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SuperConvolver — GPU convolution reverb

SuperConvolver is a convolution reverb / impulse processor built on Pulp. The live audio path is an RT-safe CPU partitioned convolver (signal::PartitionedConvolver) with lock-free runtime impulse-response swap; the GPU engine (pulp::gpu-audio's GpuConvolver) is the accelerator for very long IRs and many simultaneous rooms. The native GPU UI shows the live IR waveform, a frequency display, and controls.

It lives in-tree under examples/super-convolver/ and is one of the two worked examples for the GPU audio runtime.

What the GPU buys you (honest version)

A convolution reverb is the honest case for GPU audio: with long impulse responses or a bank of many rooms, the frequency-domain multiply-accumulate is wide, regular, and parallel — exactly the shape a GPU wins at. The plugin runs CPU by default and switches to the GPU engine when the room count or IR length makes it worthwhile; the UI shows which engine is live.

The caveat, stated in the repo's README: a static-pan room bank is mathematically reducible, so the headline many-rooms benchmark measures parallel-FFT throughput, not proof that the sound requires the GPU. The GPU path exists for genuinely large workloads, not to inflate a number.

Offline bounces render the GPU convolution synchronously so an export matches what you hear live (the GPU worker can't keep up with a faster-than-real-time render otherwise). The CPU engine always bounced correctly.

Install

Download the signed, notarized macOS installer from the release repo's Releases page. The installer's Customize pane picks formats (AU / VST3 / CLAP / Standalone).

Build from source

SuperConvolver builds as part of the standard Pulp build when the GPU stack is present (it gates on pulp::render):

cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --target SuperConvolver_Standalone SuperConvolver_CLAP \
      SuperConvolver_VST3 SuperConvolver_AU -j$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu)

Formats: VST3, AU v2, CLAP, Standalone. There is also a headless audio-validation test (super-convolver-test) and an honest CPU-vs-GPU benchmark (super-convolver-bench, run by hand).

See also