beyerdynamic has released Headphone Lab, a free studio plug-in that ‘enhances the performance of its studio headphones by bringing the sound and spatial realism of a professional studio to headphone-based workflows’.
Designed for modern producers working outside of acoustically treated rooms where traditional loudspeaker monitoring is impractical or impossible – bedrooms, apartments, hotel rooms and home studios – Headphone Lab promises confidence in mixing and mastering.
Headphone Lab translates beyerdynamic’s expertise in professions studio environments expertise into software, purpose-built to refine and complete the performance of its studio headphones, recreating the natural listening experience of studio loudspeakers within a headphone environment, including stereo imaging, depth and spatial perception.
Unlike conventional headphone listening, which delivers isolated signals to each ear, Headphone Lab employs a crossfeed model that accounts for frequency-dependent time and level differences and incorporates industry-leading Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs). An innovative low-frequency approach ensures accurate bass reproduction without phase issues or artifacts, resulting in a centred, natural soundstage ideal for critical listening, mixing, and mastering.
Headphone Lab promises accurate, reliable mix translation across playback systems by optimising the tonal balance of each pair of headphones. Each model’s fundamental sonic character remains intact, but it is refined using a proprietary studio sound profile, a scientifically developed reference curve built from research and collaboration with professional studios. This transforms beyerdynamic studio headphones into an even more mix-ready, trustworthy reference tool while preserving their individual sonic character.
Each headphone model has a Standard Calibration, based on a ‘golden sample’ reference unit defined by beyerdynamic’s acoustics team, aligning each headphone to its studio sound profile for precise mixing and mastering.
‘For maximum accuracy, the Factory Calibration approach uses the original production measurement data from an exact headphone unit, compensating for even the smallest manufacturing or material variations,’ the company says. ‘The result is the most technically precise calibration possible, giving creators confidence that their mix decisions will translate across speakers, headphones and other playback systems. This level of precision is only possible because beyerdynamic controls both the headphone design and the calibration process – hardware and software working as a single system.’
While Standard Calibration supports all DT models from the beyerdynamic studio portfolio, the unique Factory Calibration is available for select beyerdynamic models: DT 700 Pro X, DT 900 Pro X, DT 1770 Pro MkII and DT 1990 Pro MkII.
Headphone Lab also includes tools designed to support individual listening preferences and precise spatial perception. Users can manually enter ear spacing and head circumference to fine-tune time-of-arrival differences, adjust virtual speaker angles between 40°, 60° and 80°, and enable optional room simulation for a consistent, dependable reference environment. These features ensure reliable decision-making even when working in unfamiliar or less-than-ideal spaces.
‘Headphone Lab reflects our commitment to making professional-quality monitoring accessible to every creator,’ says beyerdynamic Director of Pro Audio, Martin Stahl. ‘Our studio headphones have long been trusted as a professional reference. Headphone Lab builds on that foundation, using innovative and precise Factory Calibration technology to unlock their full potential wherever creators work.’
Headphone Lab is available as a free download for Windows and macOS and supports VST3, AU, and AAX formats for seamless integration with any major DAW. The plug-in is compatible with all current beyerdynamic DT studio headphones as well as DT-series in-ear monitors.