Xenon for $69 or less?
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The forum for petitions, theoretical discussion, gripes, or other matters outside deemed outside the scope of helping users make optimal use of MOTU hardware and software. Posts in other forums may be moved here at the moderators discretion. No politics or religion!!
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 15219
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
I do have the 32bit version but never use it, preferring Ozone 5A. I might buy it anyway in case it is useful to me in the future. It's a good price and may come in handy the next time I mix for iTunes–or not. Maybe a project will come along that pays for it.
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
- Dan Worley
- Posts: 2778
- Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:03 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Northern CA
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
I purchased Xenon and used it very quickly on a funk-jazz tune that has been quite challenging for limiters due to the bass popping and other powerful transients that must stay alive in the mix for it to work. I also don't use any compression in this mix which makes it even tougher on the limiter.
The pre-master peak levels in this mix don't give much room for the limiter to work, but when I mix it any other way, or pull down the levels before hitting the limiter, I don't like how it sounds or feels. I also can't deal with hunting down every out-of-control peak in the mix manually--especially in a song like this, so I have rely on good tools to do that for me.
I loaded Xenon and used the Loudness 1 preset. The only thing I changed on that was I turned down the ceiling to -0.3 and turned on Oversampling to catch the TRUE PEAKS (which were up over zero). Even with Oversampling on (which did bring the true peaks down to zero), I put Ozone behind Xenon to control the True Peaks thoroughly. In Ozone, I set the Margin (ceiling) to -0.3 and used a zero threshold (no gain increase). That brought the true peaks down to -0.4. Dither was also applied in Ozone.
I'm very impressed with Xenon. I don't know how to use it effectively yet but it worked very well on this mix, despite all the challenges. It's extremely transparent. I don't hear it choking anything and it sounds smooth (if smooth has a sound). It didn't add brittleness to the mix like some other limiters have done.
Most definitely worth $69. I paid $58 at AudioDeluxe.
The mixes are below if you want to compare. They are wav files so they take awhile to load or download.
Mix before limiting (24-bit): http://earthen.com/ev-filechute/Vallejo ... 20Mix4.wav
Levels before limiting with Xenon
Mix after limiting (16-bit): http://earthen.com/ev-filechute/Vallejo ... 16-bit.wav
Levels after limiting with Xenon (backed up by Ozone to catch True Peaks)
The pre-master peak levels in this mix don't give much room for the limiter to work, but when I mix it any other way, or pull down the levels before hitting the limiter, I don't like how it sounds or feels. I also can't deal with hunting down every out-of-control peak in the mix manually--especially in a song like this, so I have rely on good tools to do that for me.
I loaded Xenon and used the Loudness 1 preset. The only thing I changed on that was I turned down the ceiling to -0.3 and turned on Oversampling to catch the TRUE PEAKS (which were up over zero). Even with Oversampling on (which did bring the true peaks down to zero), I put Ozone behind Xenon to control the True Peaks thoroughly. In Ozone, I set the Margin (ceiling) to -0.3 and used a zero threshold (no gain increase). That brought the true peaks down to -0.4. Dither was also applied in Ozone.
I'm very impressed with Xenon. I don't know how to use it effectively yet but it worked very well on this mix, despite all the challenges. It's extremely transparent. I don't hear it choking anything and it sounds smooth (if smooth has a sound). It didn't add brittleness to the mix like some other limiters have done.
Most definitely worth $69. I paid $58 at AudioDeluxe.
The mixes are below if you want to compare. They are wav files so they take awhile to load or download.
Mix before limiting (24-bit): http://earthen.com/ev-filechute/Vallejo ... 20Mix4.wav
Levels before limiting with Xenon
Mix after limiting (16-bit): http://earthen.com/ev-filechute/Vallejo ... 16-bit.wav
Levels after limiting with Xenon (backed up by Ozone to catch True Peaks)
Last edited by Dan Worley on Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
DP10.13
- Michael Canavan
- Posts: 3578
- Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: seattle
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
Bought it, this is the last day. I already own a bunch of PSP plug ins so it was all of $52 for me, too cheap to pass up.
M2 Studio Ultra, RME Babyface FS, Slate Raven Mti2, NI SL88 MKII, Linnstrument, MPC Live II, Launchpad MK3. Hundreds of plug ins.
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 15219
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
It was too cheap for me to pass on. Now DP 7.24 crashes after examining the VUs. Permissions Repair showed nothing but I have yet to reboot--won't be able to do that till later tonight or tomorrow.
