Recording - April 2012 - 34

...where we bring you follow-up articles with application hints and upgrade news about gear already reviewed in Recording

iZotope Ozone 5
This world-class mastering suite has lots of added power
by Devon Brent

iZotope’s mastering plug-in suite,
Ozone, is a well-established player in the computer audio market. I last reviewed version 4 in our June 2009 issue; now it’s time to take a look at Ozone 5, which has brought a lot of new and improved features to the table. Ozone 5 comes in two different versions; the “standard” version (which we’ll just call O5 in this review, since it has no specific name) and the “Advanced” version.

Ozone 5 Advanced comes with everything O5 has; in addition, the Equalizer, Maximizer, Dynamics, Reverb, Stereo Imaging and Exciter are all available as individually loadable plug-ins, there are extended features in every module, and it includes an entire suite of configurable meters. But enough about the high level view of O5. Let’s dive in and see what O5 and O5 Advanced have to offer as well as what’s new since Ozone 4.

Exclusive to O5 Advanced is Mixed Phase mode, which allows one to use both digital linear filters and analog-style filters at the same time. Mixed Phase Mode (like the other modes) also lets you select Independent Curve shapes for both analog-style and “surgical” curves. Finally, alongside the eq is a Matching Eq mode. This mode can analyze an audio track, capture its eq curve, and then apply it to another piece of audio. O5’s eq, to my ears, is a very sweet, clean and “neutral” equalizer; its boosts and cuts bring out the original character of the track in question without adding much color. In my opinion, for a mastering eq this is precisely what’s wanted. For those looking to “color” their tracks, there are plenty of other options on the market.

Ozone 5, the “standard” version, comes with a total of eight mastering tools in one plug-in: Maximizer, Multiband Dynamics, Multiband Stereo Imaging, Equalizer/Post Equalizer, Multiband Harmonic Exciter, Reverb, and Dithering. Each effect in the signal-processing chain can be turned on or off, or re-ordered, to suit the user’s needs. The three multiband effects modules have from one to four independent frequency bands that operate together in lock-step (meaning if one module’s frequency band is adjusted, the other multiband effects adjust to the new selected frequency bands as well) or, new to O5, they can operate independently. O5 also has a “Learn” mode for the frequency bands that analyzes the audio and makes its own suggestion for the Multiband frequencies. Finally, four of the modules, Eq, Dynamics, Harmonic Exciter, and Reverb, offer Mid/Side processing as well as mono/stereo processing abilities.
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RECORDING APRIL 2012

A new look The most obvious upgrade to O5 is the user interface; it’s bigger, it’s cleaner, and it’s a lot easier to read than any previous version of Ozone. It might take old-time users like myself a bit of getting accustomed to the new features and light re-arrangement of the interface. However, the overhaul is certainly for the better, and it’s still very logically laid out. New eq options O5, unlike its predecessor, sports two disparate but identical equalizer sections instead of one to process your audio. While O5 still supports up to eight paragraphic eq “nodes”, it has upped the ante to 14 eq curves with new curves like Flat (Butterworth) low- and highpass, brickwall low- and highpass, and vintage shelf filters. Also new to O5 is the ability to independently process left and right channels, along with the standard Mid/Side and Stereo processing.

The Dynamics O5, just like O4, offers a 1- to 4-band Dynamics processor with stereo and Mid/Side processing support. Each band has a limiter, compressor and gate with independent ratio, knee, attack, and release controls. New to O5 is the ability to do less than a 1:1 ratio with the limiter, compressor and gate. This gives upwards expansion with the limiter and upwards compression with the compressor and gate. Level detection modes for all three effects include Peak, RMS, and—exclusive to O5 Advanced—True Envelope mode. True Envelope produces even levels across all frequencies without introducing aliasing or artifacts. Another O5 Advanced exclusive is a threshold detection filter where you can specify the frequency that triggers the dynamics processor instead of the entire frequency spectrum. Finally, new to O5 is

Recording - April 2012

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