform more closely.
• Output — Adjusts the decoded output level from -24.0 to +12.0 dB. Use it for level matching; it does not alter the codec state or bitrate.
• Mix — Blends the latency-aligned original with the decoded result from 0% to 100%.
• Bit Error Rate — Sets the wireless-link bit error rate as a power of ten, from -6 to -2 (default -6). At -6 the codec path is effectively error-free. Higher settings flip more bits inside the ADPCM code words, producing the crackling that a weak DECT-style radio link causes.

GSM-FR Simulator

When the audio output has one channel, GSM-FR Simulator processes that channel directly. With two or more output channels, it combines the selected stereo pair to mono. It then resamples the mono signal to 8 kHz and passes it through the standardized 13 kbit/s GSM-FR RPE-LTP encoder and decoder. The decoded result returns to the single output channel or to both channels of the selected pair. Use it to examine how early digital mobile speech coding changes voices, percussion, sustained tones, and dense music. With C/I at its default the path stays completely clean; lowering it reproduces poor GSM reception.

Each 20 ms frame is represented by quantized linear-prediction, long-term-prediction, and regular-pulse-excitation parameters. Transcodes repeats the complete encode/decode stage with independent state, reproducing tandem coding rather than acting as a generic quality control. Additional channels beyond the selected stereo pair remain unchanged.

If the plugin reports that the effect is unavailable, try another sample rate or channel mode. Until then, the input remains unchanged.

Sound Enhancement Guide

• Representative early-mobile speech: Set Transcodes to 1, Output to 0 dB, and Mix to 100%, then compare voices, cymbals, and percussion with bypass.
• Hear tandem coding: Keep the same passage and change Transcodes from 1 to 2 to 3. Warble, chirping, and loss of clarity increase because the signal is genuinely encoded and decoded again. Radio reception errors are separate: at the default C/I of 30 dB there are none, and lowering C/I reproduces them.
• Expose the speech model with music: Use Transcodes 3 on bright or dense music to make the 8 kHz speech bandwidth, RPE-LTP buzz, and formant reshaping easier to identify.
• Blend the result: Lower Mix to restore some of the original stereo signal. The dry path is aligned to the codec latency.
• Match levels before comparing: Adjust Output only to compensate for perceived or measured loudness differences. It does not change the codec algorithm.

Parameters

• Transcodes — Selects 1, 2, or 3 complete GSM-FR encode/decode passes. Every pass has independent state and uses the same 13 kbit/s codec. Higher settings increase tandem-coding artifacts.
• Output — Adjusts the decoded output level from -24.0 to +12.0 dB. Use it for level matching; it does not alter the codec state or bit rate.
• Mix — Blends the latency-aligned original with the decoded result from 0% to 100%. At 100%, a selected stereo pair carries the same decoded mono signal on both channels; lower settings restore the original stereo difference.
• C/I — Sets the carrier-to-interference ratio of the radio link from 4 to 30 dB (default 30). At 30 dB reception is effectively perfect. Lower values add frame erasures with GSM 06.11-style concealment (previous frame repeated and attenuated, muting after consecutive losses) plus Class 2 bit-error distortion, giving the ragged dropouts of a phone at the edge of coverage. With Transcodes above 1 the degradation is applied to the final hop only.

Hum Generator

Adds a controllable 50/60 Hz electrical hum layer for a vintage, lo-fi listening mood. Use low levels when clean playback feels too sterile, or raise Level for an obvious sound-effect-like hum.

Sound Character Guide

• Vintage Equipment Ambience:
  • Recreates the subtle hum of classic amplifiers and equipment
  • Adds the character of being “plugged in” to AC power
  • Creates a vintage playback atmosphere
• Power Supply Characteristics:
  • Simulates different types of power supply noise
  • Recreates regional power grid characteristics (50Hz vs 60Hz)
  • Adds subtle electrical infrastructure character
• Background Texture:
  • Creates organic, low-level background presence
  • Adds depth and “life” to very clean playback
  • Useful for a vintage or lo-fi listening mood

Parameters

• Frequency - Sets the fundamental hum frequency (10-120 Hz)
  • 50 Hz: European/Asian power grid standard
  • 60 Hz: North American power grid standard
  • Other values: Custom frequencies for creative effects
• Type - Controls the harmonic structure of the hum
  • Standard: Contains only odd harmonics (more pure, transformer-like)
  • Rich: Contains all harmonics (complex, equipment-like)
  • Dirty: Rich harmonics with subtle distortion (vintage gear character)
• Harmonics - Controls the brightness and harmonic content (0-100%)
  • 0-30%: Warm, mellow hum with minimal upper harmonics
  • 30-70%: Balanced harmonic content typical of real equipment
  • 70-100%: Bright, complex hum with strong upper harmonics
  • In Dirty mode, higher Harmonics also increases distortion and roughness
• Tone - Final tone shaping filter cutoff frequency (1.0-20.0 kHz)
  • 1-5 kHz: Warm, muffled character
  • 5-10 kHz: Natural equipment-like tone
  • 10-20 kHz: Bright, present character
• Instability - Amount of subtle frequency and amplitude variation (0-10%)
  • 0%: Perfectly stable hum (digital precision)
  • 1-3%: Slight natural drift
  • 3-10%: More noticeable but still gentle wobble
• Level - Output level of the hum signal (-80.0 to 0.0 dB)
  • -80 to -60 dB: Barely audible background presence
  • -60 to -40 dB: Subtle but noticeable hum
  • -40 to -20 dB: Prominent vintage character
  • -20 to 0 dB: Creative or special effect levels

Recommended Settings for Different Styles

1. Subtle Vintage Amplifier
   • Frequency: 50/60 Hz, Type: Standard, Harmonics: 25%
   • Tone: 8.0 kHz, Instability: 1.5%, Level: -54 dB
   • Perfect for: Adding gentle vintage playback character
2. Classic Vintage Playback
   • Frequency: 60 Hz, Type: Rich, Harmonics: 45%
   • Tone: 6.0 kHz, Instability: 2.0%, Level: -48 dB
   • Perfect for: Background electrical ambience from older playback gear
3. Vintage Tube Equipment
   • Frequency: 50 Hz, Type: Dirty, Harmonics: 60%
   • Tone: 5.0 kHz, Instability: 3.5%, Level: -42 dB
   • Perfect for: Warm tube amplifier character
4. Power Grid Ambience
   • Frequency: 50/60 Hz, Type: Standard, Harmonics: 35%
   • Tone: 10.0 kHz, Instability: 1.0%, Level: -60 dB
   • Perfect for: Realistic power supply background
5. Stronger Hum Texture
   • Frequency: 40 Hz, Type: Dirty, Harmonics: 80%
   • Tone: 15.0 kHz, Instability: 6.0%, Level: -36 dB
   • Perfect for: A stronger, more audible hum texture

MD Simulator

MD Simulator passes the selected channels through a real-time, simplified ATRAC analysis, finite-bit spectral quantization, and synthesis path modeled on the MiniDisc format’s family of codecs. Use it to hear how a clean ATRAC round trip changes transients, high-frequency detail, and tonal textures at the three recording modes a MiniDisc deck actually offered.

