Beyerdynamic's Free Headphone Lab Plug-In Debuts at NAMM 2026

Audio brand beyerdynamic has launched Headphone Lab at NAMM 2026, taking place this week in Anaheim, California. The free studio plug-in is designed to enhance the performance of beyerdynamic’s studio headphones by bringing the sound and spatial realism of a professional studio directly to headphone-based workflows. Designed for today’s producers working outside of acoustically treated rooms, Headphone Lab enables confident mixing and mastering wherever the creativity is flowing. Many music creatives work in bedrooms, apartments, hotel rooms or home studios where traditional loudspeaker monitoring might not be possible. The alternative is a professional studio speaker setup, which can require significant investment in speakers, subwoofers, acoustic treatment and space. Setting up reference-grade monitoring could well be out of reach of many creatives and musicians, but beyerdynamic’s Headphone Lab removes those limitations by simulating the sound of a high-end studio environment through a pair of headphones, providing a reliable reference without the need for costly room treatments. “Headphone Lab reflects our commitment to making professional-quality monitoring accessible to every creator,” says Martin Stahl, director of PRO Audio at beyerdynamic. “Our studio headphones have long been trusted as a professional reference. Headphone Lab builds on that foundation, using innovative and precise factory calibration technology to unlock their full potential wherever creators work.” MORE FOR YOU Studio Monitoring, Anywhere For decades, beyerdynamic has been making studio headphones used by artists and engineers worldwide. Headphone Lab aims to translate the company’s expertise into a software package that refines and completes the performance of beyerdynamic studio headphones by recreating the natural listening experience of studio loudspeakers within a headphone environment, including realistic stereo imaging, depth, and spatial perception. Unlike conventional headphone listening, which delivers isolated signals to each ear, Headphone Lab uses a sophisticated crossfeed model that accounts for frequency-dependent time and level differences and uses industry-leading Head-Related Transfer Functions. An innovative low-frequency approach provides accurate bass reproduction without phase issues or artifacts, resulting in a sound that’s centered with a natural soundstage suitable for critical listening, mixing and mastering. Headphone Lab promises accurate and reliable mix translation across playback systems by optimizing the tonal balance of each pair of headphones. Each model’s fundamental sonic character stays the same, but it is refined using a proprietary studio sound profile made from a scientifically developed reference curve built from years of research and collaboration with professional studios. This transforms beyerdynamic studio headphones into a mix-ready, trustworthy reference tool while preserving their individual sonic character. Each headphone model has a Standard Calibration, based on a “Golden Sample” reference unit defined by beyerdynamic’s acoustics team, aligning each headphone to its studio sound profile for precise mixing and mastering. Maximum Accuracy For maximum accuracy, the factory calibration approach uses the original production measurement data from an exact headphone unit, compensating for even the smallest manufacturing or material variations. The result, claims beyerdynamic, is the most technically precise calibration possible, giving creators confidence that their mix decisions will translate across speakers, headphones and other playback systems. This level of precision is only possible because beyerdynamic controls both the headphone design and the calibration process of hardware and software working together as a single system. While Standard Calibration supports all DT models from the beyerdynamic studio portfolio, the unique factory calibration is available exclusively for select beyerdynamic models: DT 700 PRO X, DT 900 PRO X, DT 1770 PRO MKII and DT 1990 PRO MKII. Headphone Lab also includes tools designed to support individual listening preferences and precise spatial perception. Users can manually enter ear spacing and head circumference to fine-tune time-of-arrival differences, adjust virtual speaker angles between 40°, 60°, and 80° and enable optional room simulation for a consistent, dependable reference environment. Pricing and Availability: