Wider is free. RysUpImager is $9.99. If you are looking for a Polyverse Wider alternative, you already know the one knob trick. This is about what a single knob cannot do. RysUpImager puts width, rotation, center, bass width, four bands, mono safe Spread and a live vectorscope in one window. Here is what each one actually gives you.
Disclosure: Rys Up Audio makes RysUpImager and RysUpSuite. Competitor facts come from each vendor's own product page, checked October 13, 2026. This is a workflow, feature and price comparison. We did not run a blind listening test, so nothing here names a sound quality winner.
What Wider does
Polyverse built Wider with Infected Mushroom as the stereo section of their Manipulator plugin, and gives it away for free. One control spreads a mono signal up to 200% of full stereo using all pass and comb filtering, and Polyverse says the widened signal stays mono compatible.
Version 2.0 added a Low Bypass to keep low frequencies out of the effect and a Mono button to check the result. It runs as VST2, VST3, AU and AAX on Windows 64 bit and OS X 10.9 or later, and Wider 1.0 is still on iPhone and iPad.
Free knob, missing controls
On October 13, 2026 the official Wider page said it plainly: 100% free.
So this is not a price fight. Wider makes a mono source wider. It does not rotate an image, fix a lopsided mix, narrow one band while widening another, or show you a vectorscope. That is the gap RysUpImager fills for $9.99.
RysUpImager is $9.99 to own. It is also included in RysUpSuite, $9.99 a month billed yearly, alongside every other current and future paid Rys Up plugin.
What you get in RysUpImager
The core is built on the same proven mid side width, rotation and shuffling math that classic studio imagers use. Then it keeps going.
- Width from 0 to 300% on one big knob, with a level compensated width law so wide settings do not just get louder.
- Rotation and Center. Rotation turns the whole image up to 45 degrees either way and Center tilts it up to 90 degrees, so a mix that leans can be straightened before you widen it.
- Bass Width from 1 to 3 times, with its corner set anywhere from 350 to 1400 Hz.
- 1 or 4 bands. Drag the crossovers in the band lane, click a band and set its own width. Narrow the low mids, open the top.
- Spread, a Diffuse decorrelation that never changes the mono sum. Mono sources get width, and mono playback gets the same signal back.
- Mono Below keeps everything under the frequency you pick in mono.
- Glass vectorscope with Polar and Lissajous views, plus correlation and balance meters, so you see what the knob did.
- Routing panel: Mono check, L/R or M/S input, Swap L/R, Invert L, Invert R and Bass Trim.
- Output from minus 24 to plus 12 dB, zero latency, 32 factory presets, Copy and Paste settings.
- Sculpted Graphite design in light and dark. Mac AU, VST3 and AAX, Windows VST3 and AAX, installed through RysUpHub. No iLok.
You give up Wider's one knob simplicity. You get mono safe Spread plus four bands, rotation, center, bass width, meters and routing for $9.99.
Side by side
| Feature | Polyverse Wider | RysUpImager |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $9.99 own forever, or included in RysUpSuite |
| Main controls | One width control, up to 200% | Width 0 to 300%, Rotation, Center, Spread |
| Bands | Full band with Low Bypass | 1 or 4 bands with draggable crossovers and per band width |
| Low end | Low Bypass frequency | Bass Width 1 to 3x at 350 to 1400 Hz, Mono Below, Bass Trim |
| Metering | Width display | Polar and Lissajous vectorscope, correlation and balance meters |
| Routing | Mono check | Mono check, L/R or M/S input, Swap, Invert L, Invert R |
| Formats | VST2, VST3, AU, AAX on Windows and macOS | Mac AU, VST3, AAX. Windows VST3, AAX |
| Activation | Free download | RysUpHub, no iLok |
Wider's edge is speed and price: one knob, zero dollars, and a widening method built to stay mono compatible. RysUpImager's edge is that it handles the whole stereo image, not just mono to wide, and it shows you what you did.
Other Wider alternatives to consider
iZotope Ozone Imager is free, with width, Stereoize and three vectorscope views. The full module sits inside Ozone 12 at $219 or $499. See Ozone Imager alternatives.
Waves S1 Stereo Imager lists at $129 with width, asymmetry, rotation and the S1 Shuffler for bass. See Waves S1 alternatives.
Leapwing StageOne 2 is $249 with 3 band width, depth and mono spread. See StageOne 2 alternatives.
The full list, including NUGEN Audio Stereoizer and Brainworx bx_stereomaker, is in the stereo imager plugin roundup.
Widen a mix bus in RysUpImager
A starting point for a wide but mono safe mix bus. Adjust by ear.
- Put RysUpImager on the stereo bus or track you want to open up. Start from the Default preset.
- Open Routing and switch on Mono check for a second. Listen to the source summed to mono, then switch it back off.
- If the image leans, fix it first with Center and Rotation while you watch the balance meter come back toward the middle.
- Click Bands and pick 4. Drag the crossovers to where the mix splits, then select the low mid band and pull its width under 100% so the body stays focused.
- Select the top band and push its width past 100% for air. Keep an eye on the correlation meter so it stays on the positive side.
- Set Mono Below around 120 Hz so the kick and bass stay centered, or raise Bass if the low end feels too narrow.
- Add Spread on sources that started out mono. It decorrelates the sides without changing the mono sum.
- Recheck Mono in Routing, then match the level with OUT.
Working on vocals instead? Read how to make vocals wider without losing the lead.
Questions producers ask
Does RysUpImager have a one knob mode like Wider? Close. In 1 band mode the big Width knob does the main job, and Spread adds mono safe decorrelation for sources that start out mono.
Will widening wreck my mix in mono? Spread never changes the mono sum, Mono Below keeps the lows centered, and the Mono check in Routing lets you hear the summed result any time. Width past 100% still raises the sides, so check mono before you print.
Does it add latency? No. RysUpImager runs at zero latency, so it is safe on tracking and live monitoring chains.
Does it need an iLok? No. RysUpHub installs and activates it on Mac and Windows.
Keep the money, keep the control
Polyverse Wider is free. RysUpImager is $9.99 with width, rotation, center, bass width, four bands, Spread, Mono Below and a live vectorscope. Or get it inside RysUpSuite with the rest of the Rys Up lineup.
RysUpImager is a one time $9.99 purchase you own forever. It is also included in RysUpSuite, which bills $119.88 a year and covers every current and future paid Rys Up plugin while it stays active. Prefer no commitment? Suite is $14.99 month to month. Compare everything on the RysUpSuite page.
Keep comparing: Ozone Imager alternatives, S1 alternatives, StageOne 2 alternatives, the full stereo imager roundup and the side by side comparison page. For vocal width without an imager, see the vocal doubler roundup and our MicroShift alternative guide. The whole catalog lives on the Rys Up plugin lineup.
Sources. Prices and features were read from official vendor pages on October 13, 2026: Polyverse Wider, iZotope Ozone Imager, Waves S1 Stereo Imager, Leapwing StageOne 2. Sale prices move often, so treat every competitor price here as a dated snapshot. Taxes and regional pricing can differ at checkout.