WAVES
L2 ULTRAMAXIMIZER

L2 Ultramaximizer

FEATURES:

• 48-bit processing
• Sampling rates up to 96 kHz
• The famous brick-wall look ahead peak limiter from the Waves L1 software processor, with some extraordinary refinements
• Waves proprietary IDR (Increased Digital Resolution) wordlength-reduction technology (2 types of dither and seventh-order noise shaping)
• Waves ARC (Auto Release Control) technology for dynamically controlling release times for maximum level with minimum artifacts

IDR:

IDR is Increased Digital Resolution Requantize, Dither and NoiseShaping System.
It is a proprietary noise shaping dither system developed by Waves. It signifies a major advance in preserving and actually increasing the resolution of the digital signal being processed. IDR is of particular benefit when data is deliberately requantized to a shorter wordlength.

The Waves IDR system in L2 can be implemented with ease and convenience using the following three push button controls:

1. Quantize – You can choose the Quintile level according to your desired output (24, 22, 20, 18 or 16-bit).
2. Dither – there are two types: Type 1 provides no nonlinear distortion. Type 2 exhibits lower dither (hiss) level. L2’s Dither function can also be completely switched out (off).
3. Noise shaping – Select from either Moderate, Normal, Ultra, or non (off).

APPLICATIONS:

L2 performs high quality requantization to 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 bit signals. It can be used to requantize 24 bit input signals to 16 bit, an ideal function for DAT and CDR applications.

DIGITAL:

Maximum level
The maximum level of a digital signal is governed by the highest peak in the source. However, many of these upper peaks may be of very short duration and can usually be reduced in level by several dB with minimal audible side effects. By transparently controlling these peaks, the entire level of the file can be raised several more dB than by simple normalization or previous designs of digital limiters, resulting in a higher average signal level.

L2 avoids the possibility of overshoot by utilizing a look ahead technique. This technique lets L2 anticipate and reshape peaks in a way that produces the bare minimum audible artifacts. As there is no possibility of overshoot, L2 can be used with absolute confidence in situations where brick wall limiting is critical.

Maximum resolution
Any digital signal processing that alters the original digital data (whether by mixing, gain changes, EQ, dynamic processing, etc.) generally increases the number of bits required to represent the signal.

Even while processing 16 bit signals, it is normal to process using at least 24 bit resolution. However, as soon as the bitdepth (wordlength) is reduced by rounding or truncation, the resulting error produces audible distortion at low signal levels, and a permanent loss of digital resolution. If the audio signal is repeatedly processed and reduced back to shorter wordlengths, the losses accumulate, causing a significant loss of fidelity evident in the loss of the tonal subtleties in low-level sounds. The human ear uses this low level information to construct a mental image of the stereo soundstage, so compromise in this area manifests itself as a loss of spaciousness and transparency.

There are two ways around this problem:
1. Do all intermediate processing and storage, using at least 20 or 24 bits, to avoid or minimize resolution loss, then
2. Apply proper dithering when reducing wordlength for the final production master. You can use L2 to add a precisely controlled amount of noise (termed ‘dither’) to convert low-level nonlinear distortion caused by truncation, into a simple steady hiss, thereby removing all traces of low-level non-linearity. Unfortunately it does this at the expense of a slightly increased background noise. Obviously high noise levels are unacceptable in high quality audio applications. To greatly reduce the perceived level of dither noise, L2 ‘shapes’ noise in such a way that it falls into an area of the audio spectrum where the human ear is the least sensitive.

ARC:

ARC (Auto Release Control) technology is designed to dynamically choose the optimum release value for a wide-ranging input. ARC reacts much like a human ear, and can produce increased RMS levels and audio clarity.

In limiters, fast release times are essential for the process to work cleanly and clearly. Slow release times with heavy limiting cause pumping and other unwanted artifacts. To allow more limiting with less artifacts, the release time must change constantly to control different parts of the signal. In ARC, similar to the human ear, RMS and peak transients are analyzed and reacted to differently. In general, the release is faster for peak transients and slower for the overall RMS level.

The ARC system does exactly this, varying the release time to fit the ear's expectations while increasing RMS, without distracting artifacts.

Price $2400

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