LISTENTO User Guide Nov 2022

LISTENTO — Quick Start User Guide

Contents

What is LISTENTO? 3

What makes LISTENTO unique 4

What’s new in this release? 5

Recommended session setup 6

Recommended audio and internet speed settings 7-8

Getting Started with the LISTENTO Plugin

1. Streaming audio from your DAW 9-14

2. Streaming MIDI from your DAW 15-16

3. Receiving and recording audio 17-25

4. Receiving and recording MIDI 26-29

Getting Started with LISTENTO App

1. Logging in & Security Settings 31

2. Transmitter - Streaming & Monitoring 32

3. Receiver - Listening & Recording 33

4. Transmitting MIDI 34

5. Receiving MIDI 35

Supported formats, hosts and installation locations 36

Uninstalling LISTENTO 37

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

What is LISTENTO?

LISTENTO is a software built by Audiomovers which makes it possible

to stream, record and collaborate on HQ audio (up to lossless quality)

in real time.

LISTENTO comes in both audio plugin and standalone app versions.

It’s designed to allow you to stream audio from any DAW to

- a web browser (by copying and pasting a link)

- The LISTENTO iPhone or Android app

- another DAW

LISTENTO allows for real-time streaming of several lossless and

compressed formats.

LISTENTO RECEIVER is a plug-in that allows receiving and recording the

incoming audio stream from a remote LISTENTO plug-in.

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

What makes LISTENTO unique?

Peerless audio quality

Transmit up to 32 bit PCM audio uncompressed (as well as lower bitrate

PCM, AAC codec and OPUS codec)

Transmit anything from mono to multichannel audio upto 7.1.4 including

Dolby Atmos from the plug-in and up to 16 channels from the standalone

app.

Set your latency and audio quality - no dropouts or variable bitrates

Remote collaboration in a few clicks

Open your DAW, login to the plugin and start streaming

Anyone with the link can listen in - on web, DAW, or from our mobile app

Stream direct from any DAW with the plugin or standalone app

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

We’re proud to be used by some of the biggest music brands in the world

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

What’s new in this release?

November 2022 — MIDI Streaming and OPUS

MIDI Streaming

LISTENTO has had it’s biggest update to date with the addition of MIDI streaming. This

update is applied to both the LISTENTO standalone app and the plug-ins opening up even

more opportunities for remote collaboration.

- Record your collaborators virtual instruments.

- Use control surfaces to control your collaborators DAW remotely.

- Link up DAW sessions easily.

- LISTENTO MIDI ports will be created for each instance of the receiver plug-in and

for the Standalone App.

OPUS Codec

Recently we brought the addition of the OPUS codec to LISTENTO. OPUS codec has made a

name for itself as a reliable, low bandwidth codec perfect for use of those who don’t have the

strongest bandwidth speeds.

Have feature requests or ideas? We’d love to hear them — [email protected]

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

LISTENTO DESKTOP APP

Running a session with LISTENTO

Other tools to combine into your workﬂow

Disclaimer: the Audiomovers team doesn’t endorse any particular third party

service providers, but we have some suggestions on how you can work LISTENTO

into your sessions along with other software to start collaborating.

1. Use LISTENTO and LISTENTO RECEIVER plugins to stream, listen and record a

remote audio in any DAW (you can ﬁnd a list of supported hosts on page seven

of this guide). LISTENTO also allows you to listen in from a web browser. If

you’re on mobile, we recommend downloading the LISTENTO app for iPhone

or Android.

2. Alternatively, LISTENTO App is a standalone application that can live outside

the DAW but has all of the same functionality as LISTENTO and LISTENTO

RECEIVER, allowing you to stream and receive audio using any audio devices

connected to your PC or Mac.

3. For talkback, chat, screen sharing, or remote control, we recommend using

remote desktop software or third party communication tools such as

TeamViewer, ZOOM, Google Meet, Discord, Skype for example, to enhance the

collaborative experience. Bear in mind that third party software will have an

eﬀect on internet speeds and processor performance.

4. While it may take a little getting used to, consider using headphones for your

sessions if sharing audio over multiple software solutions to avoid the potential

for audio feedback or echo, or if working with spatial audio.

