For the next 4 days only: PSP Xenon for $29 instead of $249

[Piet De Ridder]

From PSP Audio:

For the next 4 days only, we’re offering our award wining limiter plug-in: PSP Xenon at a completely insane 88% discount for $29* only! Starting from November 23, 2018 the regular price $249* will be applied. Registered users of our plug-ins can get PSP Xenon at an even better price (up to 50% additional discount). Discount rate depends on the quantity and specific plug-ins you already have. To see your final price for the PSP Xenon log-in to your user account. (* all prices include taxes).

PSP Xenon is a full band, dual-stage limiter plug-in (AudioUnit, VST and RTAS, AAX for MacOSX; VST and RTAS, AAX for PC) featuring an integrated Leveller, advanced K-System metering and psychoacoustically optimized wordlength reduction. PSP Xenon offers 64-bit precision processing throughout its entire signal path, and can operate at sample rates up to 192kHz.
Once you experience for yourself the pristine, transparent response and intuitive design of this plug-in, we believe it will become your "go to" limiter for mastering and other critical audio applications.

Testimonials:

"PSP Xenon is a valuable addition to my mastering toolbox."
Bob Ludwig, Gateway Mastering, Portland, ME, USA

"PSP Xenon is brilliant, capable of preserving more of the mix at ghastly levels and pristine when used wisely."
Alan Silverman, Arf! Mastering , New York, NY, USA

"PSP Xenon is a very clean, pure-sounding limiter which is also versatile. I have just begun to delve into its more sophisticated functionality, but I have already used it in basic mode on a jazz group and Xenon sounds very transparent to my ears."
Bob Katz, Digital Domain Studio , Orlando, FL, USA

"PSP Xenon sounds great and the pink noise generator linked to the metering is a great tool."
Bob Olhsson, Audio Mastery , Nashville TN, USA

"PSP Xenon is a unique addition to the world of digital limiters. PSP has come up with, in my opinion, one of the most versatile and best-sounding limiter plug-ins available."
Paul Abbott, Zen Mastering , San Diego, CA, USA

_

[Raymond_Kemp]

Often testimonials are to be taken with the proverbial but Bob Katz did say he used it elsewhere without being asked.
It has been my go to for some time now.
Not that I think my testimonial has any worth, I'm just sayin'.

[Thomas Mavian]

I'm also saying, probably doesn't give credit to anything but, nonetheless my goto for a couple of years...

[playz123]

“For the next 4 days only, we’re offering our award wining limiter plug-in: PSP Xenon at a completely insane 88% discount for $29* only! Starting from November 23, 2018 the regular price $249* will....etc.”
I’m assuming that date is meant to be January 23, 2018??

[Ashermusic]

I use it a lot.

[Lawrence]

I’ve had this around for a while-do you guys use it as your end of mastering chain limiter?

[Ashermusic]

I’ve had this around for a while-do you guys use it as your end of mastering chain limiter?

Yes,, sometimes that and sometimes the UAD Precision Limiter.

[wst3]

Silly me - I use UAD Precision Limiter most of the time, sometimes Waves L1, I don't compress a lot, so I'm really just trying to stay out of trouble.
I also own all their effects plugins. Yet I never even considered Xenon.

Now I did, I downloaded the demo this past weekend, and it is pretty remarkable. For a quick safety net I think it is even more transparent than the UAD Precision limiter, although any differences are subtle, and could be all in my mind.

Still, it was slam dunk easy to set, and it provides lots of useful info, I'll be placing my order this evening.

[Quasar]

Can anyone state exactly how the copy protection works on this? I know PSP has been migrating to iLok/PACE, but this appears to not yet be affected.

I don't have a PACE driver installed, nor have I or will I ever register an iLok account, so anything along those lines would be a deal killer whether it requires a physical dongle or not. But if it has a sane, simple license key or serial number activation protocol, it looks like a cool deal.

[Guy Rowland]

If its not iLok, I guess its the same as the Springbox I just bought, Quasar. You get a little file to run on the mac or PC which authorises, and there's another one to deuathorise. On a mac you need to restart before it takes. That's about it. I have it going happily on the PC and MBP.

[Quasar]

Thanks. It's still confusing though because if you go to the PSP site, some products clearly state that iLok is required, and others do not. But if you go to their FAQ the ONLY activation instructions are for the iLok-related products.

