Recording - April 2012 - 36

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The Maximizer also includes Threshold and Margin controls, Intersample Detection, Release control for Hard and Soft modes, and various “Character” selections for the three IRC modes (fast and hard, smooth, etc.). O5 Advanced also includes Stereo Link mode, that essentially couples or decouples the left and right channels by a percentage slider, and Transient Recovery, which helps to shape the transients before the limiter takes effect on the signal. Again as I expect from Ozone, the Maximizer does not disappoint. As the limiter has always been my most abused feature of Ozone over the years, I wanted to push the new IRC III mode to see how it compared with its predecessors. I noticed that as I expected, with minimal overshoots past 0 dBFS according to Ozone’s internal meter, there was little difference in the audio between the three modes. However, as the meter shot north of +7 in O5, IRC III mode did ever so slightly better than I and II; it kept the transients more intact with that beautiful thump in the chest. However, switching on Transient Recovery with IRC III mode resulted in the first thing I’ve run across that’s overloaded my Intel i7 950 3.0 GHz processor. With that setting activated, I’d have to render in offline mode to pull it off effectively. The Dither Dithering with O5 remains relatively unchanged from its predecessor. It has three different dithering algorithms: Type 1, Type 2, and its own proprietary MBit+ mode. Type 1 and 2 offer four noise shapes, while Mbit+ now offers two additional shapes (Lightest and Moderate) bringing the total up to 6 shapes. Once the algorithm and shape is set, the audio can be dithered down to a 24, 20, 16, 12 or 8 bits of resolution. Ozone has always done a great job at dithering. However, there is no ‘ultimate’ dithering algorithm for all flavors of music and audio material. Each song needs critical listening to the final results to determine what is best for the audio in question, and O5 gives you more choices than ever now. Welcome to the bridge Exclusive to O5 Advanced are four new configurable meter bridges: a Spectrogram (2D or 3D, fully adjustable), a Spectrum Analyzer, a Vectorscope, and configurable Level Meters that show the standard Peak + RMS levels, Bob Katz’ KSystem, or the BS.1770 Loudness metering system. (See the screenshot on this page.) Besides metering the final output of a mix within O5 Advanced, an individual Meter Tap plug-in can be loaded into any slot in your host of choice to monitor any
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part of the mix separately. Even cooler, each Meter Tap can then be color-coded, and then viewed independently or together in the Spectrogram. What’s really nice about the Spectrogram is the fact that it harnesses the power of your 3D card with OpenGL calls to render the graphics. My $35 bottom-of-the-barrel NVIDIA 210 fanless video card did pretty good, but not perfect; the Spectrogram would jitter a bit on occasion, but everything else was spot on. This slight glitch could be because my NVIDIA drivers are old... and this reviewer, from experience, knows it’s not a good idea to upgrades a system when you have an article deadline looming and the system is otherwise working perfectly!

Finally, for those of you who missed my O4 review, iZotope has two free guides available in the Download section, called Mastering with Ozone and Dithering with Ozone. Both have been updated to the latest version of Ozone, and give plenty of good tips and instructions on mastering and dithering techniques, whether you own Ozone or not. I highly recommended that you check them out for some great tips and technical discourse. Conclusion What O5 did time and time again, as Ozone has done for me for so many years, was bring a smile to my face; a little tweak here, a little tweak there, and my songs

Presets and Guides O5 comes with a whole plethora of new presets that take advantage of the new features in O5. As I expected, selecting a preset got me started, but didn’t give me a ‘finished’ mix without additional work on my behalf. However, the Special Effects and Utilities section with its nice choice of useful presets did a great job of hitting the mark (e.g. Bad Phone, InsideOutside Venue, etc.). But the best preset surprise I found was the new Module presets. These I found to be a little more handy and on target for what I was after. I only wish there were more of them.

began to “pop” out from the mix. A little more beater from the kick drum, a little more bite to the guitar, a little more bass from the synths, all of which add up to a big jump in clarity and definition, all while not being intrusive or feeling unnatural—unless you want it to. As has been the case for years now, Ozone’s all-in-one approach for mastering has certainly made my job easier. Highly recommended. Devon Brent (devon@recordingmag.com) is a recording musician, engineer, and computer audio hardware skeptic, living and working in Jacksonville, FL.

Delivery: Web Download Format: Windows XP SP2, Vista, and 7 as VST/DirectX/RTAS. Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later (Intel only) as AU/VST/MAS/RTAS. Copy Protection: Web Challenge/Response or iLok USB key License: Single user or single iLok key Documentation: Adobe PDF Prices: Ozone 5, $249; Ozone 5 Advanced, $999. Registered users of older versions should check the iZotope website for upgrade pricing. More From: iZotope, www.izotope.com

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Recording - April 2012

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