Voxengo PHA-979
In a market bloated with 'emulations' of classic gear, it's rare to find juicy sounding plugins that capture the best qualities of 'classic', offer some flexibility and don't break the bank. In the universe of more tweakable plugins, here too only a few offerings stand out.
After years of working with hundreds of plugins from numerous companies, I've found only a handful of offerings that keep me coming back. One of those companies that still hold a top spot is Voxengo. Their plugins are 'analog' without being slavishly limited to a given hardware model; flexible but not overloaded with 'feature bloat'; affordable without sacrificing sound quality; and have excellent & consistent GUIs to work with. A winning combination.
There is definitely a place for well designed emulations of classic gear, but when you require some flexibility and/or modernity, Voxengo is great choice. Their uniform GUIs also promote actually listening to the music!
Voxengo also has an easy robust activation system (no dongles), exceptional reliability (I've never had a Voxengo plugin crash my DAW in 14 years) and full 64 bit floating point processing*.
I've only been using Voxengo mastering plugins for a short time, and already they have become a core inclusion in all of my new projects and in many of my old ones.
I've been able to re-release clearer, brighter, smoother versions of tracks that I thought could never be lightened-up.
My listeners have already sent me glowing feedback about the quality and spacialization of my new and re-released mixes, since having incorporated Voxengo products.
I use almost the whole array of products in different combinations in different productions with fanastic results... though it's hard not to go overboard!
While some plugins are "too subtle to be heard", there's no question they modify the /feeling/ of the music; more solid, more smooth, and more enjoyable!
I plan to purchase the remaining pieces missing from my collection in the near future.
Thanks Voxengo, for sweet sounds and sweet deals.