Sonoris Mastering Compressor Wideband Transparent Mastering (Card)

The Sonoris Mastering Compressor is a WIDEBAND mastering compressor, which is worth saying first because Sonoris also make a three band version. This one works across the whole spectrum. If you want three independent bands, the Sonoris Multiband Compressor is the one to buy, and we list it separately.

The design brief is transparency. Sonoris state it avoids the odd harmonic distortion present in most compressors, and it upsamples the audio up to eight times to cut residual artefacts. Choosing auto release with feedback detection and two soft knees pushes it further in that direction.

It will misbehave on purpose if you want it to. Feedforward detection with a harder knee gives a more aggressive character when pushed, and there is a selectable gentle even harmonic distortion on the output to warm things up.

The control set is unusually deep for a mastering compressor. Ratio runs from 1:1 to infinity, so it doubles as a limiter. Attack from 0 ms to 1 second with a selectable auto-attack, release from 1 ms to 5 seconds with a programme dependent auto release from 0.5 to 5 seconds, and threshold from -60 dBFS to 0.

The knee is adjustable across 100 steps from hard to soft, and there is a SECOND KNEE that brings the ratio back toward 1:1 above the threshold, also in 100 steps. The sidechain has high-pass, band-pass and low-pass filters, and three linking modes: Variable from fully linked to fully split, Highest Link, and MS Split.

Format: This is a brand new, unregistered activation card with printed instructions. Redeem the code with the manufacturer, download the software, and the licence is yours to keep.

Key Features

• Wideband, not multiband - this works across the whole spectrum. If you need three independent bands, buy the Sonoris Multiband Compressor instead, which we list separately
• Built to be transparent - Sonoris state it avoids the odd harmonic distortion found in most compressors, with upsampling up to 8x to reduce residual artefacts
• Or with character, if you want it - feedforward detection with a harder knee gets more aggressive when pushed, and there is selectable gentle even harmonic distortion on the output
• Compressor and limiter in one - ratio from 1:1 all the way to infinity
• Two knees - a 100 step hard to soft knee, plus a second knee that returns the ratio toward 1:1 above the threshold, also in 100 steps
• Auto attack and programme dependent auto release - attack 0 ms to 1 second, release 1 ms to 5 seconds, with auto release from 0.5 to 5 seconds that follows the material
• A proper sidechain - high-pass, band-pass and low-pass sidechain filters, with Variable, Highest Link and MS Split linking modes
• Feedback and feedforward detectors - switchable detector topology, which is what actually changes how the compressor feels
• Perpetual Licence - bought once and yours to keep, not a subscription. The version you activate keeps working whether or not you ever renew anything

System Requirements

• Plug-in formats - VST, VST3, Audio Units and AAX
• Platforms - Windows and Mac
• Note on versions - Sonoris do not publish a minimum operating system version for this plug-in, so none is stated here. There is a free trial on their site if your system is older
• Internet connection - needed to redeem the code, download the installer and activate the licence