Overview

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Industry-Standard Loudness Using M/S Technology
The bx_XL V2 provides mastering engineers the ability to deliver loud mixes, without squashing the life out of them. Using the M/S technology from Brainworx’s revolutionary bx_digital EQ, you can split the Mid channel into two bands (high and low), allowing you to control the level of three individual channels—side, mid-high, and mid-low—to increase loudness while drastically improving the clarity of your mixes, with far fewer artifacts and much more punch.

Four Stages of Limiting for Maximum Control and Clarity
The Crossover Frequency slider allows you to choose where the mid-low section ends, and the mid-low processing begins. Use it to separate the kick drum and limit it differently from the rest of your mid signal: An extremely useful approach for mixes that require a powerful bottom end such as dance, rap, techno, and rock. After the bx_XL V2’s three channels have been mixed back into a stereo signal, an additional brick wall limiter offers an adjustable master output level. That’s four stages of pro limiter, resulting in loud and crystal clear stereo mixes.

Warm-up Your Mixes With Saturation
The XL knobs let you add warmth to your mixes by introducing third and fifth-order harmonics. A special filtering process prevents aliasing, to keep your mixes free of artifacts. This additional harmonic content increases perceived loudness without significantly increasing the output level of your music.

Leverage Sophisticated Metering Tools
The bx_XL V2 also includes a three-band “psychoacoustic” loudness maximizer and a host of detailed level meters, making it a sophisticated dynamics and loudness control system second to none. This is the first and only mid/side mastering limiter that allows you to audition your mid/side signals individually and phase-corrected with Phase-X crossover filters, letting you hear the finest details in your mixes.

The Perfect Companion for the Brainworx bx_limiter
The bx_XL V2 is designed to be the final plugin on the master buss, making it the ideal companion to the Brainworx bx_limiter plugin, which is designed for sub-groups and stems.   bx_XL V2, with its multiple limiting stages and other advanced features, can also hold its own on stems and busses in many situations.

Features

  • M/S Stereo Mastering Limiter
  • 4 limiters working for you at the same time!
    (Mid Lo, Mid Hi, S & LR Master)
  • Multiple Solo, Auto Solo and Link features gives users precise control over all limiter stages
  • New X-Phase crossover filters
  • M/S stereo width control on any stereo channel
  • XL Saturation on board
  • Loud masters that don't sound squashed or distorted.

Audio Examples

Industry Reviews

  • Richard Devine

    Richard Devine

    Sound Designer and Artist (Hollywood Edge, Sound Delux, Sony Creative Software)

    So far this is my favorite mastering limiter I have used. I am completely surprised how much volume I am able to get without crushing the dynamics out of my mixes. The M/S technology allows you to… Read More

  • X:144

    X:144

    Producer, Mix & Mastering Engineer (Ms. Lauryn Hill, Qusai, EA Sports: Madden NFL)

    This is what brought it all together for me. It’s why I’m here at Plugin Alliance. This very plugin started it all. No more limiting the full bandwidth… I now can control the two bands over… Read More

Customer Reviews

  • D

    ★★★★★
    by CRISTHIAN
    CHULISIMO

  • Mastering Breakthrough

    ★★★★★
    by Nick Tha Quick
    I've owned this plugin for years, and have just found a new way to use this bad boy. I can't give full details of how I'm using this plugin, but the insane width and sparkle I am able to get from the… Read More

  • Best and safest mastering tool I've found

    ★★★★★
    by Joseph
    No other tool is a guaranteed winner without a bunch of complicated and weird side effects for mastering. The XL saturation is probably the key here and its aptly named, its phat and also very… Read More

  • Best limiter ever

    ★★★★★
    by George G
    It's amazing how it retains dynamics and boosts loudness while maintaining overall clarity! Unimaginable for me, I always wondered how the pros did it!

  • Komplex - Laut - Effektiv !

