Neumann Launches Immersive Monitoring Software for Headphones

Berlin, Germany (April 28, 2025)—Neumann has released its new software solution, Reference Immersive Monitoring Environment, or RIME, for Neumann headphones.

“Immersive audio is the new standard,” said Yasmine Riechers, CEO of Neumann. “Streaming services favor content that can be enjoyed in spatial audio formats such as Dolby Atmos or Sony 360 Reality Audio. More and more DAWs now offer immersive audio capabilities, and engineers, producers and musicians alike are eager to explore these new possibilities. Reliable monitoring is essential for this. 

“With RIME, we’re offering an integrated solution that meets these evolving needs, providing a more cost-effective and mobile alternative to loudspeaker-based monitoring solutions,” she continues. “Our NDH headphones have the same carefully balanced sound as our studio KH studio monitors, making it easy to switch between the two. With RIME, this unique benefit extends to immersive monitoring, as well.”

RIME is a plug-in for all major DAWs on Mac and PC (VST3/AU/AAX) and is typically used on the output or monitoring bus. It converts multichannel formats to binaural audio, retaining surround and height channel information, thus enabling users to monitor and mix content in formats such as Dolby Atmos using headphones.

RIME captures a real purpose-built studio room using reference-quality Neumann equipment throughout. Immersive setups of Neumann KH Line loudspeakers and subwoofers were installed by acoustics experts and fine-tuned using MA 1 automatic monitor alignment. The three-dimensional sound field was captured using the KU 100 binaural head microphone connected to Neumann’s MT 48 audio interface.

“As RIME is made for Neumann headphones exclusively, this perfect signal chain extends all the way to the user,” explains Product Manager Jorma Marquardt. “Our NDH 20 and NDH 30 headphones are manufactured to extremely tight tolerances. And of course, we know all their acoustic parameters. Using groundbreaking AMBEO algorithms, we are able to realize true immersion with unmatched sonic consistency and razor-sharp 3D localization.”