Cerberus Audio has announced Ice9 Automute, a free utility which will protect your speakers, your ears, and your nerves from dangerously loud output levels.

Cerberus Audio explains their inspiration for this simple utility: "One of our favorite DAWs has a feature which mutes its master fader when a user-defined threshold is exceeded. It's very a useful function to us because mistakes can happen during a gruelling tracking, mixing, or mastering session. It's happened to all of us when we've hit the wrong button. The resulting massive distortion is never pleasant, especially when clients are present! An unfortunate pilot error could even damage your gear or even your hearing."

"Ice9 Automute improves on the original idea by eliminating the hard click that straight muting/unmuting can cause. Ice9 also resets itself automatically, so it doesn't require further attention once it is triggered."

Availability and Pricing

Ice9 Automute will be available for OS X and Windows, including 64-bit, in VST and Audio Units formats.

Cerberus Audio plans to release Ice9 Automute in July, 2012. It will be free.