Binaura manual

Overview

Binaura generates binaural beats and mixes them with whatever is on your track. The left ear hears the carrier minus half the beat, the right ear the carrier plus half the beat, and the difference between them is the beat. Around that core you can add a harmonic pair that carries the same beat, an isochronic pulse that also works on speakers, and a pink, brown or ocean noise bed.

The beat can glide from a start value to a target over a ramp of up to an hour. Or switch to Gearbox mode and Binaura builds a whole journey through the brainwave bands, Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta and Gamma, one band at a time and never skipping one. Beats can follow the Schumann ladder (7.83 Hz and its octaves) or a Phi ladder divided down from a root tone, and the carrier can follow the Solfeggio intentions, from 174 Ground to 963 Unity. Planetary carriers in the presets follow Hans Cousto's Cosmic Octave.

Binaura is an audio effect (VST3, AU) and a Standalone app. It works on an empty track, where it simply generates. Binaural beats need headphones.

Installation

Install

1. Download the Binaura installer (.pkg) from the link in your purchase e-mail, or from the product page for the free trial.
2. Double-click the .pkg and follow the steps. You can choose which formats to install:
   • VST3 goes to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 (Ableton Live, Bitwig, Cubase, Reaper, FL Studio and others).
   • Audio Unit goes to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components (Logic Pro, GarageBand, Ableton Live).
   • Standalone app goes to /Applications and runs without a DAW.
3. Open your DAW and rescan plug-ins. Binaura appears from the manufacturer Sacred Audio as Binaura.

Binaura runs on macOS 11 or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Windows versions are coming soon.

Ableton Live

Open Settings > Plug-Ins. Turn on Use VST3 Plug-in System Folders (and Use Audio Units if you prefer AU), then press Rescan. Drop Binaura on any audio track. An empty track works, because it generates on its own.

Logic Pro

Logic uses the Audio Unit. If Binaura doesn't appear, open Logic Pro > Settings > Plug-in Manager, select Binaura and click Reset & Rescan Selection. In Logic, insert it as an Audio FX on an audio track or an aux.

Trial and licence key

The first time you open any Sacred Audio plug-in you accept the licence agreement once for the whole suite. Because Binaura works with entrainment (binaural beats, isochronic pulses and moving visuals), the health & safety notice follows. Please read it; you'll find it again on the About page. After that Binaura runs as a full 14-day trial, counted from the first time you open it. The header shows Trial 14d and counts down.

When the trial ends without a key, Binaura keeps working in demo mode: the header pill turns to Activate, the licence panel opens once per DAW session, and the output dips to silence for 4 seconds once a minute. Your sessions always reload with all their settings.

To enter your licence key, click the trial pill (or open the menu and choose Enter licence key...), then do one of these:

• Paste the key into the field and click Activate. The key starts with SA1.
• Click Paste to paste the key from the clipboard, then Activate.
• Click Load licence file... and choose the .salicense file from your purchase e-mail.
• Drag the .salicense file straight onto the plug-in window.

The key is checked on your computer, offline. Nothing is sent anywhere and you don't need an internet connection. One key unlocks every Sacred Audio product it covers, in every plug-in at once: if you bought The Temple bundle, entering the key in any one of the four unlocks all four. The licence panel then shows your serial and what the key covers. Remove licence takes the key off this computer again.

The Sacred Audio header

Every Sacred Audio plug-in has the same 40 px header strip across the top. Learn it once and it works the same everywhere.

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1. 1Sigil and name open the About page.
2. 2Undo / Redo, one step per knob gesture.
3. 3Previous / next preset. The right arrow sits after the preset box.
4. 4Preset name opens the preset browser. A * means you changed something.
5. 5Save your sound as a preset.
6. 6A / B compares two versions of your settings.
7. 7Trial pill: days left, or Activate. Click to enter your key.
8. 8Menu: presets, window size, Settings, licence, updates, manual, About.

Presets

The browser lists All presets, Favourites, Factory and My presets, by category. Search by name or tag, click a preset to hear it, and star the ones you use most. Your own presets are saved as .sapreset files in ~/Documents/Sacred Audio/<plug-in>/Presets/<category>/. You can rename and delete your own presets; factory presets stay as they are (use Save to make a copy).

Import and export: export one preset as a .sapreset file, or a set of your presets as a .sapack pack. To import, use Import presets or packs... in the menu, or drag .sapreset, .sapack or a folder of presets onto the plug-in. Presets made for a different Sacred Audio plug-in are refused with a clear message.

Presets are mix-safe: they never touch the plug-in's level controls (listed in the Presets section below), so loading one doesn't jump your mix.