Mode selects one of the three real MD operating points: SP (292 kbps) uses ATRAC1, the codec of the original standard-play MiniDisc. LP2 (132 kbps) and LP4 (66 kbps) use ATRAC3, MDLP’s double- and quadruple-length recording modes; LP4 also applies joint stereo coding. Lower rates leave less bit budget for the analysis filterbank and make transient smear, high-frequency “birdies”/swishing, and low-bit-allocation noise more apparent.

If the plugin reports that the effect is unavailable, try another sample rate or channel mode. The input remains unchanged until the effect becomes available.

Sound Enhancement Guide

• Representative MD listening: Start with SP, Output at 0 dB, and Mix at 100%. This is the codec most MD recordings actually used and gives the cleanest comparison point.
• Hear long-play compression: Switch the same passage through LP2 and then LP4. Cymbals, dense percussion, and wide stereo mixes reveal progressively coarser high-frequency detail and, in LP4, a thinner, more unstable top end from the halved bit budget and joint stereo coding.
• Expose transient behavior: Use sharp transient sources (castanets, plucked strings, piano attacks) to hear the pre-echo smear typical of ATRAC’s transient detection.
• Blend the effect: Reduce Mix when you want some MD character without replacing the whole signal. The dry path is latency-aligned with the decoded path.
• Match levels before comparing: Adjust Output only to compensate for perceived or measured loudness differences. It does not change the codec’s bit allocation.

Parameters

• Mode — Selects SP (292 kbps), LP2 (132 kbps), or LP4 (66 kbps). SP uses ATRAC1; LP2 and LP4 use ATRAC3, with LP4 adding joint stereo coding. Lower bitrates leave fewer bits for spectral quantization and make codec artifacts more pronounced.
• Output — Adjusts the decoded output level from -24.0 to +12.0 dB. Use it for level matching; it does not alter the codec state or bit allocation.
• Mix — Blends the latency-aligned original with the decoded result from 0% to 100%.

MP3 Codec Simulator

MP3 Codec Simulator passes the selected channels through a real-time, simplified MPEG Layer III analysis, finite-bit spectral quantization, and synthesis path. Use it to hear how a clean MP3 round trip changes transients, high-frequency detail, tonal textures, and stereo imaging at low bitrates. It models codec processing only; it does not add damaged-file clicks, dropouts, packet loss, or transmission errors.

The 44.1 kHz MPEG-1 profile offers 32–320 kbit/s. The 22.05 kHz MPEG-2 profile offers 32–160 kbit/s and naturally limits the coded bandwidth more strongly. High settings are useful as comparison points and may sound very close to the input on some material.

If the plugin reports that the effect is unavailable, try another sample rate or channel mode. The input remains unchanged until the effect becomes available.

Sound Enhancement Guide

• Clearly audible low-bitrate MP3: Start with 44.1 kHz, 48 or 64 kbit/s, Joint Stereo, Bit Reservoir On, and Mix at 100%. Percussion, cymbals, sustained tones, and wide stereo recordings reveal the codec most readily.
• Stronger bandwidth limitation: Choose 22.05 kHz at 32 or 48 kbit/s. This profile is useful for comparing early low-rate downloads and streaming-like constraints with the 44.1 kHz profile.
• Hear the reservoir working: Keep a track with quiet and dense passages at 48 or 64 kbit/s, then switch Bit Reservoir Off. With it off, every frame must fit its own bit budget, so dense transients can become rougher.
• Compare subtle and obvious degradation: Compare 64 kbit/s with 128 or 192 kbit/s at 44.1 kHz. The higher setting does not guarantee a completely transparent result, but it shows how added bit budget preserves more detail.
• Blend the effect: Reduce Mix when you want some codec character without replacing the whole signal. The dry path is latency-aligned with the coded path.

Parameters

• Codec Rate — Selects 44.1 kHz (MPEG-1) or 22.05 kHz (MPEG-2). The 22.05 kHz setting has a narrower coded bandwidth and makes the low-rate character more obvious.
• Bitrate — Sets the total constant bitrate for the mono or stereo stream. MPEG-1 supports 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 160, 192, 224, 256, and 320 kbit/s. MPEG-2 supports the same choices through 160 kbit/s. Lower values leave fewer bits for each transform frame and make spectral holes, rough tonal components, and transient smear more likely.
• Stereo Mode — Joint Stereo can encode the first stereo pair as Mid/Side when that is more efficient. Stereo keeps the left and right spectra separate. Joint Stereo does not simply convert the output to mono.
• Bit Reservoir — Lets simple frames save unused main-data capacity for later complex frames. Turning it off makes every frame meet its own budget and can expose stronger frame-to-frame quality variation.
• Output — Adjusts the decoded level from -24.0 to +12.0 dB. Lower it if transform overshoot makes peaks too high.
• Mix — Blends the latency-aligned original with the decoded result from 0% to 100%.

Noise Blender

An effect that adds atmospheric background texture to your music, similar to the sound of vinyl records or vintage equipment. Perfect for creating cozy, nostalgic atmospheres.

Sound Character Guide

• Vintage Equipment Sound:
  • Recreates the warmth of old audio gear
  • Adds subtle “life” to digital recordings
  • Creates an authentic vintage feel
• Vinyl Record Experience:
  • Adds that classic record player atmosphere
  • Creates a cozy, familiar feeling
  • Perfect for late-night listening
• Ambient Texture:
  • Adds atmospheric background
  • Creates depth and space
  • Makes digital music feel more organic

Parameters

• Noise Type - Chooses the character of the background texture
  • White: Brighter, more present texture
  • Pink: Warmer, more natural sound
  • Brown: Deeper, softer texture with more low-frequency weight
• Level - Controls how noticeable the effect is (-96dB to 0dB)
  • Very Subtle (-96dB to -72dB): Just a hint
  • Gentle (-72dB to -48dB): Noticeable texture
  • Strong (-48dB to -24dB): Dominant vintage character
• Per Channel - Creates a more spacious effect
  • On: Wider, more immersive sound
  • Off: More focused, centered texture

SBC Codec Simulator

SBC Codec Simulator passes the selected channels through a real-time SBC analysis, bit allocation, quantization, and synthesis path. Use it to hear how the mandatory baseline codec for Bluetooth A2DP can change high-frequency detail, tonal textures, transients, and stereo imaging. With Packet Loss at its default the round trip is completely clean; raising it reproduces the dropouts of a real Bluetooth link.

The read-only Bitrate value shows the resulting stream rate for the current Bitpool, Channel Mode, and Blocks settings. Use it when comparing configurations; Bitpool itself is not a bitrate.

If the plugin reports that the effect is unavailable, try another sample rate or channel mode. The input remains unchanged until the effect becomes available.

Sound Enhancement Guide

• Typical clean SBC comparison: Start with Bitpool 35, Joint Stereo, 16 Blocks, and Mix at 100%. Compare cymbals, sustained tones, percussion, and wide stereo recordings with bypass.
• Make codec artifacts easier to hear: Lower Bitpool toward 12–20. Fewer quantization bits are available to the eight subbands, so high-frequency detail and tonal residuals become more obvious.
• Compare stereo allocation: Switch between Joint Stereo and Stereo while watching Bitrate. Joint Stereo can code correlated stereo content more efficiently, while Stereo keeps left and right subbands separate.
• Reproduce SBC XQ: Select Dual Channel and set Bitpool to 38 for the common “SBC XQ” configuration, or 47 for “SBC XQ+”. On a 44.1 kHz source the Bitrate reads 452.0 and 551.3 kbit/s, matching the well-known figures. Bitpool 53 reaches 617.4 kbit/s, the highest rate this simulator can produce. These settings are outside the A2DP recommendation but are what high-bitrate SBC senders actually transmit, and they are where the codec becomes hardest to distinguish from bypass.
• Compare frame adaptation: Change Blocks from 16 to 4. Shorter frames update scale factors more often but spend a larger share of each frame on fixed overhead, which also changes the displayed bitrate.
• Add wireless dropouts: Raise Packet Loss toward 5–20% to hear frames disappear in bursts and the concealment fade in. Leave it at 0% for a clean encode/decode comparison.
• Blend the effect: Reduce Mix when you want some SBC character without replacing the whole signal. The dry path is latency-aligned with the coded path.

Parameters

• Bitpool — Sets the quantization-bit budget per SBC frame, from 2 to 53. Joint Stereo and Stereo share this budget across the stereo pair, while Dual Channel spends it on each channel separately. Lower values leave more subbands with few or no bits and make codec artifacts stronger. Bitpool is not a direct kbit/s value.
• Channel Mode — Joint Stereo may encode correlated subbands as sum/difference when that reduces the required scale factors. Stereo keeps left and right subbands separate. Both share one bitpool across the first stereo pair; Joint Stereo does not simply make the output mono. Dual Channel gives each channel its own independent allocation at the full bitpool, so the frame and the bitrate roughly double: this is the configuration behind “SBC XQ”, and because left and right are quantized independently the stereo image fluctuates differently than under Joint Stereo.
• Blocks — Selects 4, 8, 12, or 16 subband-sample blocks per SBC frame. Fewer blocks shorten the codec frame and increase fixed overhead relative to coded audio; more blocks adapt scale factors less often.
• Bitrate — Shows the current stream rate in kbit/s. It updates when Bitpool, Channel Mode, Blocks, sample rate, or mono/stereo routing changes.
• Packet Loss — Sets the Bluetooth link packet loss rate from 0% to 20% (default 0%). At 0% no frames are lost. Higher values drop whole SBC frames in bursts (Gilbert-Elliott model), and the built-in concealment repeats the previous frame with attenuation before fading to silence, giving the interruptions of a real wireless link.
• Output — Adjusts the decoded level from -24.0 to +12.0 dB (default 0.0 dB). Lower it if codec filter overshoot makes peaks too high.
• Mix — Blends the latency-aligned original with the decoded result from 0% to 100%.

Simple Jitter

Simple Jitter adds random variations to sample timing. The picosecond range is for comparing small, realistic clock fluctuations; during normal music playback, these settings are usually almost impossible to distinguish. For an obvious change in movement or texture, use microseconds or more. At those values, treat Simple Jitter as a creative effect, not as a model of normal CD players, DAT machines, or other digital equipment.

Sound Character Guide

• Small clock-fluctuation comparison: Picosecond values keep the effect extremely slight. Do not expect 1–500 ps to give a recognizable vintage or early-digital character.
• Audible creative texture: Microsecond values add increasingly obvious roughness and timing instability. Raise RMS Jitter gradually, because high settings quickly become extreme.

Parameters

• RMS Jitter (1 ps to 10 ms) - Sets the size of the random timing variations. Moving the slider to the right increases the effect on a logarithmic scale.

Reading the Display

• The value beside the slider is the RMS timing variation. Its unit changes automatically between ps, ns, µs, and ms.

Starting Points

1. Small Clock Fluctuation
   • RMS Jitter: 100 ps
   • Use this to compare a realistic, very small timing variation; it will normally sound nearly unchanged.
2. Audible Texture
   • RMS Jitter: 10 µs
   • Use this as a starting point for a clear creative effect, then adjust by ear.
3. Strong Experimental Effect
   • RMS Jitter: 100 µs
   • Use this for pronounced roughness and instability; lower it if the music breaks up too much.

SW Radio Simulator

SW Radio Simulator passes the music through a modeled shortwave chain: transmitter processing and AM or single-sideband modulation, ionospheric propagation with deep frequency-selective fading, atmospheric static and a station sharing the channel, a narrow communications receiver with envelope, synchronous, or BFO detection and AGC, and an optional radio speaker. Use it to hear music the way a distant international broadcast arrives on a shortwave set: narrow and hollow, swelling and sinking with the ionosphere, whistling where another transmitter is close in frequency. Switch Mode to USB or LSB and the same chain becomes a communications receiver, where a dial that is not exactly on frequency shifts the whole sound and makes it nasal and inharmonic.

This effect requires an environment that supports its real-time processing. When that processing is unavailable, the audio remains unchanged and the HUD reports that the effect is unavailable.

How It Differs from AM, FM, and Additive Lo-Fi Effects

• AM Radio Simulator models medium-wave reception, where a stable groundwave normally dominates and fading is a secondary effect. Its passband is wider and it offers C-QUAM stereo.
• SW Radio Simulator models shortwave, where the signal arrives by ionospheric reflection. Deep frequency-selective fading is the main event, the audio band is narrower, and the heterodyne whistle of a co-channel station is part of the sound. It also offers USB and LSB reception, which no other effect here provides. Shortwave transmission is mono, so the processed signal is always mono.
• FM Radio Simulator reproduces wideband FM with its stereo multiplex, rising hiss, and threshold clicks — a different family of degradation.
• Noise Blender and Hum Generator add noise or hum on top of unchanged music. This effect instead modulates, propagates, and detects the music, so its noise, interference, and distortion react to Tuning, the IF filter, and AGC the way real reception does.

