The Free dearVR / Sennheiser AMBEO Plugin Suite: What Each Plugin Actually Does
Sennheiser is consolidating all of its immersive audio initiatives under the AMBEO brand, and as part of that move, Dear Reality will no longer continue as an independent company. The plugins themselves aren't going away, though — most of the dearVR catalog is now available free of charge after a quick registration through the Sennheiser AMBEO newsletter. Here's a plain-language breakdown of what's actually in the suite.
dearVR PRO 2
What it does: The flagship spatializer of the lineup. It handles stereo, multichannel up to 9.1.6, binaural, and Ambisonic output up to third order, with 46 acoustic environments for early reflections and reverb, and support for third-party OSC head-trackers.
Best for: Anyone who needs one plugin that can place a source convincingly in almost any output format, from a simple binaural mix to a full Ambisonic bus.
dearVR AMBI MICRO
What it does: A compact, focused tool for mixing, monitoring, and rendering Ambisonic tracks up to 3rd order straight out of the box, with selectable HRTFs (dearVR, YouTube VR, Facebook360, KU100) and head tracking for VR video work.
Best for: Producers who are already working in B-Format and just need accurate, low-friction Ambisonics-to-headphone monitoring without the full PRO 2 feature set.
dearVR MICRO
What it does: A simplified spatializer for placing mono or stereo sources in 3D binaural space, with room simulation across five acoustic materials and Sennheiser's AMBEO focus parameter.
Best for: Quick, no-fuss binaural placement of individual sound effects or dialogue, without needing a full Ambisonic routing setup.
EXOVERB
What it does: A stereo reverb plugin built on a proprietary synthesized multi-IR engine, offering 50 acoustic scenes with three-dimensional depth and width, plus separate EQs for early reflections, late reverberation, and the overall reverb sum.
Best for: Adding believable spatial depth to a stereo mix without reaching for a full Ambisonic chain — useful on sources before they ever get encoded.
EXOVERB MICRO
What it does: A compact version of EXOVERB running the same reverb engine, trimmed down to 8 selected acoustic scenes.
Best for: The same use case as EXOVERB, when you want a lighter-weight plugin or fewer decisions to make.
dearVR MIX / MIX-SE
What it does: Reference monitoring plugins that turn studio headphones into a simulated mix room. dearVR MIX supports Spatial Headphone Compensation for 55 professional headphone models; MIX-SE is tuned specifically for Sennheiser's HD 490 PRO. Both offer several virtual reference rooms plus non-studio listening environments.
Best for: Checking how a mix will translate before committing to a final bounce, especially useful if you don't have a treated room to monitor in.
dearVR SPATIAL CONNECT
What it does: A VR-headset-driven controller for spatial mixing, letting you visualize and position tracks in a 360° space and integrate directly with dearVR PRO 2. Supports Nuendo and REAPER.
Best for: Sound designers working on 360° video who want a more physical, gesture-based way to place and level sources than dragging faders and pan knobs.
MIYA
What it does: A creative re-synthesizer that manipulates a source's harmonics, ranging from subtle texture shifts to full harmonic reconstruction, sub-harmonics, and aggressive distortion. It's a sound-design tool rather than a spatializer.
Best for: Building unusual textures or source material before it heads into a spatial or Ambisonic chain.
dearVR MUSIC (Legacy)
What it does: A 360° immersive panner for music production, with 18 reverb scenes, binaural output, and First-Order Ambisonic output.
Best for: Musicians and mix engineers already licensed through Plugin Alliance — it's no longer part of the new free installer and continues to be managed there.
dearVR UNITY (Legacy, Deprecated)
What it does: A spatializer plugin for Unity offering positional 3D audio, 45 virtual acoustic room presets, real-time room analysis, and simulation of acoustic occlusion and obstruction.
Best for: Existing Unity projects that already depend on it — it was deprecated in 2024 and won't see further development.
Getting the Free Installers
Registration is a simple newsletter sign-up on Sennheiser's Dear Reality page, followed by a confirmation email and a second email with the installers. None of these plugins run standalone — you'll need a DAW to host them.
For the wider landscape of free Ambisonic tools beyond the dearVR suite — including the IEM Suite, SPARTA, and ambiX — see our full guide to free ambisonic plugins.
Test the Suite with Real Ambisonic Sources
A spatializer is only as convincing as what you feed it. Running real B-Format field recordings through these plugins, rather than synthetic test tones, is the fastest way to hear what they're actually capable of. Browse our Ambisonic libraries and designed atmospheres at axisambisoniclab.com.