Ashampoo Soundstage Pro is a virtual sound card for Windows that processes PC audio for surround listening through ordinary headphones. It takes the sound passing through the computer’s playback system and changes its presentation to simulate speakers in a listening room. Music, films and games can use the processing without a physical surround speaker setup.
The program works in the playback path and must remain running for the effect to continue. Its binaural processing uses differences in when sound reaches each ear to convey the positions of virtual speakers through the headphones’ two channels.
Surround channels
Ashampoo Soundstage Pro supports 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 surround audio. With a source that contains those channels, it presents the rear and side speaker signals through headphones as part of the simulated speaker arrangement. The selected sound format changes the speaker layout shown in the main window.
The surround result depends on the channels present in the original audio. Soundstage Pro does not create a discrete multichannel soundtrack from a stereo recording. Stereo material can still receive a three-dimensional presentation, but it does not acquire the separate rear-channel information of a surround mix.
Virtual speakers
The main window pairs the selected listening location with its loudspeaker layout. Each virtual speaker has its own volume control, so you can change the balance between channels. Adjustments can be made by dragging a knob or entering a value directly.
Mute silences an individual speaker, while Solo lets you listen to a selected speaker in isolation. The Headphone Surround switch turns the surround effect on or off without closing Ashampoo Soundstage Pro.
Room acoustics
Pro includes ten listening locations that load different acoustic presets. Multiple locations are a Pro feature in the shared Soundstage product family. Selecting a location changes the simulated environment around the speaker arrangement, rather than changing the source recording.
Room size can also be adjusted. The room parameters affect the attack, sustain and decay of sounds, with the selected response represented in a Room Envelope display. A neutral setting is available for gaming.
Headphone EQ
Ashampoo Soundstage Pro includes equalizer presets for popular headphone models. These apply different bass and treble settings to the processed sound. An EQ Bypass option lets you skip equalization while retaining the other audio processing.
The separate Boost control raises the level of all sounds. It can introduce distortion.
Soundstage Pro’s output and latency settings
Output settings let you choose the playback device and the desired latency. A lower latency setting reduces the delay introduced during playback but increases CPU use. The optional low-latency mode is intended for games, where delay between an event and its sound can matter.
Soundstage Pro can act as the default audio playback device and start with Windows. A notification-area control provides access to the surround switch, compact view and exit command. Minimizing the window or using compact mode reduces the program’s CPU consumption while it continues processing audio.
