Ground Control Sphere V2: Brilliant Update, One Big Problem

In today's video, I take a look at the new version of Ginger Audio's Ground Control Sphere, a virtual monitoring application for immersive studio setups. Version 2 brings several new features including a redesigned user interface, the ability to combine multiple audio interfaces into one output, an upgraded bass management system with support for up to four subwoofers, a new Link plugin, and most interestingly, a much deeper integration of Apple Spatial Audio monitoring with head tracking through AirPods. I demonstrate how to set up the software with Reaper, showing how to route audio through virtual devices and create different monitoring configurations.

While this update is a significant improvement over version 1, with excellent bass management and audio interface fusion features, I did encounter one notable issue with the AirPods integration. Whenever you connect AirPods to your Mac, the computer automatically switches its main audio output to the AirPods, which causes Ground Control Sphere to glitch unless you manually switch the output back. Despite this workflow disruption, the software remains a powerful tool for immersive audio monitoring, especially if you're working with complex speaker layouts or need to combine multiple audio interfaces for a more affordable Atmos setup. Unfortunately, the software is Mac-only, so Windows users are out of luck.