Equivalent to Sony Oxford Inflator???

[twister]

A friend of mine swears his life on Sony Oxford Inflator as one of the best Maximizers out there. Of course, this is a plugin for PoCo, and I would rather keep all my effects internal to the laptop. Can anybody recommend any VST/DX plugin effects that come close to the quality of Inflator? I demoed a few maximizers/limiters before, but my ears can't hear any significant difference (i'm more of a writer than a sound engineer ). I need something that doesn't add any coloring to the sound, keeps it as transparent as possible, and at the same time maximizes the overall level without ruining dynamics of the track. Anybody?

[baggio]

As far as I am aware there is nothing like Inflator on the native plugin market. At the moment if you want that inflator magic of making your music sound bigger when there no more headroom left to limit then you have to go down the powercore/pro tools route.

[original flipper]

HI

Try this:

BuzMaxi3 ver.1.3

http://www.x-buz.com/

I have Inflator, which this isn't but for free it will pile on some level without putting your levels in the red!

Flipper.

[lawapa]

I would check out Voxengo. They have some plugins I'd bet are as good or better.

[baggio]

Also, I think you need to be aware that inflator is not a limiter/compressor etc - it achieves its loudness through other means. So if you are looking for a limiter for your music then there are plenty to chose from - elephant etc but this is not what inflator does - in the words of Nigel Tufnell 'It makes it one louder'.

[twister]

Hmm, I didn't expect a freeware suggestion Are you saying that out of all the "payware" this is a best alternative? I thought I will get replies that I need to spend a fortune on Waves plugins LOL! So, is BuzMaxi3 a final word?

[baggio]

In a word - no

[popsych]

Inflator is a native plugin - you'll have to use pro tools le (or free) though. There is an RTAS version for most sony plugins and Inflator is one of those available. Good limiters for PC include BuzMaxi3 (free), Voxengo elephant (my personal favourite), Waves L1/2/3, Kjarhus GPP, Tbt's pocket limiter (free), Elemental's audio Finis and a couple of others i'm too bored to mention.

While we're on the subject why is sony bringing out a Limiter too ? Is the sound of inflator too coloured ? Anyone can provide a sample of a clip before and after inflator ?

[Uncle E]

The Inflator colors the sound. The reason it's so popular is because the coloration it adds is somewhat akin to that of tape, so anything you put into it sounds better in addition to louder.

The closest native equivalent I've heard, in that it makes things sound both louder & better, is the Sonalksis compressor. Good maximizers that will make things louder without coloring the signal are the Voxengo Elephant & the new PSP mastering compressor (at least what I could tell from the PSP limited demo).

[coldmachine]

Wave Arts Final Plug is a really good finaliser that really slams a track. Big gains before coloration. Includes many dithering options.

[Yossarian]

My understanding is that the Inflator is supposed to be used together with a limiter/maximizer and not as an alternative to it, as it can increase the perceived loudness without affecting the dynamics (which a limiter/maximizer will inevitably do).

So, either you could use Inflator to squeeze some more loudness out of an already compressed track without making it sound more squashed or it could allow you to ease off on the limiting/maximizing to regain some dynamics while still maintaining the loudness.

AFAIK, there’s no other plugin that can do this.

/Yoss