LoudMax
by Thomas Mundt
4.8 / 5     (62 votes)
Win32 Win64 OSX Linux
   
VST AU
LoudMax is a look-ahead brickwall loudness maximizer with a clean transparent sound.

It is designed to retain the original character of the music as much as possible even at high compression levels.



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Downloads
Stoby Joe Mobley Oct 31 2023
(5 / 5)
Oct 31 2023
I can't live without this plug in. Simple, effective, low CPU and adds little to no coloration to the sound. I use it on instrument tracks (no idea about how it works for vocals as I write only instrumentals) and on my main buss. Can't beat it!!
SpiderNiceMan Aug 30 2023
(5 / 5)
Aug 30 2023
Nice on 808 or kick
Rah Da N.O.C. May 10 2023
(5 / 5)
May 10 2023
This is the best l have used. I use it on any track that is jumping different peaks while playing. Like a bass sound it works 100%. It works just as good as the Waves limiter. Plus it's FREE! You can't beat that. Im so happy :-) Thanks to the company
MIKEY Apr 07 2023
Apr 07 2023
Downloaded and unzipped, but only found loudmax.vst. Equalizer APO looks for .dll file to install the plugin. Any suggestions?
BipTunia Synths Mar 24 2023
(5 / 5)
Mar 24 2023
Oh wow, LoudMax is the best. Someone mentioned it to me on Facebook. I am using it now, on master track of a project. Not only keeps out ugly loud spikes, it almost make everything sound mastered.
alexander Feb 24 2023
Feb 24 2023
No me sale el intalador en mac
Phil. Jan 25 2023
(5 / 5)
Jan 25 2023
Can the plugin be resized once downloaded and pulled up in my DAW? I am currently using Studio One5. I was able to get this to load, but the plugin is a bit smaller than I would like.
Shameless Plugs May 03 2023
May 03 2023
Yes, click the bottom-right corner (works on the VST3 version, don't know about VST2)
Eel Oct 18 2022
(5 / 5)
Oct 18 2022
A classic!
Johann Aug 06 2022
(5 / 5)
Aug 06 2022
Absolute best in transparently compressing vocals
Omar Jul 21 2022
(5 / 5)
Jul 21 2022
The best limiter, I love it
jared Jun 03 2022
(5 / 5)
Jun 03 2022
I love this. I use this and loaded on my master channel in ableton. It is great and really pushes/pulls your signal, lol. I really love this and the loaded one as well.
Jon B Apr 27 2022
(5 / 5)
Apr 27 2022
Probably the very best free limiter there is. Limiter 6 by Vladislav Goncharev/Tokyo Dawn Labs is the only one that is better, but it's not only a limiter so if we are talking about plug-ins that are only limiters and nothing else - this one is at the top. It's hard to find a limiter that is cleaner even among paid for plug-ins! The ISP mode and lookahead works great and there is practically no aliasing whatsoever. The release looks like it's dual-stage with a smooth S-curve, so you shouldn't have to be worried about any sort of pumping effect. As long as it's not something that requires zero-latency, this limiter should work fine for whatever application you can think of. Everyone from beginners to professionals can use it to great effect. The fact that it supports all major OS's and is both VST and AU (sorry Pro Tools users!) is another detail that makes this plug-in a easy 5/5 stars.
HF_3000 Mar 10 2022
(3 / 5)
Mar 10 2022
Does wonders but squashes the sound and makes it breathless.
JHEB Apr 27 2022
Apr 27 2022
That's what happens when you try to limit a mix to hard, or the mix is not done well enough to be able to push it hard with a limiter. It shouldn't be a problem to master a mix to -8 LUFS-I with this limiter without it sounding squashed. I can't say for sure what the problem might be without hearing it ofc, but one important thing to keep in mind is that your mixes should have a peak-to-average (RMS) of about 10dB (or 15dB at most). If your mix falls outside of those values pretty much no mastering plug-in chain will be able to reach competitive loudness without it sounding squashed.