What's weird is that the crash report appears to be blaming AutoTune 7 but I've seen that before when it was something else.
I'll reboot and, if that doesn't do it, uninstall and reinstall DP 7 and Xenon and if that...
No problems in DP 8.07 at all.
What's weird is that the crash report appears to be blaming AutoTune 7 but I've seen that before when it was something else.
I'll reboot and, if that doesn't do it, uninstall and reinstall DP 7 and Xenon and if that...
No problems in DP 8.07 at all.
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 15219
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
Rebooting didn't do it. Running the uninstaller and reinstalling DP 7.24 from the CD did the trick. I didn't have to reinstall any of my plugs or VIs.I'll reboot and, if that doesn't do it, uninstall and reinstall DP 7 and Xenon and if that...
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
- Dan Worley
- Posts: 2778
- Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:03 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Northern CA
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 15219
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
Xenon 1.5.1 update released yesterday. Minor tweaks plus a bug fix for Windows. When you log into your account, it says 1.5.0 but when you click on the link, it takes you to a 1.5.1 download with an Oct 3 2014 release date.
After install, DP 7.24 and 8.07 loaded fine and it works with no issues. I still haven't found a need for it but, no doubt, I will.
After install, DP 7.24 and 8.07 loaded fine and it works with no issues. I still haven't found a need for it but, no doubt, I will.
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
- MIDI Life Crisis
- Posts: 26254
- Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Contact:
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
I tried the demo on a current project for dance and was sold instantly. However, running the authorization tool resulted in this:
Support contacted. Still have 2 weeks to sort it out.
Support contacted. Still have 2 weeks to sort it out.
- Dan Worley
- Posts: 2778
- Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:03 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Northern CA
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
That's a OSX security thing. You can either change the settings altogether in the Security & Privacy preferences or just Control-click on the app and chose Open from the shortcut menu and that will override the security settings for that app.MIDI Life Crisis wrote:I tried the demo on a current project for dance and was sold instantly. However, running the authorization tool resulted in this:
Support contacted. Still have 2 weeks to sort it out.
DP10.13
- MIDI Life Crisis
- Posts: 26254
- Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Contact:
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
You freakin' rock, Dan. Thanks. It worked.
- Dan Worley
- Posts: 2778
- Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:03 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Northern CA
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
MIDI Life Crisis wrote:You freakin' rock, Dan. Thanks. It worked.
DP10.13
- MIDI Life Crisis
- Posts: 26254
- Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Contact:
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
ps- A restart was necessary. Now I'm louder than before.
- buzzsmith
- Posts: 3097
- Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2004 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Houston
- Contact:
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
Ordered from AudioDeluxe. $58.49
Waiting on the license email, download instructions, etc. which I understand may take 24 hours or so, especially on a weekend.
Buzzy
Waiting on the license email, download instructions, etc. which I understand may take 24 hours or so, especially on a weekend.
Buzzy
Early 2009 Mac Pro 4,1>5,1 3.33 GHz Hex Core Intel Xeon OS X 10.8.5 SSD (32 gigs RAM)
DP 9.51 PCI-424e / original 2408, 2408mkII, 24I/O, MTP-AV
Yamaha C7 Conservatory Grand
Hammond B-3 / Leslie 145
Focal Twin6 Be(s)
DP 9.51 PCI-424e / original 2408, 2408mkII, 24I/O, MTP-AV
Yamaha C7 Conservatory Grand
Hammond B-3 / Leslie 145
Focal Twin6 Be(s)
- MIDI Life Crisis
- Posts: 26254
- Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Contact:
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
If you have a PSP acct. and it is registered there, you can download the license Applet and auth. For $10 off, I would have bought it at AudioDeluxe as well. Oh well, there goes the egg money.buzzsmith wrote:Ordered from AudioDeluxe. $58.49
Waiting on the license email, download instructions, etc. which I understand may take 24 hours or so, especially on a weekend.
Buzzy
-
- Posts: 2731
- Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Re: Xenon for $69 or less?
I noticed the Audiodeluxe price in this thread about an hour after I paid 69 bucks directly from PSP.MIDI Life Crisis wrote:Oh well, there goes the egg money.
No eggs for me!
Edit: After using it for a night and part of today, I'm very glad I went for this. Great sounding plug.
DP 10.13, OS 13.6, iMac Pro (2017) 3.2 GHz 8-Core, 32 GB RAM, MOTU M4