Sound Character Guide

• Narrow and hollow: the transmitter bandwidth and the narrow receiver IF remove most treble, giving the restricted, boxy tone of a shortwave set.
• Slow deep fading (QSB): the received level swells and sinks continuously. This is the defining shortwave behavior and is active by default.
• Watery fade distortion: in a deep fade the carrier and the sidebands sink at different rates, so the envelope detector no longer reconstructs the audio cleanly. The sound turns hollow, unstable, and “underwater” at the bottom of each fade rather than simply getting quieter. Delay Spread controls how strong this is; Synchronous detection largely removes it.
• Flutter: at high Fading Speed the swells become a fast shimmer, like reception over a disturbed or polar path.
• Heterodyne whistle (QRM): a co-channel transmitter beats against your carrier and produces a steady tone whose pitch equals Interf. Offset.
• Atmospheric static (QRN): distant lightning arrives as crashes that ring through the IF filter.
• Pumping: as fades pass, AGC chases the level and the background noise breathes up and down between passages.
• Single-sideband narrowness (USB, LSB): the recovered audio reaches only half the IF Bandwidth in every Mode — about 3 kHz at the 6 kHz default. With the carrier suppressed and only one sideband transmitted, the other half of the passband carries no signal at all and passes only noise and interference, which is the dry, restricted sound of a communications channel.
• “Duck voice” detuning (USB, LSB): the BFO shifts every component by the same number of hertz instead of scaling them, so harmonics stop being whole-number multiples of the fundamental. Voices and instruments turn nasal and inharmonic, and USB and LSB shift in opposite directions.
• Syllabic AGC (USB, LSB): no carrier is transmitted between phrases, so AGC follows the program itself. The background lifts during pauses and each new phrase starts with an audible attack.
• Loud first moment after silence: when the music starts — at the beginning of playback or after a gap — the gain is still wide open from the silence, so the first instant comes through loud before AGC settles, most obviously in USB and LSB. This is what a receiver switched on into a quiet channel does, and it is deliberately kept.
• Thin, dropping-out fades (USB, LSB): a deep fade attenuates parts of the single sideband unevenly rather than producing the watery envelope-detector distortion of AM, so the sound goes thin and pieces of it drop out.

System Presets

Click Effect Presets in the effect header to try complete shortwave reception scenes.

• Major Broadcaster - A stable, relatively wide international broadcast through a tabletop radio.
• Transoceanic Night - Deep nighttime fading and synchronous detection on a distant signal.
• Stormy 49 m Band - Rapid fading, static, and a nearby interfering station.

Parameters

Station

• Radio (on or off) - Switches the station’s transmission on and off. With it off the carrier disappears entirely, leaving the receiver with only atmospheric static, the co-channel station, and its own noise, and AGC opens up until that background becomes loud. Use it to hear the moment a station signs on or off the air. This is not the same as turning the effect off, which leaves the music untouched.
• TX Bandwidth (2.0 to 10.0 kHz) - Sets the transmitter’s audio bandwidth. Shortwave broadcast channels are spaced 5 kHz apart, so the narrow default already sounds darker than a medium-wave station; raise it for a more open transmitter.
• Pre-emphasis (0 to 100%) - Boosts upper audio frequencies before transmission. Higher settings add presence inside the narrow band but drive bright peaks harder through the broadcast limiter.
• Mod Depth (10 to 125%) - Sets AM modulation depth. Values above 100% create overmodulation and negative-peak clipping.
• Compression (0 to 20 dB) - Sets the depth of the broadcast limiter. Higher settings restrain peaks and keep modulation more consistent, which is how international broadcasters stay readable through fades.

Propagation

• Signal (-50 to 0 dB) - Sets received signal strength. Weaker settings expose more receiver noise and require more AGC gain.
• Fading (0 to 100%) - Distributes the received power between a stable direct path and two delayed ionospheric paths. 0% is steady short-range reception; the default gives the continuous fading of a distant signal; 100% makes fades deepest and selective-fade distortion strongest.
• Fading Speed (0.1 to 10.0 Hz) - Sets how quickly the ionospheric paths change. Low values give slow swells; a few hertz and above turns the movement into rapid flutter.
• Delay Spread (0.2 to 8.0 ms) - Controls how differently parts of the spectrum fade. Low values mainly move the whole signal together; high values create a stronger watery, uneven fade.
• Static (0 to 100/s) - Sets the rate of lightning-like crashes. Each event is injected ahead of the IF filter and rings through it. 0 switches them off.
• Interference (-80 to 0 dB) - Sets the strength of a station sharing the channel. -80 dB is effectively off; values closer to 0 dB make it louder.
• Interf. Offset (0.1 to 10 kHz) - Sets the pitch of the interfering-station whistle. Values below about 3 kHz give a clear tone; higher values raise it until the IF filter begins to remove it.

Tuning

• Mode (AM, USB, or LSB) - Selects broadcast-style AM or the narrower single-sideband sound of communications receivers. BFO Offset works only in USB and LSB; Detector and Detector RC work only in AM. Disabled controls keep their values.
• Tuning (-5.0 to +5.0 kHz) - Offsets the receiver from the station; positive values tune the receiver above the station and negative values tune it below. Small offsets dull the sound, add asymmetric filtering distortion, and change how loud the heterodyne whistle is; larger offsets push the station out of the narrow IF passband. In USB, tuning high shifts the recovered audio down; in LSB, it shifts the audio up. Tuning low reverses those directions.
• BFO Offset (-1000 to +1000 Hz) - Fine-tunes USB and LSB reception. Start at 0 Hz; a small offset makes the sound nasal, while a large offset makes it increasingly inharmonic and hard to recognize.
• IF Bandwidth (2.0 to 10.0 kHz) - Narrows or widens reception. Lower it to reject more noise and get a drier communications sound; raise it to keep more detail. Start at 6 kHz.

