POLARIS
Master KM-16
Your north star for the final master.
AU · VST3 · macOS
What it does.
POLARIS is a mastering chain in five stages: an eight-band dynamic EQ, a resonance suppressor, tape color, stereo width and a true-peak maximizer. Resonance and Color start off, so the default chain is EQ, width and limiting. Switch the others in when the mix needs them.
SCAN listens to the loudest chorus of your mix. It proposes the tone and the width, switches Resonance on when it finds harsh or ringing peaks, and sets the maximizer’s gain for the loudness target you picked, with the ceiling at −1 dBTP.
- Best on
- Mastering · Singles and EPs · Stem mastering · Beats
- Modules
- EQ · Resonance · Color · Width · Maximizer
- Line
- Suites
- Category
- Suites
Hear it.
The same recording without and with POLARIS, set from SCAN and adjusted by ear. Switch while it plays; the position stays where it is.
The before-and-after examples are being recorded. They will appear here.
What's inside.
Eight dynamic EQ bands
The ISOTHERM engine: nine shapes, cut slopes to 96 dB/oct, mid/side per band, zero latency.
Resonance control
The TEMPER engine, off by default. SCAN switches it on when the mix has harsh or ringing peaks.
Tape color
Gentle program compression and tape saturation at 15 or 30 ips, with head bump. The level stays put as you drive it.
Width and mono below
Three-band width from 0 to 200 % with phase-coherent splits, and a mono-maker for the lows.
True-peak maximizer
The ZENITH engine: six styles, a true-peak ceiling, Auto release, LUFS metering, four loudness targets and dither.
Fixed order, switch per stage
EQ, Resonance, Color, Width, Maximizer, in that order. Each stage has its own switch, with A/B compare and presets for streaming-safe, warm-tape and clean-and-open masters.
SCAN for POLARIS.
Play the loudest chorus of your mix for about twenty seconds. SCAN measures the take and proposes settings for EQ, Resonance, Color, Width, Maximizer. Each move comes with the reason, in one line.
Apply it with one click, then trust your ears. It is a starting point an engineer would be happy to begin from.
Play the loudest chorus of your mix for about twenty seconds.
- Integrated
- −15.8 LUFS
- True peak
- −1.9 dBTP
- Crest factor
- 12.0 dB
- Loudness range
- 5.2 LU
- Low mids vs presence
- +7.5 dB
Recommended
- EQ: low cut at 20 Hz, 24 dB/oct, and a dynamic cut near 280 Hz, up to 3.0 dB, when the low mids get boxy
- Resonance on, because the mix has harsh or ringing peaks: depth 32 %, range 1.8 to 12 kHz
- Width: mono below 120 Hz, so the low end stays centered
- Maximizer: Gain +3.6 dB lands near −14 LUFS integrated, ceiling −1.0 dBTP, Transparent style with about 2.7 dB of peak limiting
Example readout. The values depend on your material.
Specifications.
Controls
- Modules
- EQ · Resonance · Color · Width · Maximizer
- EQ
- 8 dynamic bands · 9 shapes
- Resonance
- Depth · Sharpness · Selectivity · Delta (off by default)
- Color
- Tape · 15 · 30 ips · Drive 0–24 dB (off by default)
- Width
- 0–200 % in three bands · Mono below 40–300 Hz
- Maximizer ceiling
- −12 to 0 dB (dBTP with True Peak on)
- Maximizer styles
- Transparent · Punchy · Loud · Warm · Aggressive · Safe
- Loudness targets
- −14 · −16 · −9 · −8 LUFS
- Metering
- Momentary · Short-term · Integrated · Range · True peak
- Dither
- Off · 24-bit · 24-bit shaped · 16-bit · 16-bit shaped
Formats and system
- AU
- macOS
- VST3
- macOS
- AAX
- Coming soon
- Windows
- Coming soon
- macOS
- 11 Big Sur or later
- Processor
- Apple silicon and Intel
- Sample rates
- 44.1–192 kHz
- Channels
- Mono and stereo
- Interface size
- 75–200 %
- Latency
- Reported to the host
POLARIS
Master · Mastering Suite. One payment, yours to keep.
List price $159−50%, now $79Launch price
- Free 7-day trial before you buy
- Serial for 1 computer at a time, works offline 45 days
- Free updates for version 1
Add another plugin and both are 15% off; ten or more, 45% off. How bundles work, or all twenty in Complete for $299.