It appears as though they're in the process of phasing in iLok/PACE for everything. But even if so, for under $30 I might be interested in a sane CP version even if it means being locked out of future updates. On the other hand, maybe I'd be better off doing what I normally do and just steer completely clear of any company that hints at this sort of CP... I dunno.

[Thomas Mavian]

Been using iLok and eLicenser for years, never had a problem. Xenon is not iLok yet though.

[synergy543]

This has been my "go-to" compressor for years. I highly recommend it even at $249. Fast, easy and extremely effective. At $29, its a steal.

[catsass]

That's quite a discount.
My "go to" was FabFilter Pro-L for some time, and now the Pro-L 2. Does anyone have experience with both the PSP and the FabFilter? I'd be interested to hear your preference, and why.

[heisenberg]

Can anyone state exactly how the copy protection works on this? I know PSP has been migrating to iLok/PACE, but this appears to not yet be affected.

I don't have a PACE driver installed, nor have I or will I ever register an iLok account, so anything along those lines would be a deal killer whether it requires a physical dongle or not. But if it has a sane, simple license key or serial number activation protocol, it looks like a cool deal.

Hi Quasar, It is a downloadable license that is placed into your account. On Windows you double click on the license file and it places it into the Windows registry and you are done. The license file is readily available in your PSP online account along with downloads for MacOS and Windows. The license can be applied to the DEMO install of the plugin. The user account is confusing on first blush and has a frighteningly archaic look to it that is reminiscent of the Netscape, HTML 1.0 days but it works. To verify the license has taken you click on the PSP Xenon logo towards the bottom and center of the plugin UI and you will see the license info and other info about measured latency, who worked on the plugin and so on.

From a strictly utilitarian point of view this app is remarkable. You need to get your output ready for TV broadcast specs, -23 LUFS, and you are there in a couple of minutes even if your stuff is all over the place with dynamics across the frequency band. I have tools for this in my DAW that allow me to verify the proper LUFS average over time but not the facility to nail the level anywhere near as quickly as Xenon. This plugin is all about getting from A to B fast with an excellent result.

I would have preferred the option to go iLok but I understand and appreciate your point of view. If you save the license key file and the installer on a backup VST drive I think you should be good for future installs but I haven't read the fine print yet.

The sale ends on the 24th, tomorrow, so anyone interested in this will have to jump on it soon. $29 USD for this!!

Thanks Piet for pointing out this offer.

[playz123]

That's quite a discount.
My "go to" was FabFilter Pro-L for some time, and now the Pro-L 2. Does anyone have experience with both the PSP and the FabFilter? I'd be interested to hear your preference, and why.

I too would be very interested in a comparison with the Pro-L2 if anyone has both. Personally I’ve been very happy with the L2.

[Quasar]

Hi Quasar, It is a downloadable license that is placed into your account...

Thanks much for the detailed explanation. Paradoxically, LOL, despite the Heisenberg avatar your post established the certainty of both my position and momentum on the subject of purchasing this, and I went ahead and bought it (and even saved a couple of dollars more using the "forum" code at JRR).

Activation was 100% seamless, fast, easy & offline. (By the time a PSP instructional email arrived two minutes later, I was already done.) These sorts of key files are far-&-away my favorite CP...

...Now I just have to learn how to use this. The UI is quite small and busy, and a little intimidating. RTFM and all of that. I keep staggering and stumbling (hopefully) forward in my quest to render the music I hear in my head in such a way as to have a finished product that sounds more or less good, and there continues to be so much to learn, whether it be music theory & applying principles to the idiosyncrasies of samples, or on the audio engineering end of things, truncated to be applicable to a humble home ITB studio.

[Quasar]

That's quite a discount.
My "go to" was FabFilter Pro-L for some time, and now the Pro-L 2. Does anyone have experience with both the PSP and the FabFilter? I'd be interested to hear your preference, and why.

I too would be very interested in a comparison with the Pro-L2 if anyone has both. Personally I’ve been very happy with the L2.