Receiver

• Detector (Envelope or Synchronous) - In AM, Envelope gives watery distortion during deep fades. Synchronous keeps the signal clearer but works best with Tuning within about ±1 kHz; use Envelope while searching for a station.
• AGC Speed (Slow, Mid, or Fast) - Sets how quickly level control follows fades. Slow leaves more swelling and pumping; Fast keeps the level steadier.
• Detector RC (20 to 500 µs) - Sets the envelope detector’s discharge time. Longer values smooth the envelope more but increase high-frequency diagonal-clipping distortion at strong modulation. It has no effect when Detector is Synchronous, or in USB and LSB.
• Hum (-80 to -20 dB) - Sets power-supply hum. -80 dB is effectively off. Most of this control modulates receiver gain before detection rather than adding a hum layer.
• Hum Freq (50 or 60 Hz) - Selects the simulated power frequency.

Output

• Speaker (Off, Small, or Table) - Selects line output, the restricted speaker of a portable shortwave set, or the fuller response of a tabletop communications receiver.
• Output Gain (-24 to +24 dB) - Adjusts level after receiver and speaker processing.
• Mix (0 to 100%) - Blends the original stereo signal with the mono shortwave sound. Start at 100% for the full receiver effect; lower it to restore some original stereo detail.

Reading the HUD

• S METER shows, on an S1-to-S9 scale, the total in-band signal strength the receiver has before AGC, in every Mode. Like the S meter of a real set it reads everything inside the passband, so the co-channel station, noise, and static lift it along with the station you want. In AM that total is dominated by the carrier and therefore steady; in USB and LSB the carrier is suppressed, so the reading follows the program and falls back toward the noise between phrases.
• FADE shows the current propagation gain change in dB, and it swings both below and above 0 dB as the direct path and the two ionospheric paths cancel or reinforce each other. On shortwave this is the display to watch: it moves continuously at the default settings, and the deepest dips are where the sound turns watery and distorted. It is always the path gain at the carrier frequency, so in USB and LSB it reports that gain for the suppressed carrier — not the attenuation of the sideband as a whole, and not the program level.
• AGC GAIN shows how much gain the receiver is applying. It rises as Signal falls or a fade deepens. It stops at +42 dB, so the deepest fades stay quiet instead of being fully compensated.
• MOD / EVENTS, labeled TX / EVENTS in USB and LSB, shows the effective transmitter modulation percentage — the sideband drive in USB and LSB — followed by the recent static-crash rate (⚡) and clipping rate (▲) per second, and flashes as those events occur. Frequent clipping suggests reducing Mod Depth or Detector RC when a cleaner result is wanted. The clipping counter reports AM over-modulation and envelope-detector clipping, so it stays at rest in USB and LSB.
• If the WASM engine is unavailable, the HUD shows a notice and the plugin passes audio through unchanged.

Recommended Settings

1. Distant International Broadcast
   • TX Bandwidth: 4.5 kHz, Mod Depth: 90%, Signal: -15 dB, Fading: 55%, Fading Speed: 0.5 Hz, Delay Spread: 1.4 ms, Static: 2/s
   • Interference: -47 dB, Interf. Offset: 1.0 kHz, Tuning: 0 kHz, IF Bandwidth: 6.0 kHz, Detector: Envelope, AGC Speed: Fast, Hum: -80 dB, Speaker: Small, Mix: 100%
   • The everyday shortwave sound: narrow, continuously fading, with an occasional crash and a faint whistle.
2. Deep Nighttime Fading
   • Signal: -30 dB, Fading: 100%, Fading Speed: 0.3 Hz, Delay Spread: 5.0 ms, Static: 10/s
   • IF Bandwidth: 4.0 kHz, Detector: Envelope, AGC Speed: Slow, Detector RC: 150 µs, Speaker: Small, Mix: 100%
   • Long, deep swells with watery distortion at the bottom of each fade and clearly audible AGC pumping on recovery.
3. Crowded Band
   • Signal: -20 dB, Fading: 60%, Fading Speed: 0.5 Hz, Static: 8/s, Interference: -18 dB, Interf. Offset: 0.8 kHz
   • Tuning: +0.3 kHz, IF Bandwidth: 4.0 kHz, AGC Speed: Mid, Speaker: Small, Mix: 100%
   • A steady heterodyne whistle over the program. Change Interf. Offset to move its pitch, and Tuning to change how loud it is.
4. Synchronous Detection
   • Start from Deep Nighttime Fading and set Detector: Synchronous
   • The deep fades remain, but the distortion at the bottom of each fade is far weaker and the program stays readable. Keep Tuning within about ±1 kHz so the detector stays locked, and compare with Envelope to hear what the detector is doing.
5. Polar Flutter
   • Signal: -25 dB, Fading: 90%, Fading Speed: 6 Hz, Delay Spread: 3.0 ms, Static: 5/s
   • IF Bandwidth: 5.0 kHz, Detector: Envelope, AGC Speed: Fast, Speaker: Small, Mix: 100%
   • The fast shimmer of a disturbed or polar path instead of a slow swell.
6. Single-Sideband Station
   • Mode: USB, Tuning: 0 kHz, BFO Offset: 0 Hz, TX Bandwidth: 3.0 kHz, IF Bandwidth: 6.0 kHz
   • Signal: -20 dB, Fading: 55%, Fading Speed: 0.5 Hz, Static: 2/s, AGC Speed: Fast, Speaker: Small, Output Gain: 0 dB, Mix: 100%
   • Narrow, dry communications audio that is on frequency, with AGC breathing between phrases. It already lands close to an AM station in level, so no extra trim is needed.
7. Off-Frequency Duck Voice
   • Start from Single-Sideband Station and set BFO Offset: -150 Hz
   • Every component moves up by 150 Hz, so harmonics no longer line up and voices and instruments turn nasal and inharmonic. Switch Mode to LSB with the same setting to move everything down by 150 Hz instead, and use Tuning for coarser offsets.

Tape Artifacts

Tape Artifacts records the music onto a modeled analog reel-to-reel machine and plays it back. The signal passes through the record amplifier and the treble lift it puts onto the tape, the magnetic saturation of the tape itself, the treble erasure caused by the record bias, the wavelength losses of the reproduce head, the wow and flutter of the transport, the low-frequency head bump, and the playback curve that takes exactly that lift off again, before tape hiss and modulation noise are added. Use it when you want music to sound as though it had been through a tape machine rather than simply having noise or wobble placed on top of it.

How It Differs from Other Lo-Fi Effects

• Tape Artifacts changes the music itself. The gentle compression, the added warmth, the softened treble, and the pitch wobble all come from the same modeled record-and-reproduce chain, so they respond together to Speed, Tape, Bias, and Record Level.
• Wow Flutter (Modulation) reproduces only the speed variation of a transport. Choose it when you want the wobble without tape saturation, tape equalization, or hiss.
• Saturation and Hard Clipping add nonlinearity on its own, without the frequency-dependent behavior and the transport of a tape machine.
• Noise Blender and Hum Generator add a noise or hum layer over unchanged music. Here the hiss and the modulation noise are generated at the correct point in the machine, so they follow Speed and Tape the way real tape noise does.