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

LISTENTO iOS APP for iPhone and iPad

Recommended streaming and internet settings AAC & OPUS

Audio quality Channels Audio data rate Internet speed Quality

AAC

AAC 320 STEREO 0.32 Megabit /s 0.43 Mbps

AAC 256 STEREO 0.256 Megabit /s 0.35 Mbps iTunes quality

AAC 192 STEREO 0.192 Megabit /s 0.26 Mbps

AAC 128 STEREO 0.128 Megabit /s 0.17 Mbps AAC good quality

AAC 96 STEREO 0.096 Megabit /s 0.13 Mbps

OPUS

OPUS 256

STEREO 0.265 Megabit /s

0.35 Mbps

OPUS 128

STEREO 0.128 Megabit /s

0.17 Mbps

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

Recommended streaming and internet settings PCM

Audio quality Channels Audio data rate Internet speed Quality

Uncompressed Audio Format

PCM 32 BIT 96 kHz STEREO 6.15 Megabit /s 8.3 Mbps Studio quality

PCM 32 BIT 88.2 kHz STEREO 5.65 Megabit /s 7.63 Mbps Studio quality

PCM 24 BIT 96 kHz STEREO 4.61 Megabit /s 6.23 Mbps Studio quality

PCM 24 BIT 88.2 kHz STEREO 4.24 Megabit /s 5.73 Mbps Studio quality

PCM 32 BIT 48 kHz STEREO 3.11 Megabit /s 4.2 Mbps Studio quality

PCM 16 BIT 96 kHz STEREO 3.08 Megabit /s 4.16 Mbps Studio quality

PCM 32 BIT 44.1 kHz STEREO 2.83 Megabit /s 3.82 Mbps Studio quality

PCM 16 BIT 88.2 kHz STEREO 2.83 Megabit /s 3.82 Mbps Studio quality

PCM 24 BIT 48 kHz STEREO 2.31 Megabit /s 3.93 Mbps Studio quality

PCM 32 BIT 44.1 kHz STEREO 2.12 Megabit /s 3.61 Mbps Studio quality

PCM 16 BIT 48 kHz STEREO 1.54 Megabit /s 2.62 Mbps Studio quality

PCM 16 BIT 44.1 kHz STEREO 1.41 Megabit /s 2.4 Mbps CD quality

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

Getting started with the LISTENTO plug-in

— Streaming audio from your DAW

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

1. Streaming audio from your DAW

1. Add plugin to an audio or midi channel

Add the LISTENTO plugin to an empty insert slot on an audio

or midi channel if using Pro Tools or Logic Pro X.

If using Ableton LIVE or similar, simply drop the plugin in the

audio channel you wish to stream (e.g. master, or a vocal

channel to send just a vocal stem).

Launch the plugin and enter your Audiomovers

username/email and password and click ‘login’.

Once logged in, the ‘Start Transmission’ button will become

available and you can begin streaming your audio.

LISTENTO PLUGIN

Prepare your stream:

Set your session name (optional), or go with the default, or

select a random session name.

Bear in mind that if you wish to run multiple sessions and

use the same session name, anyone with the link will still be

able to listen in to your stream.

This is great if you’re collaborating with the same people

over a number of days or weeks, but if you’re jumping from

project, you should use a session name that relates to the

project, or use the random session name generator and

share new links each time.

For added security, you can also set the session password

(again, this is entirely optional).

You can adjust streaming quality and latency (see pages 7-8

for our recommendations on connection speed and quality).

Click “Copy Link” to copy a stream session link to your

clipboard.

1. Streaming audio from your DAW

2. Prepare your stream and name it

LISTENTO PLUGIN

Press “Start Transmission” to begin streaming.

You can send your session link to anyone you want to share

your stream with - it’s a URL which can be opened in a

browser window direct from an email for rapid feedback, or

in a DAW (via LISTENTO receiver), or in our iPhone and

Android apps.

You can of course also send it to yourself, to easily test a mix

in the car or on another system without having to repeatedly

bounce out tracks.

Before you share the link, you’ll likely want to test that it’s

working.

You can copy the stream link, and test it yourself. Simply hit

‘thru mute’ to mute the audio from the DAW, and test that the

stream is audible by pasting the link in your own web

browser or mobile app.

NB. LISTENTO streaming links have been heavily tested in

multiple web browsers, but we recommend Google Chrome

for optimum performance*.

