IвЂ™m approaching Leeds, some two hours into my journey, and I must say there have been barely any distractions on this train. And at $79, itвЂ™s already feeling like a no-brainer.

But ultimately, the technology on show here is staggering.

I guess with something as cool as this, the temptation of going OTT will always be there вЂ“ I mean, the graphic of the head moving in time with your own almost feels like a video game in itself, so there is a definite fun factor to it, as well. The mix perspective default is 60-degrees вЂ“ one I use regularly - and it feels about right, though I am tempted to go that bit wider, and I find myself starting to play with effects and techniques more than I normally would: panning vocal harmonies 30-40 degrees rather than five to 10. It must be insane when working in surround! IвЂ™ve got two ambient mics that IвЂ™ve decided to hard pan L/R, and when I physically turn my head left or right, it freaks me out a little, as the audience voices move with me. Last month, it was Mark Sullivan, this time, talented Hertfordshire trio, ARC. The mix I am working on is, as in part one in this series, from our recent Headliner Helps show. I decide I prefer not to be locked in - it just feels вЂspacierвЂ™ not being restricted to one mix position, as mad as that might sound, when you consider IвЂ™m not in a control room at all.! I find my optimal sweet spot (the Nx allows you to set your own, and lock it in), and unlock it again, several times over. Hilariously, I find myself sinking into my seat, lowering my head, eyes closed (weвЂ™re now passing Doncaster, by the way) as if these virtual speakers are in fact real, and IвЂ™m suddenly back in that old barn with my Soundcraft Ghost console in front of me. Two вЂSpeaker PositionвЂ™ dials allow you to widen or narrow your image from mono all the way to 90-degrees each side, and it does genuinely capture that feeling I remember when I used to close my eyes and position my head as central to my old studio monitors as possible some years ago. ItвЂ™s remarkably accurate, too when I move my head left, right, up, down (which people are already finding odd on the train, I notice) I can see Nx tracking my head movements, at almost twice the speed that a camera can manage (Nx allows for camera tracking also, but if youвЂ™re on a Mac, you need to move into low light mode to get the right rate, so I stick to no camera). When it comes to speaker position, you can have a lot of fun with this little device. Much like you would a reverb, you can decide how вЂwetвЂ™ you want it to sound, and depending on the level, itвЂ™ll offer various virtual reflections, which will impact on your pair of virtual speakers (or handful, if youвЂ™re mixing a surround session). Personally, I feel that вЂless is moreвЂ™ when youвЂ™re tweaking your вЂRoom AmbienceвЂ™ setting on the Nx.

IвЂ™m sure your results using Nx will depend on your choice of headphones, but the theory is, it essentially replicates a mix room with monitors and when I pull on my Audio-Technica ATH-M70xs, I quickly get the idea. IвЂ™m using the Nx with Reaper вЂ“ my preferred DAW вЂ“ and as I bring up the Nx plugin, it automatically sets the Head Tracker as the active tracking sensor. To make sure it works properly, you need to attach it to the top centre of your headphones вЂ“ just make sure you know your left and right! In this series, weвЂ™re trying to work out whether or not itвЂ™s at all feasible to mix a master on headphones while on the go, or in a particularly tricky environment, and IвЂ™m hoping this little device will lend me a helping hand as I attempt to mix a track on a bustling train.ДЇirstly, you can attach the Waves Nx to any set of headphones (I tried this with several pairs before boarding the train, and itвЂ™s very easy to do), and it then tracks your head movements, sends information nice and quickly to the Head Tracker plugin, and will track in 360 degrees. The Waves Nx Head Tracker is a small, battery-operated wireless Bluetooth sensor, which is said to transform the whole experience of mixing while wearing cans.

Waves nx bluetooth tracker