Needless to say, I was enthusiastic about the new hardware version of Ultramaximizer, the L2. I used the L2 straight out of the box, because L1’s familiar features were retained more or less unchanged. In addition to the advantage of real-time (as opposed to file-based) processing, L2 offers a handful of exciting new options that don’t mess with the proven success of Waves’ Increased Digital Resolution (IDR) technology.
These options include support for 24-bit, 96 kHz digital audio, excellent 24-bit A/D/A conversion, 48-bit internal processing, individual left and right analog-input controls, auto-release circuitry, dual-mono or stereo operation, and a hardwired bypass. L1’s only feature that was not handed down to L2 is the ability to output 8-bit audio, which is pretty much limited to multimedia and Web-based audio.
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FIG. 1: With the L2 Ultramaximizer, there are no banks of menus to scroll through. Every control you need is accessible on the front panel. (click for larger image) |
For those not familiar with Waves’ Ultramaximizer, here’s how L1 works. The L1 Ultramaximizer plug-in combines output-level normalization with look-ahead limiting—a process that lowers amplitude peaks that come in above an adjustable threshold—and intelligently redraws them to minimize audible distortion.
As the threshold is adjusted downward from 0 dB FS (the maximum value, or ceiling, for any digital signal), more peaks are limited and the signal’s dynamic range is reduced. Consequently, more headroom is created, and the normalizing function—which is typically set to keep peaks around the 0 dB maximum—effectively pushes the signal’s overall gain up as the threshold decreases.
Besides its obvious gain-maximizing function, L1 also provides adjustable bit-depth reduction in addition to dithering and noise-shaping options to audibly enhance the low-level information stored in the digital signal’s least significant bits. As a result of Waves’ proprietary IDR process, the subtle aspects of a mix—room sound, reverberation, quiet instruments, and extreme high and low frequencies—are brought out of the background without the unwanted artifacts of nonlinear distortion or quantization noise.
I use L1 on nearly every mastering and editing job, and my clients are consistently amazed at the depth and resolution it adds to a mix while boosting their music to the level of most commercial CDs. On live recordings, analog-tape transfers, and other difficult reclamation work, L1 frequently works miracles; even on an average mastering day, it makes me look like a hero.
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Reprinted with permission from
Magazine, December, 2000© 2000, Intertec Publishing, A Primedia Company All Rights Reserved
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