1. Streaming audio from your DAW

3. Starting and testing your stream

LISTENTO PLUGIN

1. Streaming audio from your DAW

4. Streaming Multi Channel audio

To Stream multi-channel audio, all you need to do is load up

another instance of LISTENTO, enter the same session name

and settings as your previous instance, login and start

streaming.

Each instance of the LISTENTO plug-in will show you which

channels are being streamed.

The person receiving your stream will now be able to switch

between channels.

You can add up to 64 instances of LISTENTO in your DAW

session.

LISTENTO PLUGIN

1. Streaming audio from your DAW

5. Streaming atmos/immersive audio

LISTENTO PLUGIN

LISTENTO allows you to transmit immersive audio, up to

7.1.4.

To stream immersive mixes all you need to do is load up the

LISTENTO plugin set to 7.1.4 on the output channel of your

Atmos Logic Pro session, login and start streaming.

LISTENTO gives you the option to stream all 12 channels or

to stream said channels as a binaural/stereo fold down.

To stream from the Dolby Atmos renderer in Pro Tools, you

can send either a 7.1.4 discrete out or a 2.0 binaural render

into the LISTENTO standalone application using our tool

OMNIBUS.

Getting started with the LISTENTO plug-in

— Streaming MIDI from your DAW

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

2. How to stream audio & MIDI from your DAW

6. Streaming MIDI from your DAW

LISTENTO PLUGIN

LISTENTO MIDI is available in VST3, AU and AAX formats.

To stream MIDI using LISTENTO, open an instance of

‘LISTENTO Instrument’ onto a virtual instrument/MIDI track

(software Instrument in Logic Pro), choose your session

settings, login and begin your transmission.

The MIDI activity indicator will turn red when MIDI is passing

through. The activity indicator will appear dark grey when not

logged in or if your subscription doesn’t allow you to pass

MIDI.

Getting started with the LISTENTO plug-in

— Receiving and recording audio in your

DAW

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

3. How to receive and record

1. Create an AUX track

If running Pro Tools or Logic Pro X, create an AUX track (or

use Input channel in Cubase or Nuendo).

If you are using Ableton LIVE you can simply add an empty

audio channel.

* Example in Logic Pro X

3. How to receive and record

2. Assign an audio input

You’ll then need to assign an audio input to the AUX channel.

Bear in mind, actual audio must be present in the assigned

audio channel.

This is because when there is no input assigned to an AUX

channel, the DAW will disable plugins on that channel and no

stream reception will be possible.

In Ableton LIVE, make sure the channel is loaded to record

and that Monitor is enabled so that you can hear the audio.

* Example in Logic Pro X

3. How to receive and record

3. Checking audio is present

Important note —

In most DAWs, with the odd exception, when no audio is

present on channel audio input, a DAW will disable Listento

Receiver plug-in processing. As a result, LISTENTO Receiver

won’t be able to receive a remote stream. This function

allows DAWs to save CPU power when there is no need for

audio processing.

For optimum LISTENTO receiver utilization, please make sure

that you have a audio input with a audio signal present is

assigned as a channel input. Doing so will prevent your DAW

from disabling plugin processing on that channel.

Pro Tools users have the additional option to uncheck

‘Dynamic Plug-in Processing’ in Playback Engine

preferences - doing so will keep plugin processing active

regardless of channel routing.

* Example in Logic Pro X

3. How to receive and record

4. Adding LISTENTO RECEIVER PLUGIN

You’re now ready to add the LISTENTO RECEIVER plugin to

an insert slot of the AUX track.

If using Ableton LIVE, drag the LISTENTO RECEIVER plugin

into the channel which you wish to record into - making sure

the channel is ready to record.

* Example in Logic Pro X

3. How to receive and record

5. Pasting the streaming link and troubleshooting

Open the LISTENTO receiver plugin and paste the session

link you have been sent.

Click ‘Connect’. If the session is live, you should be receiving

a real time audio feed.

If you don’t hear audio (or see moving meters), again make

sure that the track with Listento Receiver inserted has

assigned audio input which carries actual audio.

You can also ask your collaborator to test their on their end -

by using ‘thru mute’, and pasting their streaming link into a

browser window to make sure they can hear audio.

