iZotope Ozone 4 promises better mastering

A pro sound from within your DAW?

Ben Rogerson, Mon 6 Oct 2008, 11:26 am UTC

iZotope thinks that it's raised the mastering bar once again.

Zotope's Ozone has long been a favourite with musicians and producers who want all their mastering tools under one roof, but thanks to a version 4 update, it looks like it's now even more comprehensive.

For a start, iZotope has updated and expanded its algorithms, optimising them for low-latency DAW environments. New features, meanwhile, include an Intelligent Loudness Maximizer mode – this is said to enable the creation of full-sounding masters and to handle transients better than before – and Perfect Reconstruction crossovers. These promise to combine analog character with digital clarity.

Also on the menu is mid/side processing, True Envelope dynamics processing and enhanced preset management. On a more general note, the interface has been made easier to use.

Ozone 4 is cross-platform and supports the VST, Audio Units, DirectX, MAS and RTAS plug-in formats. You can expect it to ship in January for $249.