Window size and Settings

Choose 75 % to 200 % from Menu > Window size or in Settings, or drag the bottom-right corner. The size is remembered for each plug-in.

Settings are shared by all Sacred Audio plug-ins on your computer: window size, Reference tuning (A4 = 440, 432, 444 or 436 Hz), your preset author name, tooltips on or off, the daily update check (on or off) and a button to open your preset folder.

Controls

Binaura's window has the mandala and live readout at the top, then four rows of controls: Entrainment, Gearbox journey, Ladder & intention and Texture & mix. Every control is automatable.

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1. 1Mandala, moving gently with the beat.
2. 2Beat readout: the beat in Hz, its band and the current gear.
3. 3Journey staircase, the dot is where you are now.
4. 4Session time and total journey time, with the L / R meters below.
5. 5Cue line: guidance for the current band.
6. 6Restart Session starts again from the beginning.
7. 7Restart on play restarts with your DAW's Play.
8. 8Entrainment: carrier, beats, ramp, fade in, tone level.
9. 9Gearbox journey: from, to, dwell and gear shift.
10. 10Ladder & intention: which beats and which carrier.
11. 11Texture & mix: harmonic, isochronic pulse, noise, dry and output.

Top area: mandala, readout and session buttons

Entrainment

Gearbox journey · one band at a time, never skipping

Gearbox builds a journey through the brainwave bands in order, never skipping one. The bands and their traditional uses, as the plug-in labels them: Delta 0.5–4 Hz sleep, Theta 4–8 Hz epiphany, Alpha 8–13 Hz baseline reset, Beta 13–30 Hz work, Gamma above 30 Hz flow.

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1. 1Mode: Classic or Gearbox.
2. 2From: the band the journey starts in.
3. 3To: the band it travels to.
4. 4And back returns the same way.
5. 5Dwell: minutes in each band.
6. 6Gear Shift: glide time between bands.
7. 7Fade out ends the journey in silence.

Ladder & intention

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1. 1Beat Ladder: Free, Schumann or Phi.
2. 2Phi Root, active when the ladder is Phi.
3. 3Intention sets the Solfeggio carrier.
4. 4Carrier Octave moves it down or up.

Which carrier wins: with Beat Ladder set to Phi, the Phi root sets the carrier; otherwise the Intention does; with Intention on Manual, the Carrier knob does.

Texture & mix

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1. 1Harmonic interval of the second pair.
2. 2Harm Lvl, 0 is off.
3. 3Isochronic pulse, works on speakers.
4. 4Noise colour.
5. 5Noise Lvl.
6. 6Dry In: your track's own audio.
7. 7Output level.

Inputs and outputs

Binaura has a stereo output (binaural needs two ears). The input can be mono, stereo or absent: on an empty track it simply generates. A mono input is copied to both ears.

Presets

Binaura has 27 factory presets in six banks. Carriers draw on Hans Cousto's planetary tones (The Cosmic Octave), the Solfeggio tones and the 110 Hz "ancient chamber" resonance. Presets set the sound only: Dry In, Output and Restart on play stay as you set them.

Delta: sleep

Theta: epiphany

Alpha: baseline reset

Beta: work

Gamma: flow

Gearbox journeys

Workflow tips for producers

• Under a track: put Binaura on its own empty audio track and bring Tone down to sit just under the music, around -20 dB or lower. Keep Dry In off on an empty track.
• On a pad or return: put it on a pad or ambient return and use Dry In to keep the original sound. The beat sits inside the pad.
• Long intros and ambient sets: a slow Ramp (or a Gearbox journey) makes a beat that moves over minutes. Restart on play means every playback starts from the same point, so your arrangement and the beat stay lined up.
• Automate it: every control can be automated. Ride Tone up into a breakdown, or switch Intention between sections.
• Speakers and clubs: binaural beats need headphones. For speakers, turn up Isochronic so the pulse is heard in the room.
• Keep it in tune with the track: pick an Intention or set Carrier to a note in your key. Carrier Octave -1 or -2 drops it under the mix.
• Through Divine Spatializer: Binaura's stereo survives Divine Spatializer when its Width keeps each channel in its own ear, so you can walk the beat around the head.
• Render a journey: Gearbox journeys run for tens of minutes. Bounce them in real time or offline like any other track.