LISTENTO RECEIVER PLUGIN

3. How to receive and record

6. Assign a mixer bus

In order to record an incoming audio stream from LISTENTO,

simply assign the AUX track output to a mixer bus of your

choice.

From here, create an audio track with it’s input set to said

mixer bus.

Make sure to check whether your audio track is set to either

mono or stereo depending on the audio being transmitted to

you.

* Example in Logic Pro X

3. How to receive and record

7. Start recording

Hit record and make sure audio is coming through.

* Example in Logic Pro X

3. How to receive and record

8. Recording within LISTENTO RECEIVER

LISTENTO Receiver also has the option to capture and

record audio directly in the plugin, without the use of Aux /

Bus routing or a DAW’s recording functionality at all.

Simply insert the Receiver plugin into any audio track.

At the bottom of LISTENTO RECEIVER plugin hit the red

record button to start recording the incoming audio stream

direct to your machine.

The recorded ﬁles can be found in —

macOS computers:

Users\Current User\Documents\listento_recordings

Microsoft Windows computers:

C:\Users\Current User\Documents\listento_recordings

Additionally, you can ﬁnd your recordings in the drop-down

in the recording area of RECEIVER.

From here, you can select the ﬁle you want and drag and

drop the .wav ﬁle straight into a channel on your DAW

timeline.

LISTENTO RECEIVER PLUGIN

Getting started — Receiving and recording

MIDI in your DAW

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

2. How to receive and record MIDI in your DAW

1. Paste the streaming link

LISTENTO RECEIVER allows you to also receive incoming

MIDI being transmitted from your collaborator as well as

audio.

Follow the steps previously shown on pages 18-24 to setup

the receiver on an aux/bus track ﬁrst.

When the LISTENTO receiver is opened, it will open a virtual

MIDI port. The same is applied to the standalone app.

Once you’ve pasted a streaming link into the receiver, you

will see whether MIDI is being transmitted to the receiver

when the MIDI activity indicator ﬂashes red. This means that

MIDI data is coming into the receiver plugin.

LISTENTO RECEIVER PLUGIN

2. How to receive and record

2. Receiving MIDI

Choose your MIDI stream from the MIDI stream drop down

VST, VST3 and AAX formats of the plugin will declare

themselves as a MIDI output.

AU format will have to be routed out through the LISTENTO

MIDI port

LISTENTO RECEIVER PLUGIN

2. How to receive and record

2. Latency

Internet connection may not be stable leading to MIDI data

loss when receiving MIDI. When such event happens, the

MIDI integrity error message will appear.

When said prompt appears, increase your MIDI latency with

the latency slider.

LISTENTO RECEIVER PLUGIN

Getting started with LISTENTO desktop app

— receiving and recording in the DAW

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

Using the LISTENTO app

1. Logging in and security settings

1. To begin using LISTENTO you’ll need to login. You need a

valid license in order to stream, which you can register for at

audiomovers.com

2. As with the LISTENTO plugin, you have enhanced security

features you can toggle on and oﬀ.

3. From here, you can view your audio and MIDI I/O settings.

Once logged out, you can change your audio & MIDI input

and output settings. It’s also possible to save (and therefore

load from previous sessions) these input and output settings.

4. In this panel you can set your own name as well as viewing

the names of listeners. From here you can allow them as a

group or individually, as well as disconnecting any listeners

as you need.

LISTENTO DESKTOP APP

Using the LISTENTO app

2. Transmitter — streaming and monitoring your session

1. Similar to the LISTENTO plugin, in this top panel you can

adjust latency and streaming quality, name your session,

reload old sessions (as session names and links are tied

together, so you can resume an old session by using the

same name).

You can also start and stop streaming as you need, and set a

session password for increased security on your stream.

2. With LISTENTO it is possible to stream multichannel audio,

up to 16 channels, from here you can map to channels from

your audio device, monitor stereo channels for each, and

check that audio is coming through as expected.

3. LISTENTO also has standard L and R audio channels for

monitoring of your stream. These channels can be assigned

and routed based on the nature of what you’re streaming.

LISTENTO DESKTOP APP

Using the LISTENTO app

3. Receiver — listening and recording an incoming stream

1. Similar to the LISTENTO RECEIVER plugin, you can paste

the link for the stream, or select a previous session from the

dropdown.

