Ozone 6 and Ozone 6 Advanced are the latest versions of the immensely popular suite of audio mastering and processing software tools. The new standalone version will run, in any processing order, the seven plug-in tools that are also available for VST, RTAS, AAX and AU hosts.
The seven tools available in Ozone 6 Standard are: Equalizer, Dynamics, Maximizer, Exciter, Imager, Post Equalizer and a window for Export/Dithering audio files. Ozone 6 Advanced adds the Dynamic EQ module, the Insight plug-in and includes plug-in versions of the Equalizer, Dynamics, Dynamic EQ, Maximizer, Exciter and Imager.
Standard and Advanced versions let you choose among five EQ/filter shapes and toggle between analog and digital modes for minimum or linear-phase processing. The standalone version is great for mastering audio files without relying or learning a DAW host; it has in/out fade trimming, file export with automatic dither, sample rate conversion and also third party plug-in support in all six slots. I liked using the powerful Dynamic EQ module in Ozone 6 Advanced—an EQ but with a compressor threshold control with the ability to compress or expand (Inverse mode) only in a designated band(s) of frequencies. You can use dynamic equalization in Mid/Side and Left/Right processing modes too.
iZotope Ozone 6 Standard is $249 and Ozone 6 Advanced is $999. Triple recommended.
izotope.com/en/products/mixing-mastering/ozone
Barry Rudolph is a recording engineer/mixer who has worked on over 30 gold and platinum records. He has recorded and/or mixed Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hall & Oates, Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, the Corrs, and more. Barry has his own futuristic music mixing facility and loves teaching audio engineering at Musician’s Institute, Hollywood, CA. He is a lifetime Grammy-voting member of NARAS and a contributing editor for Mix Magazine. barryrudolph.com
