Roland RSS-10 Software and Manuals

Posted 2008-12-11 in Effects by Johann.

At the top of this picture is a Roland RSS-10 Sound Space Processor. The RSS-10 is one of the most unique signal processors ever – it simulates three-dimensional audio. Sounds can be placed above, behind, away from and even below the listener at various distances.

Using a conventional two-channel system, sound can be placed or moved anywhere in the three-dimensional field. Computer controlled sound localization is accomplished using specialized software for either Macintosh® or Windows®.

• Sounds can be moved above, away, towards or around the listener
• Conventional two-channel playback
• Simulates flanging and Doppler effect
• Windows or Mac control software
• Up to 16 RSS-10s can be linked for 32 channels of 3-D playback
• Discrete stereo In/Out

When it came out at the beginning of the 90’s, these algorithms had to be run on DSPs.

Using a conventional two-speaker stereo reproduction system, a full three-dimensional sound image is created. The RSS-10 is used during the stereo mixdown process, with no encoders or decoders needed for final stereo reproduction.

The RSS system comprises a binaural processor which is the heart of the RSS system, a transaural processor and a distance processor that reproduces the distance from the sound source, and a reverb processor that simulates the sound reflection from any direction and creates realistic and precise reverberations.

A Stationary mode locates the sound image at a stationary position, while a Flying mode moves the sound image in real time. Both modes can be easily controlled on a personal computer (Mac or Windows) using software packages that come with the system.

An extremely interesting concept – that never really caught on.

If you would like to read more about the RSS-10, I once wrote a review for Harmony Central. There's also an FTP site that Roland set up.

Over the years, I was asked several times for the software or the manuals. Instead of emailing the files over and over, I decided to put them here on my blog.

• Download the Windows software. (290 KB)
• Download the Mac software. (1.4 MB)
• Download the manuals. (94 MB)

Note that the Mac software disk was not extracted by me. My disk was broken and I could never read it. I have no idea if it works and what the disk contains.

Alternatives

If you cannot find an RSS-10 – some of it has made it into various Roland and BOSS products. But these algorithms only support a fraction of the possibilities of the RSS-10. Here are some alternatives that you might be able to get:

Prosoniq Ambisone

I think that Ambisone is just as interesting to expand the stereo space as the RSS-10. It’s easier to use, but maybe not quite there in terms of quality over speakers.

QSound

I have the original DirectX QSound plugin. QSound is very effective at making the sound stage wider, but it cannot place sounds anywhere around the listener.