Truly gorgeous sound and soundstage. And It's ALMOST there with the GUI.
★★★★☆
by In-Stereo
I have many high end compressor plugins so it's really hard to impress me, and IRON did without a single doubt. You can go from very subtle super glue to very audible pumping to everything else in between while being able to dial in as much character as you'd like. It's truly a beast. In addition to groups and the mix buss I sometimes also use it on individual instruments. Improvements? Yes, there are two that are VERY much needed to make it five stars. It's frustrating to have them in a plugin as high end and otherwise versatile as this. 1. Give finer control over the input and output gain. With all due respect, 2dB increments simply isn't a good design for something intended for high precision mastering. This needs to be remedied -- it should be .5 dB increments at the very most. 2. Also, do away with the +, 0, - switch for the input and output gain knobs, and just give us a single dial that goes in either direction. The less mouse clicks the better, always. This needs to be remedied, too.
Musical Magic!
★★★★★
by Dave C
I'm not an expert, just a humble amateur home recording producer/engineer. I don't possess the most sensitive hearing either, probably because I've been an active musician all my life and a lifetime's worth of live music has dulled the old ears. However, a lifetime of music has given me the ability to distinguish the subtle differences compressors make on sound and how they can bring a composition to life if used well. I've got quite a number of compressor plugins and, up til now, my favourite was the UAD API 2500. It does wonderful things on the mix bus. I can honestly say though, when I put the SPL Iron on my master bus, I was simply blown away. I've not heard a compressor bring a mix to life quite like this before and add that inexplicable "musical magic". There are now two Brainworx plugins which will always be in my mastering chain - the bx_Masterdesk and this one, the SPL Iron.
BEAST !
★★★★★
by Ilker S.
finally it is available as a plugin. thanks to the PA team. the plugin is a beast, unfortunately I do not know the original, but the sound of plugin is just hot. also The Gui is perfectly replicated. you could not do it better.
Adds that magic touch
★★★★★
by Jweyerbacher
I'm still learning about this plugin and it's capabilities. From my time using it I can say many positive things. It is able to add weight and depth to a mix unlike other bus compressors. I have many plugins from NI and Waves, it wasn't until I started to invest in plugin alliance that I really started to hear the quality differences. I like to use this on the master bus and when mastering. I set it to gently tame some of the transients and glue everything together. The iron can bring the mix together while maintaining dynamics and energy. I'd highly recommend this plugin for taking your mixes to the next level.
Fantastic, unique, flexible, GET IT
★★★★★
by e-rob
I never write reviews, but I am compelled to write about what a fantastic plugin IRON is. I've basically been stuck with some sort of SSL-style compressor on my stereo buss for as long as I can remember. It does just enough to glue everything together. Recently I was mixing a heavy rock track, and the SSL wasn't really doing much. I tried the IRON, and WOW. All of a sudden the track exploded with attitude and weight. The wealth of facilities on this plugin (parallel mix, mono maker, width, headroom, M/S, Side Chain EQ, AirBass, 120V rail) are integral to dialing in just the right sound. The tone is truly worthy of the original hardware, and even improves with the extensive options. Also thanks for continuing to make AAX DSP plugins. They are a huge reason for me to keep buying from PA.
MixBus/Mastering Staple!
★★★★★
One of my staple mix bus and mastering compressors since I trialed the unit. All of my latest hiphop productions had SPL Iron either on a Mix Bus or during Mastering Process. It has such a great sound to it. Built-in presets are already sounding great, allowing you to hear the difference immediately and with little bit tweaks, I can get the sound I am going for with such ease.
Iron Glad
★★★★★
by J
Yet another top plugin
G R E A T ! !
★★★★★
by mindloop
This is one of the best mastering compressor i have used. Its perfect for EDM music. Great job SPL
Nice Tool
★★★★☆
by Casey Beavers
The IRON is a nice compressor to have in your tool box. I notice significant good improvements on my music when I use it on my mastering buss. Glad I have it! Thanks
Plugin Alliance response
What can we do to earn your 5th star? Thanks for the review.
Spl Iron
★★★★★
by Rubel
In short ... it’s great compressor plugin I have ever seen... Loved it ...