I certainly wouldn't know, but as I'm always thinking about saving enough $$$ to dive into the FF universe, a quick websearch turned up this from way back in 2011, which may or may not have some authentic insight. I found it interesting at least:

https://audioproductiontips.wordpress.c ... nt-review/

[catsass]

The sale price has been extended through Sunday, Jan. 28th. I'm going to give the demo a go tomorrow.

[chrisr]

From a strictly utilitarian point of view this app is remarkable. You need to get your output ready for TV broadcast specs, -23 LUFS, and you are there in a couple of minutes even if your stuff is all over the place with dynamics across the frequency band. I have tools for this in my DAW that allow me to verify the proper LUFS average over time but not the facility to nail the level anywhere near as quickly as Xenon. This plugin is all about getting from A to B fast with an excellent result.

Hi Heisenberg,

I'm intrigued by this plug but limiters are something that have largely disappeared from my usage in the few years since LU have become standard, except for as a creative effect - in which case the transparency which is being praised in this plug is irrelevant to me.

Further, I have come to think that we have largely moved into the "post-limiter" age - so even at $29 this plug is not a no brainer - if I never have cause to use it. I mean, even with LUFS there usually is a requirement regarding absolute peak (usually -1dbfs) - but in my experience it became an almost non-issue in practice.

I was surprised to read the above para you wrote, because you seem to imply that this plug-in does help with mixing in the age of loudness? Could you expand a little on that please - am I missing something obvious here? (quite likely...).

As a wider question - am I mistaken to believe that transparent limiting is/was inherently linked to the "age of the CD/peak level deliveries/loudness wars" ? - which has now passed - I'm all ears on that - is it to do with Radio?? DO we still need stereo mix limiting??

best all (and hello - 1st post over here...)
Chris

[Guy Rowland]

Hello Chris, a warm welcome. This could very well spin off into its own thread. For me, I think its a myth that the age of compressing / limiting / maximising has gone. I actually keep the loudness compensation switched off on my phone as it makes the overall level too quiet, and then anyone listening via a conventional media player will also still be using the raw volume inherent in the track. As I listen to commercial track, the overwhelming majority still make it sound loud with no loudness compensation. One or two tracks don't, and they sound much quieter (of course). Then of course some people like the squished effect, particularly in some genres.

So I think our job has got harder, not easier - it has to still sound competative and loud, but if you overcook it it will sound quiet on the streaming platforms. So its a delicate balancing act for me.

[chrisr]

Thanks Guy,

So, do you both (Guy and Andrew) use peak limiting (at something other than -1dbfs) on stereo mixes that you're delivering to -23 LUFS?

Chris

[Thomas Mavian]

I think you are a bit confused regarding LUFS and dbFS. A track with a max peak of -0.01 dbFS could be anywhere between -99 to -0.01 LUFS (depending on the length of the track).

dbFS is a finite scale in digital audio where 0 is "maximum" (anything above 0 is clipped). A limiter is used to clip those peaks in a predictable way (most likely in a transparent matter).

LUFS is Loudness Units which are measured over time and is not bound to a digital scale. They simply tell you the dynamic variation in a song. Even if you have a great dynamic track it will still clip at +0.01.

Or I could have misread your questions with regard to the meaning of "stereo mixes"...

[Guy Rowland]

...and the figure of -23 LUFS pertains to the R128 broadcast standard, so just checking if you talking about music mixing or broadcast mixing?

[chrisr]

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for your input and I hope I don't sound ungrateful in my response, but to clarify, I'm not confused about the meanings - I've delivered many mixes to broadcasters (BBC/SKY etc) in LUFS, and before loudness standards came along many more at PPM6/-10dbFS. No problems with QC. Prior to composing full-time I worked in audio post production for quite a long time.

I'm enquiring about if/how/why others are using peak-limiting in their mixes in the cases where assets are to conform to loudness standards, rather than peak level standards - because the section of Heisenberg's post that I quoted alluded to some particular usefulness in that respect.

I was hoping that questions might provoke someone to come back at me with some info about the usefulness of the K-system metering (which I have never actually used) or some other info that I might have overlooked - which might cause me to rethink whether or not I should get this limiter - it being such a good price.

I guess my original post was also asking the question "who still mixes to peak levels and why/when?" - in that I referred to the "death of the CD" and yet the continuing success of radio. I can completely see the need for good peak limiters if mixing to peak levels, of course.

best,
Chris