Lawo and Waves bring immersive audio plugins to mc² consoles with SuperRack V15

Lawo, a manufacturer of IP-based broadcast and live production solutions, and Waves Audio, renowned for its industry-standard audio plugins, have announced a major advancement in their ongoing partnership that will enable engineers to use Waves’ processing tools in immersive audio environments with the Lawo mc² production consoles for live and broadcast productions, using Waves SuperRack V15.

The latest Waves release introduces immersive mixing support, offering configurations such as 5.1.4, 7.1.4, and 9.1.4. At the heart of this update is the new Waves Immersive Wrapper plugin – a solution that turns any mono Waves plugin into a multi-channel processor for immersive formats. By loading a mono plugin into the Immersive Wrapper, engineers can now apply their trusted Waves dynamics, EQ, and creative effects seamlessly across all channels of an immersive mix.

This multi-mono approach delivers precise control and flexible linking of parameters across channels and shared sidechain functionality for mix-wide processing.

As with previous Waves integrations, the new immersive functionality is fully compatible with Lawo’s current range of mc² consoles, allowing operators to integrate Waves SuperRack directly into the console surface. Parameters can be adjusted intuitively, and settings are stored with Lawo’s snapshot system, ensuring consistent recall during complex productions. The automatic Rack-follows-Console-Access functionality guarantees speedy and confident operation, important in situations that require quick action.

This integration is available for both Waves SuperRack SoundGrid and Waves SuperRack Performer, letting users choose which platform is most suitable for them, no matter if they want to use SoundGrid or VST3 plugins.

“The future of live production is immersive, and this integration is a bold step toward that reality,” said Noam Raz, general manager, live division at Waves. “By connecting SuperRack V15 with Lawo consoles, we are giving engineers unlimited creative freedom in 3D audio spaces, while keeping the trusted precision of Waves plugins at their fingertips.”

Lucas Zwicker, senior director workflow and integration, CTO office at Lawo, added: “The integration between Waves and Lawo has been key for many productions, ever since its first introduction based on Waves MultiRack SG. Waves has always been pushing improvement, and with SuperRack V15 and the Immersive Wrapper, mc² users now have an intuitive workflow for using Waves plugins in immersive sound formats right from their console, pushing the boundaries of live and broadcast mixing.”