KLANG:app | menu – STAGE

This section of the KLANG:app manual explains how to position sound sources spatially around a listener in a 3D in-ear monitoring mix. 

The basic stage menu shows you the top view of a human head. The nose is pointing to the top of the screen – northward. Within the grey area (the head), instruments can be placed on a line between the left and right ear – this is conventional mixing; the stereo panorama can be modified by dragging and dropping the instruments along this line between the ears.

The fader for MASTER VOLUME is always shown on the right to allow quick access to the important master volume.

Changing from Mono, Stereo to 3D

You will see four icons in the lower right corner. They are labelled mono / stereo / 3D / i3D. These mode restrictions are stored in the presets/show files.

Standard Stereo Headphone Panorama

Stereo mixing for headphones is the most obvious mixing. Of course, it already feels more transparent than a mono mix. However, instruments can be placed in 1D only – between the ears.

If the icon you want to move is hidden underneath another one, just click on your icon and the one on top will move to the background. This way, you can step through all icons until you reach the one you want to move.

Stereo linked channels can be moved by using one of the icons – left or right channel. The other channel will follow and be placed symmetrically around the middle of the head.

The 3D Orbit

The first ring around the head is called the 3D orbit. Instruments and signals placed here are processed with KLANG’s unique 3D audio engine for headphones and in-ears. Now, these instruments appear to be on a virtual ring around your head, and it is possible to place them not only to the left and the right but also in front and behind your head. This 3D orbit is used to define the position of the sound source around your head; it does not interfere with the height/elevation setting in any way.

Stereo linked channels can be placed by moving one of them. The other one will automatically follow, all the while keeping the original angle between the two channels and your head center. If you want to change the angle between the left and right channel, keep a second finger on the second channel (if you are using a touch device) and move the other individually. On Windows and Mac OS X computers, press the SHIFT key while moving an individual stereo channel. Please note the the second channel will automatically move to another orbit or inside the head if the first channel is changing its orbit.

The i3D Orbit

The second and outer circle is called i3D orbit and is very similar to the 3D orbit. They both use the same distance to the head, but instruments on the i3D orbit are now interactive (that is what the i in i3D stands for). Once a motion tracker, e.g. from KLANG:app running on an iPad, is associated with a user, all instruments on this i3D orbit are fixed to the coordinate system of the stage. Hence, the motion tracker will cancel out your head movements so the instruments’ location on the orbit stays fixed to their location on stage and will not move when you turn your head.

When clicking again on the STAGE menu, you will notice a new view. The dots below the stage icon indicate the view you are currently in. You can toggle between these views by using the STAGE icon.

This second view allows you to move sources not only around your head in the horizontal plane but also to move them vertically – above and below your head. Imagine this as a transparent virtual ball around you where you place and pin instruments. This ball (like a globe) can be flattened on a 2D paper like a map. The vertical lines indicate the 360° orbit around your head, with the middle line being the front and the outer rim being the back. The horizontal lines show the level of your source, with the middle line being your eye level: So, a source placed right in front of you at eye level will show right in the centre of this screen, like the Lead Vocals in our example below. The guitar (purple icon) is placed to the left and slightly below eye level; the two keyboards (blue icons) are positioned slightly to the right and above the head.

Stereo linked channels will always be placed on the same height/elevation when moved. If you want a different setting, just deactivate the stereo linking for these channels.

In both Orbit and Landscape view you will have the following features for improved, faster workflows.

Icon Zoom

Snapshot Control

From left to right:

• + Create a Snapshot
• Camera icon > Jump to CONFIG > PRESET to see the list of snapshots
• Snapshot name
• Round arrow : reload current snapshot
• Left Arrow : Fire previous snapshot
• Right Arrow : Fire next snapshot

Group Focus – Less Icons

In the top right corner, a list of buttons for each group is shown. Click on one of these groups to focus on its channels’ spatial mixing: The instrument icons of the other groups become smaller and greyed out so your view is cleared up. To go back to view all instrument icons, click on the activated Group button again to deactivate the Group Focus.

Solo-Link Focus – See only what you hear

Once channels of a mix are set to SOLO in FADERS view, the Solo-Link Focus will automatically be activated and hence Orbit and Height will show these channels only. You will notice the Solo-Link button below the Group Focus buttons. To deactivate simply click on the button again and you will see all activated channels in STAGE view.

Channel Focus in Stage View

Managing many channels in STAGE view can be challenging, especially in larger setups. While it was already possible to limit the view to specific groups or show only SOLO-linked channels, we have now introduced an easier way to focus on exactly the channel you want.

The new CH-Focus feature lets you concentrate on one channel at a time, making 3D panning adjustments faster and more precise.

CH-Focus allows you to isolate and work on a single channel within STAGE view.

• Perfect for adjusting 3D panning or parameters one channel at a time
• Available across all mixes, so you can adjust the same channel in multiple mixes without losing focus
• Works together with Group Selection, so you can step through only the channels within a specific group

Activate CH-Focus

• Tap the CH-Focus button in STAGE view
• Or use the Previous and Next channel arrows below the button to activate and step through channels

Browse Channels

• Use the Previous and Next buttons to step through your channel list one by one
• If a group is selected, CH-Focus will only step through the channels within that group

Stay Focused Across Mixes

• When switching between mixes, CH-Focus remains active
• You can adjust the same channel’s 3D panning or other parameters in all mixes without losing your place

Edit Channel Details e.g. Quick Orbits

When in CH-Focus, click on the small Orbit icon to open the Channel Details view of that channel with a single click.

Alternatively, activate the 2nd / alt button and click on the focussed channel button.

Group Spill

In STAGE view select a group and click on the FADER icon above the list of groups to spill the group’s member channels in FADERS view.

Click on the FADERS icon on the left menu bar to revert group spill.

_{updated pdi 2025-10-07}