Sound Character Guide

• Speed sets the basic tone: 30 ips is the most open, 15 ips is the familiar studio sound, and 7.5 ips is darker with a stronger low-frequency lift.
• Gentle level compression: raise Record Level to make loud passages denser and warmer as the tape rounds their peaks. Lower it for a cleaner, more dynamic result, then match loudness with Output.
• Warmth: the saturation is asymmetric, so it produces both even and odd harmonics, and the warmth grows gradually as Record Level rises instead of appearing suddenly.
• The transport is audible on sustained notes: Wow/Flutter adds pitch drift and shimmer to piano, organ, strings, and other held sounds.
• A living background: Hiss adds both a steady tape floor and noise that follows the music. Set it to the minimum when you want no added tape noise.

System Presets

Click Effect Presets in the effect header to compare three reel-to-reel conditions.

• Pristine 30 ips Reel - A fast master-tape transfer with very little hiss or pitch movement.
• Hobbyist Reel-to-Reel - A slower home recorder with more hiss and transport movement.
• Tired Old Reel - A worn low-speed tape with strong wobble, hiss, and a rougher top end.

Parameters

• Speed (7.5, 15, or 30 ips) - Selects tape speed. Start at 15 ips; choose 30 ips for the cleanest, most open sound or 7.5 ips for darker tone, stronger bass lift, and more movement.
• Tape (Standard or Master) - Selects the tape formulation. Master has more headroom and stays cleaner at high Record Level; Standard saturates earlier. Match loudness with Output when comparing them.
• Bias (-6.0 to +6.0 dB) - Changes treble and distortion. Start at 0 dB. Positive values sound cleaner and darker; moderately negative values sound brighter and rougher. Extreme negative values add distortion without continuing to brighten.
• Record Level (-12.0 to +18.0 dB) - Controls how hard the tape is driven. Start at +6 dB, raise it for more compression and warmth, or lower it for cleaner dynamics. Use Output to match loudness.
• Wow/Flutter (0 to 1%) - Controls transport-related pitch movement. 0% is steady; raise it until sustained notes have the amount of drift and shimmer you want.
• Hiss (-89.0 to -39.0 dB re 320 nWb/m) - Controls tape hiss and signal-related modulation noise. Raise it for a more obvious tape background or set it to the minimum to switch the noise layer off.
• Output (-24.0 to +24.0 dB) - Adjusts the level after the whole chain. Use it to match loudness when you compare with bypass, or to bring back the loudness a high Record Level setting has cost.
• Mix (0 to 100%) - Blends the tape sound with the original. Start at 100% for the full effect and lower it for subtle coloration. Intermediate values can soften the highest frequencies through partial cancellation.

Recommended Settings

1. Studio Master Tape (default)
   • Speed: 15 ips, Tape: Standard, Bias: 0.0 dB, Record Level: +6.0 dB
   • Wow/Flutter: 0.160%, Hiss: -62.5 dB re 320 nWb/m, Output: 0.0 dB, Mix: 100%
   • A balanced reel-to-reel sound with softened treble, gentle warmth, light hiss, and audible movement on sustained notes.
2. Clean High-Speed Transfer
   • Speed: 30 ips, Tape: Master, Bias: 0.0 dB, Record Level: 0.0 dB
   • Wow/Flutter: 0.070%, Hiss: -68.5 dB re 320 nWb/m, Output: 0.0 dB, Mix: 100%
   • The cleanest preset, useful as a reference when comparing stronger tape coloration.
3. Warm and Compressed
   • Speed: 15 ips, Tape: Standard, Bias: 0.0 dB, Record Level: +18.0 dB
   • Wow/Flutter: 0.200%, Hiss: -62.5 dB re 320 nWb/m, Output: +1.5 dB, Mix: 100%
   • Dense, warm tape compression with flattened peaks. Fine-tune Output by ear after setting the drive.
4. Home Deck at 7.5 ips
   • Speed: 7.5 ips, Tape: Standard, Bias: +2.0 dB, Record Level: +12.0 dB
   • Wow/Flutter: 0.300%, Hiss: -59.5 dB re 320 nWb/m, Output: +0.5 dB, Mix: 100%
   • A darker, noisier, less steady home-machine sound with moderate saturation.
5. Worn Transport
   • Speed: 7.5 ips, Tape: Standard, Bias: -2.0 dB, Record Level: +15.0 dB
   • Wow/Flutter: 0.480%, Hiss: -56.5 dB re 320 nWb/m, Output: +1.0 dB, Mix: 100%
   • An intentionally degraded sound with strong pitch movement, grit, compression, and hiss.

Tape Artifacts adds about 5ms of delay when Mix is above 0%. It focuses on tape tone, saturation, hiss, and transport movement; it does not add dropouts, splice noise, or head-alignment errors.

Vinyl Artifacts

An effect that adds vinyl-style playback artifacts such as pops, crackle, hiss, rumble, and reactive surface noise. It adds generated record noise to the music; it does not change the tone of the original music signal like a full turntable, cartridge, or phono preamp model.

Sound Character Guide

• Vinyl Record Experience:
  • Recreates the authentic sound of playing vinyl records
  • Adds the characteristic surface noise and artifacts
  • Creates that warm, nostalgic analog feeling
• Vintage Playback System:
  • Adds generated playback artifacts around the music
  • Shapes the tone of the generated vinyl noise
  • Adds reactive noise that can respond to the music
• Atmospheric Texture:
  • Creates rich, organic background texture
  • Adds depth and character to digital recordings
  • Perfect for creating cozy, intimate listening experiences

System Presets

Click Effect Presets in the effect header to add a light patina, a damaged used-record surface, or extra low-frequency rumble.

• Gentle Patina - Low-level record noise for a restrained aged surface.
• Thrift Store Copy - Frequent pops, crackle, and wear for a clearly damaged record.
• Rumbly Old Player - The normal surface character with added turntable-like low-frequency rumble.