Workflow tips for sound healers

• Headphones first: binaural beats only form between the ears. For a group in a room, use Isochronic or a speaker-friendly preset such as Beta Focus or Gamma 40 Hz Clarity.
• Check the setup: load Pure Test Tone before a session to check headphones and levels. The ear line shows exactly what each ear receives.
• Let it run on its own: the Standalone app needs no DAW. Load a Gearbox journey, press Restart Session, and let the cue line guide the listener through each band.
• Under live instruments: Sound Healing Bed is a quiet OM carrier with a Schumann 7.83 Hz beat, made to lay under bowls, gongs and voice.
• Plan the length: Gearbox sessions are Dwell × number of bands, plus the shifts. The readout shows the total journey time. Turn on Fade out for a session that ends in silence on its own.
• Choose by intention: the Intention menu sets the carrier from the Solfeggio tones, from 174 Ground to 963 Unity. Lower it with Carrier Octave for comfortable long listening.
• Keep levels low: binaural beats work at low volume. Start quiet and let people adjust.
• Tell people what to expect: let them know they can stop at any time, and keep the health notice in mind (below).

Troubleshooting

I can't hear the beat

Binaural beats only form between your ears, so you need headphones, and both ears must get their own channel. Check that the track isn't summed to mono and that nothing after Binaura (a mono utility, a stereo-width plug-in) collapses the stereo. On speakers, turn up Isochronic to hear the pulse in the room. Load Pure Test Tone to check: the ear line should show two different frequencies for L and R.

No sound at all

Check Tone (and Harm Lvl, Noise Lvl) are above -60 dB, and that Output isn't turned right down. Each session starts with a Fade In of up to 60 seconds, so a preset may start quietly. A Gearbox journey with Fade out on goes silent once it ends: press Restart Session. Binaura needs a stereo output; on a mono track it won't load.

The journey jumps back to the start

Restart on play (on by default) restarts the session each time your DAW starts playing. Turn it off to let a session keep running across stops and starts.

Start Beat or Target Beat doesn't change the sound

In Gearbox mode the journey sets the beats, so Start Beat, Target Beat and Ramp aren't used. In Classic mode with the Schumann or Phi ladder, the beats snap to the nearest rung of the ladder.

The Carrier knob doesn't change the pitch

An Intention other than Manual, or the Phi ladder, sets the carrier. Set Intention to Manual and Beat Ladder to Free or Schumann to use the knob.

Binaura doesn't show up in my DAW

Rescan plug-ins (Ableton: Settings > Plug-Ins > Rescan; Logic: Plug-in Manager > Reset & Rescan Selection). In Ableton, check that Use VST3 Plug-in System Folders or Use Audio Units is on. Look for Binaura under the manufacturer Sacred Audio. If you chose not to install a format in the installer, run the installer again and tick it.

The sound drops out for a few seconds every minute

The 14-day trial has ended and the plug-in is in demo mode: the output goes silent for 4 seconds once a minute. Enter your licence key (click Activate in the header) and it stops straight away.

My licence key isn't accepted

The licence panel tells you why. "That doesn't look like a Sacred Audio licence key": copy the whole key, starting with SA1., with nothing missing at the end. "This key isn't genuine or was changed while copying": copy it again from your purchase e-mail, or use Load licence file... with the .salicense file, which avoids copy errors. "This key is valid, but for another Sacred Audio product": the key is for a different plug-in. If you've lost your key, use the Licence page on the website to have it sent to your e-mail again.

A preset won't import

Presets and packs only load into the plug-in they were made for. A .sapreset from another Sacred Audio plug-in is refused with a message saying so.

Health & safety

Binaura can produce binaural beats, isochronic pulses, slow modulation and moving visual patterns designed to influence how you feel. Most people find them relaxing. The full notice appears the first time you open the plug-in and is always available on the About page. In short:

• Don't listen while driving, cycling, operating machinery, or doing anything that needs your full attention.
• Ask a doctor first if you have epilepsy or a history of seizures, a heart condition, a pacemaker or other implanted device, a psychiatric condition, or if you are pregnant. People with photosensitive epilepsy should also avoid flashing visuals.
• Stop listening if you feel dizzy, anxious, nauseous, disoriented or unwell. Most effects fade within minutes.
• Keep the volume moderate, especially on headphones. Binaural beats need headphones, and they work at low volume.
• Not for children without supervision.
• When you guide others (sound healing sessions, classes), let them know what to expect and that they can stop at any time.

Binaura is a creative and relaxation tool, not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition, and it is not a substitute for professional care. Descriptions of frequencies, brainwave bands, chakras and intentions in this manual and in the plug-in are artistic and cultural, drawn from sound healing practice and tradition, not medical claims.

Support

Open About in the plug-in and click Support for a pre-filled e-mail with your version and macOS, or contact us through the website.