Best limiter for loud mixes?

[Erik_Lucas]

Hi, wondering what people's thoughts are on this question.

When I say 'loud mixes' I mean in the -6 LUFS to -9 LUFS range. My current go to is Izotope's Ozone 9 Maximizer; there's something about it that keeps the transients punchy even though its smashed.

Other ones I like are Voxengo's Elephant, DMG Audio's Limitless, and Sonnox's Oxford Limiter.

[Vortifex]

Edited

[kPere]

Even better strategy is to limit before hitting mixbus. On tracks and stems. It all just adds up, 0,5db here, 0,5db there. You can do a lot with minor tweaks

[plexuss]

My suggestion is to not use a limiter for your target -6-9 LUFS. This way you can achieve the ultimate in poor sounding audio.

[Biome_Digital]

L2 is perfectly adequate for loud masters. But I find clipping the key for really loud.

[Frankie.T]

I think Ozone Maximizer is one of the best on that regard, i've made some tests few months ago, there are a lot of good limiter/maximizer, but the one who worked better for me is Ozone.

Anyway keep in mind, loudness start from the very beginning, for real, sound design is the first step

[kPere]

I think Ozone Maximizer is one of the best on that regard, i've made some tests few months ago, there are a lot of good limiter/maximizer, but the one who worked better for me is Ozone.

Anyway keep in mind, loudness start from the very beginning, for real, sound design is the first step

yeah, i 2nd that

[El°HYM]

If you are into tweaking a bit, Limiter 6 can also give some good results.

[yellowmix]

When I say 'loud mixes' I mean in the -6 LUFS to -9 LUFS range. My current go to is Izotope's Ozone 9 Maximizer; there's something about it that keeps the transients punchy even though its smashed.

Those LUFS are in the EDM range. For example, Spinnin' masters at -6 LUFS. Like kPere said, iterative limiting at every stage is how that is often achieved. In fact, some people don't limit but clip in certain stages, the most famous example being the "Clip-To-Zero" method.

But to answer the original question, I've been using Newfangled Elevate for the louder, busier mixes since it tracks transients in each of 26 perceptual bands. It can sound a lot more dynamic and transparent compared to other limiters. However, like others said, a lot of it is in how it's mixed and how transients are handled before it reaches the mastering stage.

[MogwaiBoy]

Limitless and Pro-L 2, in that order

[D.K Envelope]

i tested limitless
but i must say , this plugin have a big problem
to limit plucky sound or to handle transients

big no go
sounds bad
it really hurt to say that i like this comonay but this limiter is not good at all
elevate is my favourite

[pixel85]

Softube Weiss MM-1 can beat even Ozone's Maximizer but the latter is also the best for EDM. L2 never impressed me in that role. It either softened or distorted transients in my short test that I did long time ago.
Ozone Maximixer IV Mode iz da king!

[sircuit]

There isn't a best limiter. The one that can squash 6 dB of GR without distorting, has a slow (or internally automatic) release (will just push down alot of transients that don't need to be punished). It will sound mediocre anyway. The ones that are fast release, will distort at 6 dB GR. It will sound mediocre.

You need a perfect mix to have a loud mix. Think about it, what's actually triggering a limiter (at the group level or master buss)? Either (rogue) transients either frequency buildups in certain areas. You don't want your good mix to be pushed down by bad players. Because the limiter is full band. It senses a 1K buildup of 1 dB, it pushes down the entire mix (kick aswell) 1 dB. Do this little by little: soubgroup (0.5 dB), group (0.5 dB), master bus compressor (0.5 dB), master limiter (2 dB) - and you have 3.5 dB lost due to bad mixing. Given how often see the question here, I don't think people realize this.

So work out the dynamics to be perfect at track level. Work out the EQ to be perfect at track level. Watch out for frequency buildups and go back to the tracks and address them. Watch out for transients buildups (kick & clap for example) and duck one of them for few ms. Do the work. A limiter can't do any of these. You want to use the biggest hammer in the tool to squash all elements for what requiers sandpaper on all individual elements. Don't be lazy, mix your music

[Unaspected]

General consensus is, of course, correct: If you want to make your mix sound loud then you need to achieve that as part of the mix. Selective clipping is definitely the way. Prior to that, the arrangement will play a large role in how far the mix can be pushed but you can always cut elements as part of the mix. Mastering is there for cohesion, finesse and preparation for distribution more than brute force loudness.

Parallel compression and distortion/saturation work very well for increasing a sense of loudness and energy whilst mixing. I'm still using Limiter No6 for my main limiter - though I might suggest looking at something like ProAudioDSP DSM V3 for your group busses and/or masters - or other spectral limiters, as already suggested.

[astralprojection]

standardclip + pro l2 + pro l2 (ISP)