Ozone 8 & Neutron 2 announced for October 2017

[Tappistry]

The upgrade pricing from MPB2 is crazy. I'm hoping very few will jump on the 'introductory' pricing and surely nobody is going to buy the upgrade at full price ... who's betting on a 75% off sale within 6 months?

But it's already "discounted" right now though.

[thomaskyhn]

In the video on their website, it looks like Ozone still hasn't been optimized for Retina/HD displays. Can anyone confirm?

[yellowmix]

What concerns me the most is the maintenance policy. On the other hand, it's kinda nice to know that they've officially abandoned fixing the bugs and issues in Iris 2, Trash 2, etc.. But what this means with regards to all current software is that they really are on a one-year cycle. It sounds like they are positioning themselves for either:

1. Continued frequent paid updates,
2. Subscription model,
3. The ability to dissolve the business quickly.

None of which are good scenarios.

The lack of a coherent bundle future is also frustrating. For MPB2 owners, all of whom bought it less than a year ago (since Neutron was released in October 2016), not only is there no direct upgrade path to a "MPB3", the upgrade price to a slightly different bundle is insulting. RX6 is inexplicably bundled while Insight disappears. Audio restoration takes precedent over metering in a "music production suite"? They clearly don't have their customers' interests in mind when their bundles are driven by whatever mish-mash of products they have.

[rod_zero]

The rent to own thing looks atractive, nevertheless I wonder if you get the next updates along the line, because given how Izotope is updating when you are finished paying the 25 intallments they will be releasing Ozone 11 and Neutron 5

Probably the latter, so just assume a perpetual "rent to own" cycle at $15/month.

A little spendy when you consider that you can do the Slate everything bundle which gives you a far bigger variety of tools for the same subscription cost.

Yeah, maybe if they had a bundle of all their stuff together it could be worth.

Or not... too expensive this subscription stuff becomes.

But I would like a rent to own from fabfilter.

[anxiousmofo]

Can wait until Ozone 9/Neutron 3 unless an awesome knockdown price comes along (as came along for MPB upgrades in the end.) If it was creative tools rather than production tools, then I would be interested.

Like, if it was a package update of new versions of Breaktweaker, Stutter Edit, Iris and maybe even Phatmatik Pro etc, I would be excited and prepared to jump on an early upgrade price.

Updating mixing/mastering tools which are already perfectly fine isn't the same thing. Although there must be more money in it for Izotope to concentrate on the production tools, as they always seem quick to abandon the creative plugs.

Don’t worry. It should only be a few more weeks until they release Neutron 3.

[DJ Warmonger]

In the video on their website, it looks like Ozone still hasn't been optimized for Retina/HD displays. Can anyone confirm?

It's not. Looks clear enough to me, though.

So I demoed Ozone 8, especially Master Assistant feature - real gamechanger. Often it gets messed up, but is also able to give valuable info and tweak details I'd not even notice. So far used it on a track that's already been tweaked to death, but still got that 1% improvement.

"Reference" feature is great and improves the workflow - it does the same what I've been already doing, but faster.
What I really like about Assistant and Tonal Balance is the fact that it gives some feedback, great lerning tool. It simply shows me thing I wouldn't otherwise think about.

I was about to grab it right now, but 400 USD + tax is A LOT for a plugin. I still want it, though

[thomaskyhn]

In the video on their website, it looks like Ozone still hasn't been optimized for Retina/HD displays. Can anyone confirm?

It's not. Looks clear enough to me, though.

Thanks for the info! I don't understand why they still haven't done that. I assume most people use HD displays by now. Most non-optimized software looks pixelated and out of focus; I, for one, am not buying any more of it.

[DJ Warmonger]

I assume most people use HD displays by now

HD displays are fine, but already dated. I'm at 4K 27" screen. It takes sharp eye to see things, but still is an improvement over Ozone 5 to me.

[deastman]

I'm really on the fence about the advanced bundle of these two. As I've complained in other topics, I'm really starting to lose my hearing in a big way. As it stands right now, I know that I can no longer mix or master my own material with any confidence. One might then point out that I shouldn't be wasting money on mixing and mastering tools if I can't perform the task. On the other hand, between the assistants and the visual tools they offer to get a better handle on what's happening in a track, I'm thinking that this might give me what I need to get further along on my own. Of course I would still need to check my mixes with friends with better ears, but these might still be a big help.

[sfxsound3]

In the video on their website, it looks like Ozone still hasn't been optimized for Retina/HD displays. Can anyone confirm?

It's not. Looks clear enough to me, though.

Thanks for the info! I don't understand why they still haven't done that.

Complete rewrite? How much would that cost them?

(UI code is not something existing separately from DSP code. They are tied. And resizable UIs are a different country altogether.)

[DarinBad]

In the video on their website, it looks like Ozone still hasn't been optimized for Retina/HD displays. Can anyone confirm?

It's not. Looks clear enough to me, though.

Thanks for the info! I don't understand why they still haven't done that.

Complete rewrite? How much would that cost them?

(UI code is not something existing separately from DSP code. They are tied. And resizable UIs are a different country altogether.)

Considering what they are charging for upgrades, you'd think that they had spent the money to do it...

[stardustmedia]

Got the Ozone 8 upgrade. There are some very nice new features. I didn't compare, but I thought the result with the new IRC 4 is a bit better.

But there is a bug, that leads to huge distortion (for a short moment) when activating "Threshold learn" or start playback, also in the bounce. I use Logic 10.3.2 (so AU). Anyone else noticed that?

I already raised a ticket at iZotope.

[sacer]

anyone experienced system resource, is there any optimization ?

[noiseboyuk]

OT but that's a really nice song, never heard of her before, and yeah, the production on that is pretty good.

It's a little cracker, isn't it? Don't know why it's not number 1 across the globe right now.

The point of posting it is that this is the track I A/B'd next to their demo track, because I was concerned my ears had finally failed me for good. On reflection, this is a real danger with iZotope's demos - people might think "gee, it doesn't sound so good to me, but I'm following The Curve, so it must be right". The temptation of a product that sells itself as making things easier for everyone is that you a) stop trusting your own judgement and b) accept that if you tick the right boxes your mix or master must be great to everyone else if not to you. Neither is a good thing.

But important to note that these are still really good tools - it's just you can't be a slave to them. When I can be bothered - which isn't right now - I'll likely try out the demo of Neutron 2, and feed it with tracks I like, then compare them with the modern profile.

Some fine wise ass earlier in this thread pointed out in the glossy promo video that the monitors were pointed at the lovely model's chest. I think, unwittingly, this is a metaphor for this whole release.

[Franvu]

I love Izotope products.
I think that the gate, the tone balance control and the visual mixer is worth the upgrade.
But as a beginner musicican I can't justify the upgrade prize having MPB2.
Cheers.