HF_3000 Jul 03 2022
Jul 03 2022
Nah. Even with just activating Loudmax the audiosource sounds less airy and caged. No big deal - it depends on the material. And i really respect it for the clean limiting but it sucks a bit of life out of your music - even with only 1dB reduction on particular peaks. I think its purpose is more for broadcasting and podcasts.
Jon Jul 09 2022
Jul 09 2022
That's ridiculous. If you're having significant issues, then your audio levels are way above 0 dB and are misleading yourself with false perceptions. LoudMax is designed to either avoid light clipping or maximize a relatively quiet mix. What alternative limiter/maximizer are you comparing against? Because I've found it performs favorably to the famous L1 Ultramaximizer. That's why people like it, because it's free and is good as paid alternatives.
Prof. Dr. JHEB Jul 12 2022
Jul 12 2022
What happens if you dial a reeeeaally long release into your compressor?
Felix Feb 09 2022
Feb 09 2022
This plugin has been recommended to me, hence I downloaded after having got the info it works with Mac OS. Transfer to Library/Plugins no problem. But when I open the App in Audacity a merely "blank sheet" with only standard stop/play buttons in the lower left. How to solve this and make the LoudMax panel appear?
Jon B Apr 27 2022
Apr 27 2022
Did you download the Mac OSX VST version? The AU version only works in Logic.
Compound Audio Feb 06 2022
(5 / 5)
Feb 06 2022
Probably the best free limiter out there..
Compound Audio Dec 07 2021
(5 / 5)
Dec 07 2021
Every producer or engineer should have this in their selection of Limiters. Low CPU so u can stack them if needed. You get similar results as the well know Fabfilter ProL2. Great on busses too .
Jeferson Costa Sep 20 2021
(5 / 5)
Sep 20 2021
Perfeito Limiter, não modifica o áudio com sua atuação. Parabéns!
User61 Jul 22 2021
(4 / 5)
Jul 22 2021
Nice limiter. Not sure if its True Peak limiting.
Shameless Plugs May 03 2023
May 03 2023
It is. Turn "ISP" on.
flare pro Feb 08 2021
(5 / 5)
Feb 08 2021
Great bro
Ninguno Nov 17 2020
Nov 17 2020
No tiene instalador, solo copia los archivos dll a la carpeta de vst plugins
satos Sep 30 2020
Sep 30 2020
Que hago lo descargue pero no puedo instalarlo... Al descomprimirlo no me aparece el instalador..
Brz Jul 07 2020
(5 / 5)
Jul 07 2020
One of the best loudness ever produced
Anonymous May 24 2020
(5 / 5)
May 24 2020
funktioniert!
Julio Oliveira May 24 2020
(5 / 5)
May 24 2020
Excellent tool, does not change the characteristics of the music. It did not sink the track on the low frequencies. Grade 10!
carlos May 21 2020
(5 / 5)
May 21 2020
Thanks!
Rutger May 20 2020
May 20 2020
I cant get it to work, i downloaded it and it seems fine-but its just a .dll and a readme.txt and my computer wont let it extract to my vst folders. I have 4 vst paths (because ive tried a few DAWs lately) and none of them are working. Ive tried extracting to a folder of the same name, the old folder, opening in reaper, everything. Any advice?
Eric Jan 31 2021
Jan 31 2021
I know this is a little delayed, but some plugins either don't like being installed to a different drive than the one that was downloaded to, or they don't like to work on any drive that isn't your root drive. I have this issue with Kontakt, as well as a few others I can't remember off hand. You mention several vst folders, so I thought I might offer this tidbit:)
Jon B Apr 27 2022
Apr 27 2022
Old comment, but thought that someone else that has troubles installing it might find this useful: the .dll file is the VST2 version of the plug-in and it is this file you need to place in your plug-in folder. If you have downloaded the 64-bit Windows version you get both a .dll file (VST2) and a .vst3 file. If your DAW supports VST3 I recommend that you use this rather than the VST2 .dll file. There is no installer for this plug-in so you have to place it in your plug-in folder manually. Open the .rar that you have downloaded and place the .dll in C:\Program Files\VSTPlugins (for VST2 version) or the .vst3 file in C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 (for VST3 version). Some DAWs (Cubase e.g) has it's own plug-in folder paths so go to the website of your DAW developer and find out if this is the case. When you start your DAW after this it will need to do a re-scan/scan for new plug-ins before you can start to use LoudMax. Some DAWs do this automatically at start-up, but in some DAWs you need to tell it to do this. It should be easy to find out with a Google search what you have to do with your specific DAW. If you have done all of this and it still doesn't work you have probably downloaded the wrong version for your DAW or operating system. Make sure what type of operating system you've got beforehand (Windows 64-bit/x64 or 32-bit/x86) and if your DAW supports the type of plug-in type you have download (some don't support VST3 for example and if you are on Mac it's only Logic and Garageband that supports AU).
