Purr-LUFS 3.00 is here
Here's the rundown if you're new to Purr-LUFS:Purr-LUFS is a loudness-compensated A/B plugin for checking what your processing is actually doing.
When you work with compressors, clippers, limiters, saturation, EQ, or a full mastering chain, it is very easy to be fooled by level. The louder version often feels better, even when it is not.
Purr-LUFS is built to help with that.
You place Purr-Router before the processing you want to test. Purr-Router sends the unprocessed audio to Purr-LUFS. Then you place Purr-LUFS after the processing chain. This gives Purr-LUFS both versions of the audio: the original dry version and the processed version.
Purr-LUFS then compensates for the loudness difference, so you can compare what changed without the louder version automatically winning.
What's new?
The big change in version 3.00 is that you no longer need to build the routing inside your DAW.
In earlier versions, Purr-LUFS needed the dry signal to be routed manually through the DAW. In Reaper, I made a helper script for this because Reaper made that kind of routing fairly painless. But it was still routing. Extra channels, extra setup, and another thing that could go wrong.
In Purr-LUFS 3.00, Purr-Router and Purr-LUFS communicate outside the DAW.
So the setup is much simpler:
Put Purr-Router before the processing you want to test.
Put Purr-LUFS after the processing.
Hit play and Purr-LUFS will adjust your processed signal to the same LUFS value as the unprocessed one.
In case your plugins or hardware loop creates latency or any other kind of delay, press Sync. The audio mutes for a couple of seconds if it's playing while Purr-LUFS measures the time difference.
Start comparing.
If you add, remove, or change plugins between Purr-Router and Purr-LUFS later, press Sync again. That lets Purr-LUFS re-check the timing between the dry and processed paths, so Delta mode stays useful.
That is the main update. Same basic idea, much less routing yoga.
I also made a small UI change in this version. Pre, Delta, and Bypass are now radio buttons, since there is no real reason for more than one of them to be active at the same time. It does not change the core function, but it makes the plugin a little quicker and clearer to move around in.
There are some technical details behind the new sync system, especially because the dry audio now travels outside the normal DAW routing. I will keep that for the manual instead of turning this post into a latency essay. For normal use, the important thing is simply this:
Press Sync after setting up the chain, and press it again if the plugin chain between Purr-Router and Purr-LUFS changes.
Formats:Mac - VST3 & AUWin - VST3
Demo version:
You'll need both the router and Purr-LUFS installed
macOS
Windows
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