FAQ

Quite simply the software gets the sound “out of your head”. With headphones, the sound is basically limited to sounding like it’s coming from inside your head. With Out Of Your Head, the sound comes from well outside of your head.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke

Yes, of course! But try it for yourself with the trial version and see for yourself.

No, absolutely not. All the existing technology like Dolby Headphone and other virtual surround processors synthesize or create effects that can give the illusion of the sound coming from around your head. But they are simply simulated. Out Of Your Head uses actual measurements from real speakers and real rooms. It's like a video game vs. reality. A video game is computer generated. None of it is real. Out Of Your Head is not creating the sound of speakers and rooms, it's "playing back" the measurements done in a real room with real speakers.

No, absolutely not. In fact Out Of Your Head will work with any headphones or ear buds, etc. However, the better the headphones, the more accurate the sound. But you still don't have to spend a fortune. Along with the Out Of Your Head software, you can also purchase headphones for as little as $50 which will give you sound that is much better than any home theater system costing 100 times as much or more. You can buy the Koss PortaPro headphones when you bundle them with the Out Of Your Head software.

You can also get MUCH better sound by investing in an inexpensive USB DAC/amp. This device connects to the USB port of your computer and works as an alternate headphone jack. You plug your headphones into this little box and you will hear a dramatic difference in sound quality. You can purchase an HRT Microstreamer here.

Yes! Definitely. Out Of Your Head installs a virtual sound card driver. The software appears as a 7.1 surround sound card for other software to use for playback. Basically any application that outputs sound can be used with Out Of Your Head using the standard Windows audio playback control panel.

Yes. Out Of Your Head supports and sound output device that shows up in the Windows playback device list. So if your output device works in Windows, it works with Out Of Your Head. In the Out Of Your Head control panel, just select the output device from the list. Although a DAC is not required, we highly recommend using one or purchasing one from our store. The HRT Microstreamer is a amazing low cost option that is leaps and bounds better than any built-in headphone jack from a computer or laptop.

Absolutely. Just download the trial version here. The trial version is fully functional and you can try ALL the presets. The only limitation in the trial version is that the presets will play for 2 minutes and then stop. To remove the 2 minute time limit, you must purchase a license for that preset.

We offer the free trial version so you can make sure you like the preset and the way it sounds. Please make sure the preset works for you before purchasing a license. We do not offer refunds on the licenses.

Yes, and no… When you purchase the Out Of Your Head software license, you only need to purchase that once. You can then login to our online store and purchase individual preset licenses. However, the preset licenses will only work on one specific computer. Those licenses are "matched" to work with one computer. They will not work on any other computer. So for multiple computers, you will need to purchase a separate preset license. But you do not have to purchase a separate Out Of Your Head license for each computer.

Because all licenses are associated with your e-mail address and unique computer ID, you must always initiate a purchase from within the OOYH software.

Please download and install the Out Of Your Head trial version before you purchase an Out Of Your Head license.

1. Purchasing an OOYH license is the same process as purchasing a speaker preset. Download and install the trial version of Out Of Your Head.
2. Then in the Out Of Your Head control panel, double click the speaker preset that you want to purchase.
3. A window will pop up with your computer's unique ID number and a place to enter your e-mail address.
4. Be sure to use the same e-mail address that you use to create an account on the online store. The software license is associated with your e-mail address.
   When you click OK, your web browser will open to the page on our store with the preset you selected.
5. IF you have not purchased an OOYH license before, you must add the OOYH license with preset to your cart BEFORE you can add any other speaker presets to your cart. The OOYH software license includes one speaker preset license of your choice.
6. To add the item to your cart, Click on the Out Of Your Head menu item.
7. Then select the 4th item on that page.
8. You can select your included speaker preset from the drop down menu before adding the item to your cart.
9. Then when you're ready, you can go to your shopping cart and complete the checkout process.

If you have already purchased an OOYH license, then you must login to our store first to verify your previous license purchase. Once you login, you will be able to add the speaker presets to your cart.

1. Download and install the trial version of Out Of Your Head.
2. Then in the Out Of Your Head control panel, double click the speaker preset that you want to purchase.
3. A window will pop up with your computer's unique ID number and a place to enter your e-mail address.
4. Be sure to use the same e-mail address that you use to create an account on the online store.
5. The software license is associated with your e-mail address. When you click OK, your web browser will open to the page on our store with the preset you selected.
6. Just add the preset to your cart and complete the checkout process.