Rutger May 18 2020
May 18 2020
I cant get it to work, i downloaded it and it seems fine-but its just a .dll and a readme.txt and my computer wont let it extract to my vst folders. I have 4 vst paths (because ive tried a few DAWs lately) and none of them are working. Ive tried extracting to a folder of the same name, the old folder, opening in reaper, everything. Any advice?
Afiq Jun 03 2021
Jun 03 2021
Try copying it to all plugin folders.
AX Oct 01 2021
Oct 01 2021
Put it in the FX folder inside the plugins folder.
A Apr 17 2020
(5 / 5)
Apr 17 2020
Works perfectly.
DavidAames Apr 15 2020
(4 / 5)
Apr 15 2020
Easy to use, great results. Just perfect!
Steve Mar 21 2020
(5 / 5)
Mar 21 2020
Astounding limiter. Beats waves. No coloration pure transparency. Excellent!
msea Mar 15 2020
(5 / 5)
Mar 15 2020
I use this a lot...
Zahdio Jan 21 2020
Jan 21 2020
I'm using a Mac 10.13.6 and cannot find where to put the plugin. I unpacked it and put it in: Library, Audio, Plugins, Components with no success. I then put it in several other areas with no success. Where does it go? How do we get it to work on a Mac? It looks like a nice tool. It would be nice to have a simple install for it.
Zahdio Jan 16 2020
Jan 16 2020
I'm using a Mac 10.13.6 and cannot find where to put the plugin. I unpacked it and put it in: Library, Audio, Plugins, Components with no success. I then put it in several other areas with no success. Where does it go? How do we get it to work on a Mac? It looks like a nice tool. It would be nice to have a simple install for it.
Zahdio Jan 14 2020
Jan 14 2020
I'm using a Mac 10.13.6 and cannot find where to put the plugin. I unpacked it and put it in: Library, Audio, Plugins, Components with no success. I then put it in several other areas with no success. Where does it go? How do we get it to work on a Mac? It looks like a nice tool. It would be nice to have a simple install for it.
Diego Dec 22 2019
(5 / 5)
Dec 22 2019
Excelente, muchas gracias!
Eduardo Nov 28 2019
Nov 28 2019
Useful, clear and transparent. Magic!
Cyem Oct 15 2019
Oct 15 2019
Me gusta demasiado este limitador, estoy muy cómodo, es tan fácil de usar
chprodusom Sept 01 2019
(4 / 5)
Sept 01 2019
Essencial pra dar um acrecimo de qualidade.
Jazza SLam Jul 31 2019
(5 / 5)
Jul 31 2019
Great Plugin. Ideal for my internet Radio. Threshold at -9,7 with ISP Just Perfect! You can listen the sound at: jazzaslam.caster.fm . Thank you very much
Serge Jul 27 2019
Jul 27 2019
He guys there is no installer, it is only a lego block ( LoudMax.component )...I don't known what to do... Please can somebody help me, I'm a MAC user...Thanks!
Paul Aug 14 2019
Aug 14 2019
Just put the component in one of these folders: On main drive: root/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components OR Home/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components... Look around in the Plug-ins folders to see where all your other plugins wound up. One is in your home folder only for your account and the other is in the Library folder at the root level for ANY account on the computer. It may ask for your password to put things in the root level folder. That's normal. Good Luck.
