Almudio has released 3D Panner, a free early access spatial audio plugin for macOS and Windows.
Developer Almog reached out about the release and shared some very interesting details about the project. 3D Panner was developed over seven months as his final project at BIMM University Manchester, with beta testing from lecturers and fellow students shaping the final version.
Almog was also open about using AI at certain stages of the coding process, which I think is worth mentioning, as we can all agree that this has become a sensitive topic in plugin development.
He explained that the DSP architecture, HRTF implementation, UX, and parameter design were his decisions, refined over months rather than generated as a low-effort one-prompt plugin.
As for the plugin itself, 3D Panner places mono or stereo sources in 3D space around the listener using binaural/HRTF processing. It is built mainly for headphone mixing, ASMR, sound design, post-production, game audio, VR, and anyone who wants spatial movement without a surround setup.
The main view uses an XY pad with spheres you drag around the listener’s head. In HRTF mode, the plugin uses measured head-related transfer functions from 20 subjects. You can also open the SADIE measurement database and choose the subject whose head shape most closely matches yours, which I found pretty interesting.
There is also a Hard Pan mode for more direct left/right placement. HRTF and Hard Pan each remember their own positions, elevation, and solo states, so you can switch between them without losing your setup.
One of the really cool features for me, especially as a sound designer, is frequency splitting. You can split a source into up to four frequency bands and place each band separately in 3D space. Each band has its own limiter with input gain and ceiling controls, so you can treat the lows, mids, and highs differently within the panner.
The LFO section is another nice addition. 3D Panner includes eight motion shapes, including spiral, spring, X, pendulum, orbit, circle, infinity, and random. You can run up to four LFOs at once, sync them to the DAW, reverse direction, resize and rotate paths, or draw your own custom motion shape directly in the plugin.
The pendulum mode is especially fun because its speed can be based on gravity from bodies in the solar system, including Earth, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and the Sun. There is also a 0G mode that lets spheres keep moving after you throw them.
The download is relatively large at around 230 MB, and you need a free Almudio account. Sign up with your name and email, verify the email, then access the download section and copy the license key to activate the plugin the first time you load it in your DAW. One license works on two computers, and activation requires an internet connection only once.
3D Panner is available in VST3, AU, and Standalone formats for macOS and Windows. The plugin is Apple-signed, and the developer says AAX and Windows signing are currently in progress.
Download: 3D Panner (FREE)
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Last Updated on July 10, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