Out Of Your Head currently works on Windows or macOS Catalina (10.15) or earlier. (Currently Out Of Your Head is not compatible with macOS 11 Big Sur.)
The Windows version requires Windows 7 or Windows 8 systems using the 64-bit version of Windows. Most modern Windows based computers should work fine.
The macOS version requires macOS 10.15 or earlier.

We will also be releasing an iOS version for iphone and iPad, and an Android version in the future.

The retail price of Out Of Your Head is $149. Additional presets are $25 each. You must download and install the
trial version
of Out Of Your Head before purchasing a license. (See the details on how to purchase a license here.)

• We also offer a "Gamer Version" for $24.95. The Gamer Version is suitable for gaming, movies, and music. The only difference is that you do not have a choice of speaker presets. It is a fixed preset just for people who want great virtual 7.1 speaker sound and don't care about the different brands of speakers. The Gamer Version license is available after downloading and installing the trial version of Out Of Your Head.

Yes! For those people who are not audiophiles annd don't care about the different brands of speakers, we have a version which does not come with a choice of speakers. It's a fixed 7.1 speaker system which gives you great virtual 2.0 to 7.1 channel speaker sound from your headphones.

This version is called the "Gamer" version, but it's not just for gamers. It's for anyone who just wants great virtual speaker sound from their headphones. It works great for gaming, music, and movies.

The Gamer version is only $24.95. You can purchase the Gamer preset license from within the Out Of Your Head trial version. Just download and install the Out Of Your Head trial version and double click on the Gamer preset to purchase a license.

The first time you hear Out Of Your Head, it may not sound right. It's not the software, it's your brain!

The problem is that your brain doesn't know what it's hearing. Generally if you are sitting at your laptop or desktop computer, the sound will sound like it's coming from behind a wall or out in the middle of the room, etc. Since your eyes don't see anything that the sound could be coming from, your brain gets confused.

So to help "train your brain" to ignore what you're seeing and actually hear what you're hearing, try some of these tips.

• I know this sounds strange, but if there's any way you can have a pair of speakers out in front of you when you first listen to it, that can really help with your brain figuring out what it's hearing. When your eyes see an actual pair of speakers, your brain says, "Oh OK, the sound is coming from the speakers." Without any speakers, it takes a while for your brain to figure out that the sound is coming from the middle of a room or from behind the wall in front of you, etc.
  
  
• If you don't have any speakers handy, another good way of "calibrating your brain" is to use the "mute" buttons. In the Out Of Your Head control panel interface, there is a speaker icon at the bottom next to each channel. For two channel music, click on the Left or Right channel
  speaker icon to mute that channel. You brain has a much easier time localizing the sound source of just one speaker rather than two. Then once you hear the location of one speaker, you can turn on the other speaker and you might have an easier time recognizing what you are hearing.
  
  
• The
  very last effect at the bottom of the list is "bypass". Scroll down and click on the bypass so you can hear the sound fed straight through without any effect. Then when you switch back to a speaker preset, you will hear a dramatic difference in the sound and you should hear the image move from inside your head to out in front of you.
  
  
• Finally, if all else fails, just close your eyes. Let your ears interpret the sound without your eyes confusing your ears.

Eventually you will get used to it and be able to hear where all of the speakers are in the room.

The Out Of Your Head speaker presets are associated with your computer's unique ID. If you get a new computer or change a major component of your system like a hard drive or motherboard, etc. then your computer's unique ID will change.

If you unique ID changes, then the old licenses will not work anymore.

Don't worry. All you have to do is contact us with your e-mail address and new UUID number and we can send you a new license. Your UUID number appears at the top of the "purchase license" pop-up when you right click on any of the unlicensed speaker presets.

Here is a list of the speakers that have been measured and are currently available. (We are always adding to the library of speakers.)

1. Acoustic Zen: Crescendo Speakers ($16,000/pair MSRP) a 7.1 configuration. Ribbon tweeters and dynamic mids and woofers.2.0
2. Magico: Q3 Speakers ($39,000/pair) 7.1 configuration.
   They are made of aluminum instead of wood. Some think are the best sounding speakers in the world. These speakers are in a dealer's showroom
3. Genelec Recording Studio A high end recording studio with Genelec speakers in a 7.1 speaker configuration
4. The Egyptian Theater This preset reproduces the sound as if you were sitting in the middle of the Egyptian Movie Theater in Los Angeles., California. This is a 5.1 speaker configuration.
5. Home Theater A high end 7.1 home theater system in a private home
6. Sonus Faber: Elipsa Speakers ($12,000/pair) Elipsa speakers in a dealer's listening room. This is a 7.1 configuration.
7. AIX Recording Studio This preset was made at the AIX Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California. AIX specializes in audiophile multi-channel recordings.
8. Focal: Scala Utopian Speakers ($29,950/pair) They are a flagship, floor standing speaker. This is a 7.1 configuration.
9. Wilson Audio: Sasha W/P ($29,000/pair) Amazing
   floor standing dynamic speakers in a 2.0 channel configuration
10. Prototype Ribbon Speakers Full range ribbon speakers. These are prototype speakers which are still in the experimental stage. 7.1 configuration
11. Cello: Stradivari Premiere Speakers ($18,000/pair) Originally designed and built by Mark Levinson. 7.1 configuration
12. Acapella: Spharon ($325,000/pair) They have two huge horns for the tweeter and mid range. The bass has four 15inch woofers per channel. The speakers are 7.5 feet tall and weigh 1,364 pounds each!
13. Mi Casa Recording Studio This preset was recorded at the Mi Casa Multimedia recording studios in Los Angeles, CA.
    This studio has Genelec speakers in a 7.1 configuration.
14. Quad:ESL Speakers The legendary Quad ESL electrostatic panel speakers. This preset is 2.0 channels and is great for critical music listening.
15. Magnepan: Mini Maggie Speakers This 2 channel preset has two small desktop electrostatic speakers known as "Mini Maggies" with a subwoofer to handle the low end.
16. Revel: Ultima Studio Speakers a private home with a pair of Revel Ultima Studio speakers. 7.1 speaker configuration.
17. Acoustic Zen: Adagio Speakers Experimental Prototype speakers based on the Acoustic Zen Adagio Jr. speakers, but they are MUCH better. 7.1 speaker configuration.
18. Marten: Coltrane Momento Speakers ($165,000/pair) Dynamic spakers with wood and carbon fiber body. It has four 9-inch ceramic woofers, four 9-inch passive radiators and one 7-inch ceramic midrange driver and a 1-inch diamond tweeter.
19. Acapella: Triolon Excalibur MK V Speakers ($175,000/pair) Two subwoofer towers, each with four 10-inch subwoofers, two 31-inch horns, two 19-inch horns, and ion tweeter. The speakers are 7 feet tall and weigh 880 pounds each! 7.1 channel configuration.
20. Acoustic Zen Maestro Speakers ($43,000/pair) a 7.1 speaker configuration. Ribbon tweeters and dynamic mids and woofers. Their top of the line flagship speaker. ($36,000 pr.)
21. Technicolor Studios This is a mixing room at Technicolor Studios in Hollywood. This is the sound the engineers hear when mixing some of your favorite movies. An incredible sounding room. This is a 5.1 configuration.
22. Volti Audio Vittora Speakers
    ($25,000/pair) Amazing hi-efficiency horn speakers. Hand crafted wood construction. 7.1 configuration. Go to VoltiAudio.com for more information.
23. PBN Audio Sammy Speakers ($30,000/pair) From their "Innerchoic" line of speakers in a 7.1 configuration. Two 10” woofers; Dual 4” mid-range drivers; 1” ultra-low distortion dome tweeter. Go to PBNAudio.com for more information.
24. Marten: Coltrane Momento Speakers V2 ($165,000/pair)
    Same speakers as version 1, but a different room with more acoustic treatment.
25. Magico Q7 Speakers ($229,000/pair)
    Magico’s flagship speaker.
    Not much more needs to be said.
26. JMLab/Focal Nova Utopia Be Speakers ($37,500/pair)
    An older model from JMLab and Focal, but still a great sounding speaker. 7.1 channel configuration.
27. Martin Logan Summit X Speakers ($13,995/pair)
    Hybrid electrostatic drivers paired with dynamic woofers. 7.1 channel configuration
28. Estelon XB Speakers ($35,900/pair)
29. B&W 802 D3 Speakers ($22,000/pair)
    4-Way speaker with diamond dome tweeters and Kevlar drivers. 7.1 speaker configuration