Noisebud ABX v1.20 – AU for Mac

Hey People,

I had the time to create an AU for this fella today. Download and run the installer again to get the Audio Units version installed (as well as a signed and notarized VST3).

About

Noisebud ABX is a free ABX test plugin that allows you to compare two versions of an audio file from your DAW or hard drive to see if you can hear a difference. It provides simple Laplace smoothed statistics in the form of a percentage to represent the likelihood of hearing a difference.

Changelog v1.20:

• Added loudness compensation – Let the audio play for 3 seconds before activating it (it’s using the short-term value and needs 3 seconds to settle in)

• Auto reverts to X  – The preview buttons, X, A, and B will revert to playing X after 3 seconds.

How to use

Using audio from tracks in your DAW:

Route the first track/source to the main input of ABX (channels 1 & 2). Route the second track/source to the sidechain input of ABX (channels 3 & 4).

Set a loop (for your convenience) and hit play. When ‘Listen to:’ says X you’re listening to either A or B. You can preview A and B by pressing the respective buttons in the ‘Listen to:’ section. It will revert to playing X after 3 seconds. You can automatically loudness-match the two audio streams by playing 3 seconds of audio and pressing the loudness compensation button currently placed in the ‘Check’ section. You set the target LUFS value by clicking the number above the loudness button and typing in your value.

When you think you know which one is X you choose A or B in the ‘I’m pretty sure X is’ section. As soon you make a choice, the ‘Check’ button will become visible and you can press that to get your result. A new trial will start as soon as you hit ‘Check’ and either A or B will be randomly selected for X.

Audio source – Using external audio WAV files

Load the first audio file (A) by clicking the folder browse icon in the top audio file path window and choose your audio file. Do the same for the second file (B) in the lower audio file path window.

Hit ‘Play’. By doing so you’ll bypass the input from the DAW and you’re audio files will start to play and continue to do so until you press the ‘Play’-button again.

When ‘Listen to:’ says X you’re listening to either A or B. You can preview A and B by pressing the respective buttons in the ‘Listen to:’ section. It will revert to playing X after 3 seconds. You can automatically loudness-match the two audio streams by playing 3 seconds of audio and pressing the loudness compensation button currently placed in the ‘Check’ section. You set the target LUFS value by clicking the number above the loudness button and typing in your value.

When you think you know which one is X you choose A or B in the ‘I’m pretty sure X is’ section. As soon you make a choice the ‘Check’ button will become visible and you can press that to get your result. A new trial will start as soon as you hit ‘Check’ and either A or B will be selected for X.

Available as AU & VST3 for Mac (signed and notarized), VST3 for Windows.

You can do as many as you wish. For a somewhat statistically accurate answer, it’s recommended that you do at least 8 trials; the more, the merrier. I recommend at least 15 trials, especially if your score stays around 50%.

Have fun!