Polyverse - Wider | Free VST Plugin

Wider is a stereo expansion plug-in that was created by the engineers at Polyverse, in collaboration with psytrance legends Infected Mushroom.

Wider can be used to widen a stereo signal or to convert a mono signal into a stereo signal – which can, of course then be widened too.

The interface is eye-catching but incredibly simple. There is just one control; for the stereo width of the signal. Full stereo is reached at 100%, but the plug-in can be pushed up to 200% for a 'more exaggerated, larger-than-life sound'.

You probably already have some kind of stereo widening tool in your production toolkit, so what does Wider offer that those other plug-ins don't? The thoughtful thing about this plug-in is that it is fully mono-compatible.

Wider uses a 'specialized array of all-pass and comb filters' to process your input signal, but ensures that the signal always remains in phase with itself. This means that when your widened signal is collapsed to mono on a single-speaker system, Wider will simply cancel itself out and your original signal will remain intact.

This is not always the case with this type of plug-in – often these processes can lead to signals being out of phase and therefore sounding thin, or flat when auditioned in mono.

Wider is available as a VST, AU or AAX plug-in. Both Mac and PC are supported. You can download the plug-in for free at the Polyverse Website.

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Comments:

Cayden Mackney
Jul 26

Does anyone know the difference between the Waves S1 Imager and Wider? I've had both for awhile now the S1 for a few years and wider for a few months however I still don't completely understand the difference between both stereo plugins in the way they work and sound. If anyone has a better understanding of these stereo imager plugins a bit of info would be massively appreciated.

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Jon Bosaw
Jul 26

Almost all stereo enhancers use phase relationships to create the stereo image. The old L+R/L-R formula that early radio broadcasts used to allow a stereo image from a single modulated signal is the most common. By combining what is similar into a middle channel and creating small delays in certain frequencies it allows you to take out the middle and move the delayed signal into the L/R channels. Usually the bass was not effected in the center, and higher frequencies were put into the delay. This creates a problem if you collapse the two sides into mono as certain frequencies will cancel. This same formula was used to create karaoke tracks with no vocal by phase cancelling the middle. Wider says that it does not have the mono cancel problems that other stereo enhancers have. With today's digital processes you don't have to sort by just frequencies and waveform alignment can be more surgical in order to decide what gets delayed and what gets reinforced.

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