ToneBoosters has announced that all its VST plug-ins have been updated to version 2.5 which also sees the release of TB OmniSone, a new free plug-in.
TB OmniSone is a zero-latency VST plug-in to (re-)pan sound sources, even outside the loudspeaker base. It also allows for increasing the perceived 'width' or spatial extent, and depending on the spectral content, may allow to subtly modify the perceived height of a source. Simply position the handles to change the desired position of each input signal, and use the mouse wheel to modify the spatial width.
Please note that TB OmniSone is still in an experimental phase and the results and effectiveness of TB OmniSone will depend on the (spectral) properties of the audio signals, the employed loudspeaker setup, and the anthropometric properties of the listener. Best results are obtained with high-quality loudspeakers placed at +/- 30 degrees as seen from the listener position.
Features:
- Zero-latency processing.
- Support of all sampling rates from 44.1 up to 192 kHz.
- Simple and intuitive user interface.
- Both input channels can be re-positioned individually.
- Based on the VST 2.4 specification to allow compatibility with virtually all host programs.
Changes in 2.5
All Plug-ins:
- VU meter peak hold values have been extended beyond the visible range for more accurate peak tracking.
- Various CPU load optimizations.
- All GUIs have been enhanced.
- Plug-ins are now compatible with OS X Lion.
- No more PPC support on Mac.
- Fixed mouse-wheel control of knobs with non-linear behavior.
Barricade:
- Added new auto-saturation module for better transparency and warmer character.
- Added quantizer/dithering/perceptual noise shaping modules for high-quality bit-depth reduction.
- CPU load reduction for true-peak / ISP detection.
- Output gain parameter changed to maximum output peak variable for more consistent gain handling.
OmniSone:
- First release of OmniSone spatial image processor.
De-Esser:
- Complete re-design of de-essing algorithm – please check settings for DAW projects created with older DeEsser releases.
- DeEsser now functions independent of signal levels (as opposed to a multi-band compressor approach).
- Added GUI elements to visualize the detected amount of sibilance.
- Added control to change amount of de-essing independent from threshold/sensitivity.
- Listen mode now only passes the removed sibilance as output.
EBULoudness and EBUCompact:
- Resolved plug-in reset issue in some hosts when stopping playback.
- Removed gating mechanism from ATSC A/85 mode for ATSC standard compliance.
- CPU load reduction.
Compressor and EZCompressor:
- Added a new vintage/classic compressor mode for colored compression, especially suitable for buss processing and to glue tracks together.
Please note that due to several algorithmic improvements, the updates of Barricade, Compressor and DeEsser may not always be 100% backwards compatible with earlier releases and consequently subtle changes in output may occur after updating. Please verify plug-in operation and adjust settings in DAW projects created with plug-ins prior to version 2.5 when necessary.