Smart Audio's new plugin pulls the saturation stage out of the converter, so any model's character can meet any other's harmonics.
“Subtle. Until you bypass it,” is what Smart Audio Plugins says about Emulsion, a new A/D–D/A converter emulator for macOS and Windows that recreates the character of four classic converter.
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Emulsion at a glance
- A/D–D/A converter emulator for macOS and Windows
- Five models: GREEN, GOLD, GREY, OLD PCM and DIGITAL (pure THD, no conversion)
- Independent THD saturation stage that runs across every conversion model
- Drive control governing transformer or pre-conversion saturation
- Works on individual instruments and the master bus
- VST3, AU and AAX, 64-bit only
- macOS 10.15 or higher (Intel and Apple Silicon native), Windows 10
- 14-day full-version trial, no feature limits
Emulsion’s saturation stage works on every model, which hardware can’t do – in a real converter, the saturation is tied to the one box it comes in. Set it loose and you can take the colour of one machine and the grit of another. There are five models: GREEN, GOLD, GREY, OLD PCM and DIGITAL, and DIGITAL is that saturation on its own, with no conversion at all. Some of the machines behind them only colour the sound going in, others colour it going in and coming back out, like the originals.
GREEN takes after a colourful effects unit that suits drums and guitars. GOLD is crisper and more compact, and GREY keeps its saturation section where the original had it. OLD PCM goes back to 1980s digital for that clear, punchy sound of records from the era. The Drive control sets how hard the signal hits the circuit – one way makes it richer and a little darker, the other brighter and thinner. How much colour you get depends on how hot the signal going in is, so there’s plenty of room on a track with headroom to spare and a much stronger effect across a full mix. Built to tighten individual instruments or a master bus, Emulsion stays deliberately understated. The difference shows on bypass, with the developer pointing to blind tests where the processed signal won out even at low settings.
Emulsion runs as a VST3, AU or AAX plugin, 64-bit only, on macOS 10.15 or later and Windows 10, with a 14-day unlimited trial before buying.
Learn more here.