    ★★★★★
    by D_Jey_Age
    Eines vorweg - ich bin kein Profi - habe viele Jahre in einem kleinen Homestudio elektronische Musik komponiert - jetzt nach vielen Jahren Pause habe ich mir ein kleines mobiles virtuelles Studio auf… Read More
View All Customer Reviews

Specifications

Supported Plugin Formats
AAX DSP, AAX Native, AU, AAX AudioSuite, VST2, VST3

Supported Operating Systems
macOS 15 down to macOS 12
Windows 11 down to Windows 10

Mac
Intel, or Apple Silicon

PC
x64-compatible CPU

System Requirements
Display resolution: 1440 × 900px or 1280 × 960px or higher
Memory: 2 GB RAM

Downloads

With the Installation Manager you can select, download & install all the Plugin Alliance products. Select any and all formats you need for your system! Mac & PC.

bx_XL V2 Installers

Installation Manager

Manuals

ChangeLog

bx_XL V2

Brainworx bx_XL V2 - Changelog

Version 2.16.1 (Oct 9, 2023)
- General: fixed CPU spikes on Mac OS

Version 2.16.0 (Aug 15, 2023)
- General: added native Apple Silicon compatibility for AAX
- General: added macOS Ventura support
- General: improved plugin loading time in the DAW
- General: fixed issue causing Logic to crash when closing the plugin UI
- General: improved font drawing behavior

Version 2.15 (Mar 15, 2022)
- General: added native Apple Silicon compatibility for VST3, VST2 and AU
- General: added macOS Monterey support
- General: added Windows 11 and Windows 10 21H1 support
- General: discontinued Windows 7 support
- General: discontinued macOS 10.9 and 10.11 support
- General: fixed metering behavior in block sizes of 2048 samples and higher

Version 2.14 (Mar 22, 2021)
- General: Compatibility with Logic on Apple Silicon devices via the Rosetta-2 layer
- General: Fixed possible artefacts when freezing or bouncing tracks in Pro Tools
- General: Fixed automation highlighting disappearing in Studio One
- General: Improved license dialog visibility in dark mode

Version 2.13 (May 27, 2020)
- General: Qualified for use with the Windows 10 May 2020 Update
- General: VST3: Fixed potential hangs in a DAW upon loading
- General: Fixed logical issues in undo / redo behavior
- General: Fixed UI resizing issues in Ableton Live on Windows
- General: Fixed audio processing initialization issues on amp and delay products

Version 2.12 (Nov 06, 2019)
- General: Qualified for use with macOS 10.15 Catalina
- General: Qualified for use with Windows 10 November 2019 Update
- General: Fixed plugin validation in Logic under macOS Catalina
- General: Fixed preset name restore in Logic when reopening a session
- General: Fixed opening authorization dialog triggering automation
- General: Improved instantiation times for plugins
- General: Improved license functionality and branding for subscription
- General: Removed 32-bit support on macOS and Windows
- Fixed parameter restoration after reopening a project

Version 2.11 (Jul 10, 2019)
- General: macOS 10.14.5 Update compatibility
- General: Windows 10 1903 Update compatibility
- General: Fixed activation issue in Windows hosts set to non-English language (e.g. Cakewalk)
- General: AU: Fixed issue with increased CPU and memory on reopening UI
- General: VST3: Fixed issue with adapting to host knob mode, and now prioritizing linear
- General: VST3: Fixed issue with VST3 preset permissions
- General: VST3: Improved synchronization between parameter states and some UI functions, e.g. toolbar reset


Version 2.10 (Nov 16, 2018)
- General: macOS Mojave compatibility
- General: Windows October 2018 update compatibility
- General: adding Windows High DPI support for VST2/3 plugins
- General: Fixed potential crashes in Cubase and other VST2 / VST3 DAWs
- General: Fixed potential CPU spikes and audio dropouts
- General: Fixed rendering in Pro Tools on the start of a session
- General: Fixed missing presets in Wavelab and other VST3 DAWs
- General: Improving keyboard control, fixing issues with catched keys preventing it from passing through to DAW
- General: Fixed parallel use of host sessions (e.g. with Live)
- Fixed Dynamic Range Meter not displaying level

Version 2.9 (May 24, 2018)
- General: Microsoft Windows Redstone 4 compatibility
- General: Added computer keyboard control for plugin parameters
- General: Fixed Mouse scroll wheel not working in Windows 8
- General: Fixed an issue where plugins will not validate or load after a certain amount of plugins have been loaded (Windows)
- General: Fixed visual GUI freezes when adjusting DAW parameters, meters, analyzers (Mac)
- General: Fixed possible issue with Pick Pack licenses
- General: Small licenser stability fix

