Many thanks Dietz for the fast answer. I feared as much. I did not realise this when I chose to buy the Synchron instead of the Synchronized libraries.

The same issue is probably true for many other libraries registered in well known halls or recoding studios like most Spitfire libraries. All have one or more close microphones but, as you mention, they probably also capture some of the room ambiance while on the other hand missing some elements of the "whole instrument" to be the perfect source for MIR.

I do have one final question. For the mixer presets SY Pro and Elite String libraries use the RoomReverb which I assume is based on the SY Stage responses, however SY Duality Strings, SY Woodwinds, SY Brass, SY Percussion use an algorithmic reverb component for most mixer presets. Why is this?

@Mavros said:
Many thanks Dietz for the fast answer

You're welcome! Sorry to have spoilt the fun to some extent ...

I was not involved in the creation of Synchron Pro or Elite Strings mixer presets, but I'm pretty sure that they don't use IR based reverb. Typically, algorithmic reverb is the obvious choice for "sweetening": The modulation makes it a great addition to the pure natural reverb tails.

... but I'll double-check as soon as I find the time. 😊

@Mavros said:
I do have one final question. For the mixer presets SY Pro and Elite String libraries use the RoomReverb which I assume is based on the SY Stage responses, however SY Duality Strings, SY Woodwinds, SY Brass, SY Percussion use an algorithmic reverb component for most mixer presets. Why is this?

The RoomReverb is another algorithmic reverb I believe, just a different one. The Synchron Player has several choices for algorithmic reverb.

You can see this thread here where a VSL rep confirmed that the RoomReverb is an algorithmic reverb: https://forum.vsl.co.at/topic/56527/reverb-choices-in-synchron-player-need-more-description

My sensibilities are that there's generally no need to run something that was already recorded in Synchron through a Synchron IR. I don't think any of the "Synchron" branded libraries do this, aside from the weird exception of the Rieger organ that was the only Synchron library not recorded in the Synchron Stage.

Getting back to the original question:– yes, with a modicum of extra care, technical knowledge and consideration, MIR 3D can indeed be used with any and all Synchron libraries. However, the quality of the results can depend largely on a couple of important factors:–

will you be

• using a 'home-theatre' multi-speaker setup of suitable quality?
• keeping the same stage seating plan as recorded in the Synchron libraries you intend to use?

If the answer to both questions is yes, then what MIR can do is extend Synchron library sound fields quite nicely into the simulated 3D space of an auditorium that is significantly larger than VSL's Stage A. You choose the simulated auditorium space you prefer when you buy your MIR package. Even so, using MIR 3D in this way is not exactly a technically straightforward matter.

Let's not forget here that a scoring stage is not designed to be an auditorium that can accommodate a large audience for concert events; hence the addition of algorithmic reverbs with tails longer than about 1.8 seconds in some of the Synchron mix presets. My own experiments have shown that MIR can, when suitably configured with Synchron Players, achieve this spatial expansion more convincingly than by using Synchron's longer-tail mix presets.

If on the other hand you want to re-arrange the instrument seating plan, then setting up the mix can get significantly more difficult and involved if we're to avoid Synchron's and MIR's psychoacoustic spatial cues contradicting each other. And in the case of mixing for headphones, adding MIR to Synchron can be done (I've done it), but it requires a different and more complicated configuration and mixing approach in order to avoid the dreadful speaker signal crosstalk when attaching a binauraliser plugin to MIR's outputs.

I no longer use my MIR 3D with Synchron libraries. Instead, I've developed a (still complicated) way of extending Synchron Stage A's sound field convincingly into a larger simulated space whilst benefitting from binaurally panned on-stage locations that can deviate substantially from the original Synchron stage placements.

Sorry to say, I can't recommend any of these approaches for all users, simply because the knowledge and skills in audio engineering required are unfortunately (and sometimes annoyingly) a bit beyond the average.