Green07 Aug 30 2019
Aug 30 2019
I'm a MAC user too and even when i put the component in the folders of my other plug-in, it doesn't work.. help
Phil Mar 26 2020
Mar 26 2020
Hey did you find out how to fix this as i am having same problem on mc..
obama May 27 2021
May 27 2021
Restart your computer
Abdou Jul 31 2022
Jul 31 2022
Go to Adobe preference/ Audio/ Audio plugin manager/ and scan plugins, then it will show...
Michael Feb 23 2023
Feb 23 2023
This was the critical step, thank you!!
Kuac Jul 07 2019
Jul 07 2019
Is a great plugin, today has for Linux, but unfortunately no is a vst and yes a ladspa :(
Alfredo Jun 30 2019
(5 / 5)
Jun 30 2019
just perfect
MariusVideo Jun 02 2019
(5 / 5)
Jun 02 2019
The easiest and useful I have tried. Clean and trasparent and effectively works, I am very satisfied, nice tool form mastering.
marc May 14 2019
May 14 2019
Any chance to get a Linux VST version ? Looks very promising, but bitwig studio does not support LADSP plugins in Linux... Thanks for your effort.
Radio Pushka Mar 19 2019
(5 / 5)
Mar 19 2019
works well with my audio processor and the CZE-T251 for fighting loudness wars.
heavymetalmixer Feb 11 2019
(5 / 5)
Feb 11 2019
Since V1.26 launched like a week or two ago it became my go-to limiter for everything, it's incredible how much the sound improved with just one update.
Yannick Jan 16 2019
(5 / 5)
Jan 16 2019
Perfect, for a quick mastering to raise the volume in a transparent way.
heavymetalmixer Jul 30 2018
(5 / 5)
Jul 30 2018
After a few mastering tests against other free limiters like Limiter No. 6 and Unlimited, Loudmax became my favorite one because how transparent it is, even to the level of expensive commercial limiters. So, it makes me think this limiter is really underrated because of its appereance and simple GUI.
Luis Messias Pimentel Costa Jul 23 2018
(5 / 5)
Jul 23 2018
Very Good!!!
Tommy Boy Feb 19 2018
Feb 19 2018
Nice in combination with jb broadcast tool :D
Xmaker Nov 19 2017
(5 / 5)
Nov 19 2017
wow!! You sure you do this. I mean it's a powerfull tool!
Second Harmonic Oct 16 2017
(3 / 5)
Oct 16 2017
It is a good limiter, but I recomend Sonic Anomaly Unlimited.... that has almost no audible distortion....
Rufus Oct 01 2017
(5 / 5)
Oct 01 2017
Thanks, quite useful.
DouglasTheAwesome Jul 07 2017
(5 / 5)
Jul 07 2017
Wow, this VST is awesome! I use it on almost all of my songs!
PATO Jun 20 2017
(5 / 5)
Jun 20 2017
Muito bom, esse não pode faltar rs.. recomendo
Socrates Jun 13 2017
(5 / 5)
Jun 13 2017
Good stuff, easy and straight forward. Xhip Limiter is a good alternative, it has more control features.
cyber_T Oct 15 2018
Oct 15 2018
Many thanks for this tip!
Qutaiba Dec 07 2016
(4 / 5)
Dec 07 2016
Low cpu usage, does the job well.
NKMT Nov 07 2016
(5 / 5)
Nov 07 2016
This is great & simple! I use this plugin a lot!!!
John Oct 02 2016
(5 / 5)
Oct 02 2016
No nonsense and great sound.
eduardo Aug 23 2016
(4 / 5)
Aug 23 2016
Very good transparent maximizer.
Robin Aug 22 2016
(5 / 5)
Aug 22 2016
Absolutely fantastic!
Blackie Jan 22 2016
Jan 22 2016
really good, but in most cases I somehow choose Limiter6.
Dave Oct 27 2015
Oct 27 2015
Nice plugin, I love it, just straight forward.
Pete Nov 04 2014
(5 / 5)
Nov 04 2014
My go to limiter. Quick and easy. I prefer tools designed to do one thing, and do it well. There are way too many hyped up, one tries to do all tools begging for attention, when the end game is improving the mix.
satYatunes Sept 29 2014
(5 / 5)
Sept 29 2014
Very good transparent maximizer.