Version 2.8 (Oct 23, 2017)
- General: Mac OS High Sierra compatibility
- General: Fixed possible crash on online activation (Mac OS High Sierra)
- General: Fixed Logic Pro X not validating AU plugins (Mac OS High Sierra)
- General: Fixed CPU spikes and crashes with Cubase (Windows)
- General: Fixed bug that could lead to "AAE -6 error" in ProTools (Windows)
- General: Fixed crash with FL Studio
- General: Fixed crash when cross-opening plugins in various hosts
- General: Fixed crash when using mixdown in Audition
- General: Fixed crash in Final Cut Pro
- General: Fixed delayed parameter handling and crackling issues in Cubase with VST3
- General: Fixed bug where plugin settings were not saved in Harrison Mixbus
- General: Fixed bug that led to AAE error -9317 in ProTools when instantiating plugin
- General: Fixed bug where plugins did not render properly when "x ray" option is enabled in Sonar
- General: Modifications to factory presets were lost when reopening session
- General: Fixed mouse wheel behaviour with second monitor setup (Windows)
- Some plugins: Value labels do not appear every time when clicking on parameter in UI
- General: Faster instantiation time for plugins (Windows)
- General: Adding support for automation highlighting in Presonus StudioOne

Version 2.7.1 (Dec 20, 2016)
- General: Mac OS Sierra compatibility
- General: Fixed automation issues in AU and AAX
- General: Fixed license dialog use of special characters
- General: Improved AU preset support
- General: Performance improvements

Version 2.7 (Apr 1, 2016)
- General: Major UI codebase update
- General: Fixed possible crash when authorizing plugin
- General: Added gain reduction meter support for StudioOne 3
- General: Installers show version info in Windows "Programs And Features"

Version 2.6 (Jan 18, 2016)
- General codebase update
- Fixed AAX DSP load issue (BUGS-1113)
- Removing RTAS format support

Version 2.5.3 (Jul 18, 2015)
- General codebase update

Version 2.5.2 (Jun 22, 2015)
- General codebase update

Version 2.5.1 (May 27, 2015)
- Fixed wrong installation path for 32-bit Win VST plugin version

Version 2.5 (Apr 14, 2015)
- Fixed output meters

Version 2.4
- Fixed L/R balance meter
- Fixed sidechain delay compensation
- Fixed parameter smoothing

Version 2.3 (Nov 26, 2013)
- Licenser update (V3): Fixes and new features
- Prevent wrong mouse wheel behavior in 32-bit hosts on 64-bit Windows (Windows bug) (87, 95, 156)
- Fixed keyboard events after text input in Pro Tools Windows (325)
- Fixed parameter value display in VST3 (330)
- Fixed toolbar triggering automation (335)
- Fixed window size issues (279, 327)
- Fixed possible preset issues in Pro Tools 11 (312)
- Fixed latency reporting

Version 2.2.1 (Jun 28, 2013)
- fixed installer for 32-bit Windows

Version 2.2 (Jun 21, 2013)
- added support for Pro Tools 11
- licenser update: fixes and new features
- fixed automation with VST3 offline processing

Version 2.1 (Apr 05, 2013)
- otimized performance
- fixed issues with possible high CPU load
- fixed Avid related issue in Pro Tools 10 that could lead to sporadic crashes
- fixed issue that could lead to values jumping in Ableton Live

Version 2.0.3 (Jan 16, 2013)
- added support for high resolution displays (e.g. Apple Retina)
- licenser: improved Pro Tools activation

Version 2.0.2 (Nov 08, 2012)
- fix AU issue (fixes AU validation)

Version 2.0.1 (Oct 31, 2012)
- licenser: minor fixes
- licenser: fixed activation issue under Mac OS 10.5 / Pro Tools 8
- licenser: fixed potential crash in online activation under Mac OS
- licenser: fixed issues with USB stick activation
- licenser: fixed file handling with offline activation

Version 2.0 (Oct 16, 2012)
- Release version