Parameters

• Pops/min - Controls the frequency of large click noises per minute (0 to 120)
  • 0-20: Occasional gentle pops
  • 20-60: Moderate vintage character
  • 60-120: Heavy wear and tear sound
• Pop Level - Controls the volume of pop noises (-80.0 to 0.0 dB)
  • -80 to -48 dB: Subtle clicks
  • -48 to -24 dB: Moderate pops
  • -24 to 0 dB: Loud pops (extreme settings)
• Crackles/min - Controls the density of crackling noise per minute (0 to 2000)
  • 0-200: Subtle surface texture
  • 200-1000: Classic vinyl character
  • 1000-2000: Heavy surface noise
• Crackle Level - Controls the volume of crackling noise (-80.0 to 0.0 dB)
  • -80 to -48 dB: Subtle crackling
  • -48 to -24 dB: Moderate crackling
  • -24 to 0 dB: Loud crackling (extreme settings)
• Hiss - Controls the level of constant surface noise (-80.0 to 0.0 dB)
  • -80 to -48 dB: Subtle background texture
  • -48 to -30 dB: Noticeable surface noise
  • -30 to 0 dB: Prominent hiss (extreme settings)
• Rumble - Controls low-frequency turntable rumble (-80.0 to 0.0 dB)
  • -80 to -60 dB: Subtle low-end warmth
  • -60 to -40 dB: Noticeable rumble
  • -40 to 0 dB: Heavy rumble (extreme settings)
• Crosstalk - Blends the generated artifact noise between left and right channels; the original music signal keeps its stereo separation (0 to 100%)
  • 0%: Generated noise keeps its original channel separation
  • 30-60%: Realistic vinyl-style noise bleed
  • 100%: Generated noise becomes nearly equal between left and right
• Noise Tone - Adjusts the frequency response of the generated noise (0.0 to 10.0)
  • 0: Flat noise tone
  • 5: Partly darkened noise tone
  • 10: Darkest noise tone
• Wear - Scales surface wear artifacts such as pops, crackles, and hiss (0 to 200%)
  • 0-50%: Cleaner surface noise
  • 50-100%: Normal surface wear
  • 100-200%: Heavily worn surface noise
  • Rumble, Crosstalk, and Noise Tone are controlled separately
• React - How much the noise responds to the input signal (0 to 100%)
  • 0%: Static noise levels
  • 25-50%: Moderate response to music
  • 75-100%: Highly reactive to input
• React Mode - Selects what aspect of the signal controls the reaction
  • Velocity: Responds to high-frequency content (needle speed)
  • Amplitude: Responds to overall signal level
• Mix - Controls how much noise is added to the dry signal (0 to 100%)
  • 0%: No noise added (dry signal only)
  • 50%: Moderate noise addition
  • 100%: Maximum noise addition
  • Note: The dry signal level remains unchanged; this parameter only controls the noise amount

Recommended Settings for Different Styles

1. Subtle Vinyl Character
   • Pops/min: 20, Pop Level: -48dB, Crackles/min: 200, Crackle Level: -48dB
   • Hiss: -48dB, Rumble: -60dB, Crosstalk: 30%, Noise Tone: 5.0
   • Wear: 25%, React: 20%, React Mode: Velocity, Mix: 100%
   • Perfect for: Adding gentle vinyl surface texture
2. Classic Vinyl Experience
   • Pops/min: 40, Pop Level: -36dB, Crackles/min: 400, Crackle Level: -36dB
   • Hiss: -36dB, Rumble: -50dB, Crosstalk: 50%, Noise Tone: 6.0
   • Wear: 60%, React: 30%, React Mode: Velocity, Mix: 100%
   • Perfect for: Authentic vinyl listening experience
3. Well-Worn Record
   • Pops/min: 80, Pop Level: -24dB, Crackles/min: 800, Crackle Level: -24dB
   • Hiss: -30dB, Rumble: -40dB, Crosstalk: 70%, Noise Tone: 7.0
   • Wear: 120%, React: 50%, React Mode: Velocity, Mix: 100%
   • Perfect for: Heavily aged record character
4. Lo-Fi Ambient
   • Pops/min: 15, Pop Level: -54dB, Crackles/min: 150, Crackle Level: -54dB
   • Hiss: -42dB, Rumble: -66dB, Crosstalk: 25%, Noise Tone: 4.0
   • Wear: 40%, React: 15%, React Mode: Amplitude, Mix: 100%
   • Perfect for: Background ambient texture
5. Dynamic Vinyl
   • Pops/min: 60, Pop Level: -30dB, Crackles/min: 600, Crackle Level: -30dB
   • Hiss: -39dB, Rumble: -45dB, Crosstalk: 60%, Noise Tone: 5.0
   • Wear: 80%, React: 75%, React Mode: Velocity, Mix: 100%
   • Perfect for: Noise that responds dramatically to the music

Vinyl Simulator

Vinyl Simulator transforms the music itself through a physical record-cutting and stylus-playback model. It applies the cutting filters and RIAA recording curve, writes the signal into a modeled groove with surface roughness and debris, follows that groove with a mechanical stylus and tonearm simulation, and then applies RIAA playback equalization. Use it when you want groove geometry, tracking behavior, and the record surface to interact with the music rather than simply placing record noise on top.

Vinyl Simulator or Vinyl Artifacts?

• Vinyl Simulator changes the input signal by passing it through the modeled groove and stylus. Roughness, dust, static, tracking force, stylus shape, record speed, and radius all take part in the simulation.
• Vinyl Artifacts leaves the music signal itself unchanged and adds controllable pops, crackle, hiss, rumble, and stereo noise bleed. Choose it for a lighter, more predictable noise layer.
• The two can be combined, but start with one: using strong surface settings in both can make clicks and noise build up quickly.

Sound Enhancement Guide

• Gentle record playback: Keep Cut Level near 0 dB, use an Elliptical stylus, moderate Roughness, little Dust and Static, and reduce Mix if you want to preserve more of the original signal.
• Inner-groove character: Move Radius toward 60 mm. The lower groove speed makes high-frequency detail and tracking more demanding, especially with a low Scan Radius or high Cut Level.
• Cleaner, more stable playback: Reduce Roughness, Dust, Static, and Scratch; keep Tracking Force around 2 g; and use Standard or High Quality. Lowering Cut Level also reduces mechanical stress.
• Aged or damaged surface: Raise Roughness first, then add Dust, Static, and a small amount of Scratch. These controls represent different physical events, so increasing all of them at once can become overpowering.
• More obvious groove coloration: Raise Cut Level carefully, lower HF Cutoff, or use a smaller Radius. Watch the HUD for falling Tracking S/E and rising mistrack or skip rates.
• Wow and flutter: Vinyl Simulator does not add speed drift, eccentricity, warping, or turntable rumble. Add Wow Flutter elsewhere in the effect chain when you want those behaviors.

System Presets

Click Effect Presets in the effect header to apply complete groove, stylus, and surface settings.