2. Here you can see and monitor the individual channels

coming from the stream you are receiving. Note — these will

map automatically to the individual channels coming from

the stream. If the streamer sends a stream with eight

individual channels, you will see eight channels here, and so

on.

3. At the bottom of LISTENTO RECEIVER hit the red record

button to start recording the incoming audio stream direct to

your machine.

The recorded ﬁles can be found in —

macOS computers:

Users\Current User\Documents\listento_recordings

Microsoft Windows computers:

C:\Users\Current User\Documents\listento_recordings

Additionally, you can ﬁnd your recordings in the drop-down

in the recording area of RECEIVER.

From here, you can select the ﬁle you want and drag the wav

ﬁle straight into a channel on your DAW timeline.

LISTENTO DESKTOP APP

Using the LISTENTO app

4. Transmitting MIDI

As well as the plug-in, Standard Plus subscribers are now

able to transmit MIDI from the LISTENTO standalone app.

Firstly, adjust your I/O settings within the LISTENTO

application and choose your MIDI inputs and outputs.

Once you have assigned your MIDI I/O, simply log in, choose

your session settings, start streaming and send your

streaming link to your collaborator.

The MIDI activity indicator on the top Right of the transmitter

will light up red when it detects MIDI activity. If no MIDI Input

is selected or you are not a Standard Plus subscriber, the

MIDI activity indicator will be greyed out. The meter will be

coloured white when your MIDI transmission is ready but no

MIDI is passing through.

You’ll be able to transmit MIDI as well as up to 16 channels

of audio within the same session.

On Mac, once the LISTENTO application is opened, it will

generate it’s own virtual MIDI port which can be selected as

a MIDI input or output.

LISTENTO DESKTOP APP

Using the LISTENTO app

5. Receiving MIDI

Paste a streaming link into the receiver of the LISTENTO

application.

Similar to the plug-in, you will visibly see when MIDI is active

on the standalone app as the MIDI prompt will light up red.

You can also manually adjust incoming MIDI latency in the

receiver.

MIDI that comes into the LISTENTO app will now be sent to

your designated MIDI output assigned in the standalone

app’s I/O settings.

LISTENTO DESKTOP APP

Supported formats, hosts and installation locations

Supported plugin formats

LISTENTO

- AAX, AU, VST, VST3

- Mac OS X 10.14 – 10.15 64 bit

- Windows 10 64 bit

LISTENTO Instrument

- AAX, AU, VST3

- Mac OS X 10.14 – 10.15 64 bit

- Windows 10 64 bit

Use LISTENTO plug-in Legacy versions for Mac OS X 10.11 - 10.13,

Windows 10 32 bit and Legacy AAX version for OS X 10.10 and Pro

Tools 12.

You can download it on our website https://audiomovers.com

Supported DAWs/hosts

Logic Pro X, Cubase 9.5, Cubase 10, Pro Tools 12 and up, Ableton

Live 9 64 bit, Ableton Live 10, Studio One 4, Studio One 5, Reaper 6,

GarageBand 10, Adobe Audition CC 2019, WaveLab 10, FL Studio

- Other hosts may work but weren’t tested.

- Some hosts won’t work with LISTENTO plug-in if they don’t

support third-party plug-ins. For example: Pro Tools First or

Presonus Studio One Prime.

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

Default Plug-in Installation Locations

Mac OS

- /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST

- /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3

- /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components

- /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins

Windows OS

- AAX

- C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins

VST 3

- C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 32-bit

Windows

- C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\VST3 64 bit

Windows

VST2

- C:\Program Files\VSTPlugins VST2

- Service ﬁles

- C:\Program Files\Audiomovers

Uninstalling LISTENTO

Mac OS

To uninstall, LISTENTO use the LISTENTO uninstaller

To manually uninstall LISTENTO, you will need to remove it manually from the

default installation folders

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3

/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components

/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins

Windows OS

You will need to open Apps & features and uninstall LISTENTO Audio Plug-in

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide

Have more questions about LISTENTO, OMNIBUS or Audiomovers?

Head to —

https://audiomovers.com/wp/help

Alternatively, please contact us at [email protected]

All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners.

All company, product and service names used in this guide are for identiﬁcation

purposes only.

LISTENTO Quick Start User Guide