What's The Difference?
Auto-Align and Auto-Align Post were designed to fix the comb-filter effect caused by multi-mic recording of a single source.
Auto-Align Product Family
Auto-Align® and Auto-Align® Post 2 were designed to fix the comb-filter effect caused by multi-mic recording of a single source, where the mics are placed at different distances from the sound source. When summed in a mix, the difference in time of arrival to each mic causes a phase shift that varies throughout the frequency range and cannot be fixed using a phase rotator. This article will outline the use-cases and features of both radical plug-ins.
Auto-Align
Auto-Align® makes static time adjustments which are more useful for stationary multi-mic recordings. It also has an internal phase-accurate SEND/RECEIVE routing system for aligning several mics on a drum kit, for example. Auto-Align also has noise floor sliders allowing you to filter out bleed from other drums, which can improve detection greatly.
Auto-Align® significantly reduces the comb-filter effect and effectively improves the resulting sound.
Features
-Automatic, sample-accurate time and phase alignment
-Phase polarity detection
-Alternate matching points for improving phase correlation while preserving delay
-Displays distance in samples, milliseconds, inches, or centimeters
Auto-Align Post 2
Auto-Align® Post 2 has both static (which is similar to the regular Auto-Align) and dynamic mode, which is more useful for dialogue and situations when the recorded elements such as the actor’s lavalier microphone, multiple on-set microphones as well as the boom mic are moving.
Auto-Align® Post 2 also includes a dynamic phase rotator.
Features
-Microphone time-alignment of up to ±100ms or distances of up to ~112 feet / ~34 meters
-Spectral Phase Correction Module corrects phase-shift caused by electronic and acoustic filters
-Dynamic mode enables continuous phase/time correction for moving actors or cameras
-Static mode enables fixed phase/time correction for stationary microphones
-Transparent
-Multi-channel support
-Spectral Phase Correlation Meter
-Highly optimized for CPU efficiency and operation speed
-Easy to operate - no manual adjustments required