• Audiophile Pressing - A quiet, carefully maintained record surface.
• Well-Worn Favorite - More roughness, dust, and static from an often-played record.
• Flea Market 45 - A worn 45 rpm single with a spherical stylus and prominent surface noise.
• 78 rpm Shellac - A narrow-band, coarse old shellac record character.
• End of Side - An inner-groove position with the tracing behavior of the end of a record side.

Parameters

Cutting

• Cut Level (-20 to +20 dB) - Sets how strongly the input drives the cutter. Higher values make groove displacement and tracking nonlinearity more prominent; lower values provide more mechanical headroom.
• HF Cutoff (6000 to 24000 Hz) - Sets the high-frequency limit before cutting. Lower values produce a darker, easier-to-track groove; higher values retain more upper-frequency detail and demand more from the stylus.
• Bass Mono Below (50 to 1000 Hz) - Sets the range in which the stereo Side component is reduced. Raising it centers more bass and reduces opposing low-frequency motion between the groove walls.
• Side Mix (0 to 100%) - Sets how much low-frequency Side information remains below Bass Mono Below. 0% makes that range mono; 100% preserves the original Side level.

Record

• Speed (33⅓, 45, or 78 rpm) - Sets record rotation speed. Higher speeds increase groove velocity at the same Radius and generally make fine detail easier to trace; they also change the motion of surface features past the stylus.
• Radius (60 to 146 mm) - Sets the stylus position on the record. Smaller values represent the inner groove, where linear velocity is lower and high-frequency tracking is more difficult.
• Roughness (0.1 to 100 nm) - Sets the microscopic surface roughness used by the contact model. Higher values raise the continuous surface texture.
• Dust (0 to 10000/s) - Sets the arrival rate of dust particles in the groove. Higher values create more physical contacts and short disturbances.
• Static (0 to 10000/s) - Sets the rate of electrical discharge pulses. This adds sharp pops through the cartridge output rather than changing the groove shape.
• Scratch (0 to 1000/s) - Sets the rate of larger groove defects. Use low values for occasional damage or high values for an intentionally distressed effect.

Stylus

• Shape (Spherical or Elliptical) - Selects the stylus contact shape. Elliptical follows fine groove detail more closely; Spherical gives a rounder, more forgiving contact profile.
• Side Radius (5 to 25 µm) - Sets the stylus radius across the groove wall. It changes the contact footprint and pressure distribution.
• Scan Radius (2 to 25 µm) - Sets the radius used along the direction of groove travel. Smaller values follow finer geometry; larger values average it over a broader contact. In Spherical mode it follows Side Radius.
• Tracking Force (0.5 to 5.0 g) - Sets downward stylus force. More force can improve contact stability but increases contact force and pressure; too little can raise mistrack and skip activity.
• Tip Mass (0.1 to 1.5 mg) - Sets the moving mass of the stylus tip. Higher values increase inertia and make rapid groove motion harder to follow.
• Compliance (5 to 35 cu) - Sets suspension flexibility. Higher values allow more movement for a given force and shift the mechanical response.
• Damping (0.05 to 1.0 ζ) - Controls mechanical resonance damping. Higher values suppress ringing more strongly; very low values allow a more resonant response.

Output

• Quality (Eco, Standard, High, or Ultra) - Balances groove-tracing detail against CPU use. Standard is the recommended starting point for real-time listening.
• Output Gain (-24 to +24 dB) - Adjusts the level after playback equalization and normalization. Reduce it if strong cutting or surface settings create high peaks.
• Mix (0 to 100%) - Blends the simulated playback with a latency-aligned dry signal. 0% is dry and 100% is fully simulated.

Reading the HUD

• Force L/R (mN) shows contact force on each groove wall. Large or strongly unequal values indicate demanding groove motion or uneven contact.
• Pressure (GPa) shows the higher current contact pressure. Use it together with Force when adjusting Tracking Force and stylus radii.
• Tip (cm/s and dB) shows stylus-tip velocity and the resulting playback level.
• Tracking S/E L/R (dB) compares tracked signal with tracking error. Higher values indicate cleaner tracing; a sustained fall means the stylus is struggling to follow the groove.
• Jitter (ns) appears with the Stylus view and reports timing variation at the groove read point.
• Mistrack, Skip, Static Pop, and Dust Hit (/s) show recent event rates. A flash marks a new event; repeated mistracks or skips suggest reducing Cut Level, increasing Tracking Force moderately, choosing a larger Radius, or raising Quality.

The HUD shows live values during playback and may show an idle state while playback is stopped.

Recommended Settings

1. Gentle Physical Playback
   • Cut Level: 0 dB, HF Cutoff: 16 kHz, Bass Mono Below: 250 Hz, Side Mix: 70%
   • Speed: 33⅓ rpm, Radius: 120 mm, Roughness: 5 nm, Dust: 0.5/s, Static: 0.02/s, Scratch: 0/s
   • Shape: Elliptical, Side Radius: 18 µm, Scan Radius: 8 µm, Tracking Force: 2.0 g, Quality: Standard, Mix: 75%
2. Classic Outer-Groove Playback
   • Cut Level: 0 dB, HF Cutoff: 16 kHz, Speed: 33⅓ rpm, Radius: 135 mm
   • Roughness: 13.17 nm, Dust: 2/s, Static: 0.08/s, Scratch: 0/s
   • Shape: Elliptical, Tracking Force: 2.0 g, Quality: Standard, Mix: 100%
3. Inner-Groove Demonstration
   • Cut Level: +3 dB, HF Cutoff: 14 kHz, Speed: 33⅓ rpm, Radius: 60 mm
   • Shape: Elliptical, Scan Radius: 8 µm, Tracking Force: 2.0 g, Quality: High, Mix: 100%
   • Watch Tracking S/E and the event counters while comparing this with a larger Radius.
4. Worn Surface
   • Cut Level: 0 dB, Speed: 33⅓ rpm, Radius: 100 mm, Roughness: 35 nm
   • Dust: 25/s, Static: 1/s, Scratch: 0.5/s, Tracking Force: 2.2 g, Quality: Standard, Output Gain: -3 dB, Mix: 100%

Quality and CPU Guide

• Eco uses the least CPU and is the first choice for lower-powered devices.
• Standard is the recommended starting point for normal listening.
• High improves groove tracing at a substantial CPU cost.
• Ultra is extremely demanding and is rarely useful for real-time listening.
• Higher sample rates and demanding stylus settings also increase CPU use. If playback breaks up, lower Quality first.

If Vinyl Simulator is unavailable on your device, the audio passes through unchanged and the panel shows a notice. The effect does not add wow, eccentricity, warping, or turntable rumble; add Wow Flutter or another noise effect when you want those sounds.