The Oculus Spatializer VST plugin for professional Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) lets you spatialize monophonic sound sources in 3D relative to the user’s head location and preview the soundscape. You can also record the mix to an ambisonic stream for later use.

The VST plugin incorporates the same spatialization algorithms found in our other plugin formats (Wwise, FMOD, and Unity). These other formats are typically used to generate real-time spatialization within virtual environments. For the audio designer, the VST plugin comes in handy for setting up mixes within your favorite DAW, and for previewing what the mix sounds like prior to being spatialized in virtual reality.

This guide describes how to install and use the Oculus Spatializer VST plugin with the Oculus Rift and Meta Quest.

For general background information on audio spatialization, see our Introduction to Virtual Reality Audio.

[DEPRECATED]The Oculus Spatializer VST Plugin has been deprecated till further notice. The documentation is valid for legacy plugins.

Version Compatibility[Legacy Plugin]

This VST has been tested with various DAWs on Windows 7 and 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit) and Mac OS X 10.8.5+. For more information, please see DAW-Specific Notes.

General OSP Limitations

CPU usage increases when early reflections are turned on and increases proportionately as room dimensions become larger.

Note: It is important that all sounds passed to Oculus Spatializers are monophonic - stereophonic rendering will be handled by our spatialization, and must not be applied over additional stereophonic rendering provided by your game engine or library.

Limitations Specific to VST

All parameters are assigned to MIDI controllers. However, most parameter ranges fall outside of the current MIDI mapping range of 0.0 - 1.0. Range settings for each parameter will be resolved in a future release of the plugin.

Please see DAW-Specific Notes for information about each DAW tested with the spatializer.

You must set your DAW sample rate at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz for optimal fidelity. Note that values below 16 kHz or above 48 kHz will result in no sound.

Installation [Legacy]

Download the Oculus Spatializer DAW Mac or Oculus Spatializer DAW Win package from the Audio Packages for Mac or Audio Packages for win page. Copy the relevant VST files to your system or to your DAW’s VST installation directory.

PC

On Windows, some DAWs require you to specify custom locations for 32-bit and 64-bit VST plugins. If you have not already setup custom locations for your VST folders, we recommend using the following:

64-bit	C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VSTPlugins
32-bit	C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\VSTPlugins

Mac

In OS X, VST plugins must be installed to either the global or user Library folder.

Global	/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST
User	~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST

VST Spatializer topics

Using the Plugin We recommend assigning the Oculus Spatializer to your DAW tracks as an insert effect. Any sound that plays through this track will then be globally affected by the spatialization process.

VST Options and Parameters The audio tracks assigned to the Oculus Spatializer VST appear in the 2D view as colored dots. You can drag the dots in the 2D view to change their position in the soundscape and adjust other options and parameters. Click the XZ and XY buttons to change between top-down and front-facing 2D views.

3D Visualizer This guide describes how to install and use the Oculus Spatializer VST plugin.

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