MIX / MASTER BUS
Listen across the whole mix
Place PRE at the beginning of the master bus and POST at the end. As you listen, follow how the selected LUFS-M or LUFS-S, True Peak, and Crest move across EQ, compression, and limiting.
Kirin Hypha / Free & Open Source
See the signal. Touch nothing.
WHAT IT DOES
See both sides of the chain
in the same playback.
Hypha is a measurement plug-in for checking what changes across a DAW processing chain while you listen.
Put PRE at the beginning of the chain and POST at the end. During playback, PRE shows the absolute values before processing; POST shows the difference across the chain. Hypha never processes the audio or adjusts its level.
HOW TO USE / WATCH MODE
Measure with PRE. Read the difference at POST.
Watch mode is free to use. It does not require Kirin OS, an account, or a cloud connection.
01 / PRE
Before
Absolute values
PROCESSING CHAIN
EQ / COMP / LIMITER
Your regular plug-ins
02 / POST
After
Difference from PRE
-
01
Insert PRE first
On the master or bus you want to measure, place PRE before the processing plug-ins and give it a name.
-
02
Insert POST last and pair it
Place POST after the processing plug-ins. Open ▼ beside the PAIR field and choose the PRE you just named under Pair choices. “PAIR ●” confirms the connection.
-
03
Play and listen
Switch between M (400 ms Momentary) and S (3 s Short-term) as you read the absolute values at PRE and the differences at POST.
CPU LOAD
Leave it in the session.
Keep measuring.
Hypha is light enough to leave in the session while you work. PRE / POST measurement can keep running during playback. In normal use, expect roughly 0–1% on the DAW CPU meter. The displayed value varies with the DAW, sample rate, buffer size, and number of active pairs.
- DAW CPU METER / TYPICAL
- 0–1%
- PROCESS METHOD / INTERNAL ACCEPTANCE
- < 0.1%
NUMBERS AND UNITS
How to read the numbers and units.
PRE shows where the sound is before processing. POST shows how far it moved. POST Δ means “POST − PRE”: positive means the value rose at POST; negative means it fell. The change you hear can be checked against the numbers from the same moment.
PREAbsolute value
The value measured at that moment
POST ΔPOST − PRE
The difference across the paired chain
CURRENT / MAXCurrent / playback maximum
MAX starts over at the next playback pass
WATCH MODE
Start with these three.
- LUFS-M / LUFS-SLUFS / Δ LU
- Switch between Momentary loudness over the latest 400 ms and Short-term loudness over three seconds. PRE is shown in LUFS; movement from PRE to POST is shown as Δ LU. M and S keep separate MAX values for the current playback pass.
- Example −14.2 LUFS / Δ +1.0 LU
- True PeakdBTP / Δ dB
- See how high the signal reaches, including peaks that can occur between samples, in dBTP. CURRENT covers the latest 400 ms; MAX is the highest value in that playback pass.
- Example −1.0 dBTP / Δ +0.3 dB
- CrestdB / Δ dB
- See how far the peak sits above the average level over the latest 400 ms. Place PRE beside POST to follow how that distance moves.
RECORD MODE
Keep changes the grid for the session.
- PSRdB / Δ dB
- PSR follows the space between peak and loudness. It records sample peak over the latest 400 ms minus Short-term Loudness over three seconds.
- Integrated (I)LUFS
- Integrated Loudness accumulates over the current Keep session. It continues across DAW transport stops as long as the same Keep remains active.
- Sharpnessacum / Δ acum
- Sharpness describes how sharp the high-frequency content feels to the ear, in acum. It is a psychoacoustic measure based on DIN 45692.
The Record grid shows selected LUFS-M/S, PSR, session-maximum True Peak, Integrated Loudness, Crest, and Sharpness. N (Zwicker loudness, ISO 532-1) remains measured and stored for Kirin OS, but no longer occupies a DAW display cell. N and Sharpness are calculated from the combined L/R mono signal.
WHERE TO USE IT
Hear the change. Check it in numbers.
INDIVIDUAL BUS
Follow drums, vocals, or music separately
Place PRE and POST on drums, vocals, music, or any other bus you want to hear separately. One project can run up to 12 pairs, so each change can be followed apart from the full mix.
BOUNCE / EXPORT
Keep the bounce measurements together
Use ALL KEEP to prepare the paired POSTs, then run the offline bounce. Every prepared PRE / POST pair is gathered into the record for that bounce.
WITH KIRIN OS / RECORD MODE
Keep one playback as a record.
With a Kirin OS license, press Keep on POST before playback or a bounce. Integrated Loudness and session-maximum True Peak continue accumulating across DAW transport stops while that Keep remains active. Press Hypha’s Stop to close the paired PRE and POST record.
The final Record grid remains visible after Stop. The next playback returns it to Watch only when the first newly computed Watch result arrives. Kirin OS is not required for Watch mode.
MULTIPLE PAIRS / OFFLINE BOUNCE
Record several pairs at once.
- 01
Pair every POSTChoose the matching PRE from ▼ on each POST, then confirm “PAIR ●.”
- 02
ALL KEEPOpen ▼ on any POST and choose “All Keep: N ready POSTs.” “Ready to bounce” means every ready pair is armed.
- 03
Run the bounceStart an offline bounce or export in the DAW. Every armed pair becomes part of the same recording run.
- 04
ALL STOPIf Record is still active after the bounce, open ▼ and choose “All Stop: active POSTs” to close every pair. Some DAWs stop automatically when the bounce ends.
TRUE PEAK SELF-CHECK / 2026.07.07
A five-signal check of the measurement path
The self-check compares expected values with the output of Hypha's measurement core using known True Peak test signals.
- Signals within tolerance
- 5 / 5
- Error at 997 Hz / 4 phases
- +0.005 dB
- Error at 11.76 kHz
- +0.060 dB
The self-check tolerance is ±0.100 dBTP. This is not third-party certification. The command, commit, and complete measurements are available through the True Peak self-check link below.
macOS 12+ (VST3 + Audio Unit) · Windows 10/11 (VST3)
Start with the free Watch mode and measure both sides of the chain as you listen.
When you want to keep those measurements with each song, connect them to Record mode in Kirin OS.