KUASSA Kratos 2 Maximizer Mastering Limiter User Manual

KUASSA Kratos 2 Maximizer Mastering Limiter

Thank you for choosing Kuassa products!
We encourage you to take the time to read this User Manual thoroughly to ensure trouble free and proper operation of the software.
Presenting the latest version of Kuassa’s ooh-so-handy limiter / loudness maximizer plugin Kratos 2 Maximizer; featuring the new Adaptive Mode for Attack and Release parameters, dithering section, up to 4x oversampling, automatic latency compensation, inter-sample peak detection, A/B compare and completely redesigned graphics. In addition, Kratos 2 Maximizer is now available as a Rack Extension and AAX plugin for Propellerhead Reason and Avid Pro Tools users, respectively.

The purpose of the original Kratos Maximizer VST / AU plugin was to make your mixes immediately LOUD. In addition, the new Kratos 2 Maximizer also serves as a solid mix finalizer; aside from offering additional methods to manage your mixes’ dynamics with Adaptive Mode, you can now push further than before without fear: Crank the Maximize knob, tune the unique Texture knob to taste, tweak Attack and Release for tighter or loose response, then adjust the Knee for harder / smoother limiting action. Throughout, the signature Kuassa no- nonsense design will guide your hands, eyes, and ears, giving you the freedom to create your maximum sound.

Key Features

• Transparent, precision limiting / loudness maximizing
• Unique Texture knob for smooth or harder character
• Attack and Release parameter with the new adaptive option
• Latency Compensation toggle, supported by most DAW
• 3 dithering options with 3 modes of bit depth to accommodate wide range of mastering needs
• Up to 4x oversampling mode
• A/B compare
• Compact user interface, straightforward workflow
• Support up to 96 kHz Sample Rate

System Requirements

Windows:

• Windows Vista or Later (64 bit)
• Core2 Duo, or AMD Phenom ii X4 or better (latest Intel i3, AMD A4, or better is recommended) with 4GB minimum RAM
• VST or VST3 compatible host/DAW
• Pro Tools 11 or later for AAX format
• Propellerhead Reason 7.1 or later for Rack Extension format

Macintosh:

• Mac OSX 10.11 or later (64 Bit).
• Core2 Duo, or better (latest Intel i3 recommended) with 4GB minimum RAM Native Apple Silicon support
• VST, VST3, or Audio Units compatible host/DAW
• Pro Tools 11 or later for AAX format
• Propellerhead Reason 7.1 or later for Rack Extension format

INSTALLATION

Mac OSX 10.11 or later
Note for MacOS X users: you will be asked for your password upon installation.
For Mac installer(.pkg) format, double-click the installer and follow the instructions. The installer automatically point to your Mac’s default VST/VST3/AU/AAX plug-ins and Standalone path (see below). Alternatively you can customize the installation target to specific folder.

Here are the default folders installation path for each of our supported platforms in Mac OSX:

• Mac Audio Unit (Kratos2Maximizer.component) : /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/
• Mac VST (Kratos2Maximizer.vst) : /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/Kuassa/
• Mac VST3 (Kratos2Maximizer.vst3) : /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
• Mac AAX (Kratos2Maximizer.aaxplugin) : /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/

Windows VISTA or later
For Windows Installer (.exe), double-click the installer and follow the instructions. The installer automatically points to your system’s default plugins path (see below). Alternatively you can point the installation target to specific folder. Most VST host already have a “Plugins” or “VSTplugins” folder inside its installation directory, or you can point the host to read any folder you choose.

Here are the default folders installation path for each of our supported platforms:

• Windows 64-bit VST (Kratos2Maximizer.dll) : C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins\Kuassa\
• Windows 64-bit VST3 (Kratos2Maximizer.vst3) : C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
• Windows 64-bit AAX (Kratos2Maximizer.aaxplugin) : C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins\

UNINSTALLATION

Mac OSX 10.11 or later
On a Mac, simply delete the plug-in located on the corresponding Plug-ins folder, and delete other folders and file resources located at,

Folders:

• /Library/Application Support/Kuassa/Default Presets/Kratos2Maximizer/
• /Users/[User Name]/Music/Kuassa/Presets/Kratos2Maximizer/

Files:

• /Library/Application Support/Kuassa/Misc/Kratos2Maximizer EULA.txt
• /Library/Application Support/Kuassa/User Manuals/Kratos2Maximizer Manual.pdf
• /Users/[User Name]/Music/Kuassa/Settings/Kratos2Maximizer.setting

Windows VISTA or Later
Use “Add/Remove programs” or “Programs and Features” from the Windows Control Panel. If Kratos 2 Maximizer does not listed, delete the .dll/.vst3/.aaxplugin file from your VST plug-in folder. After Uninstallation, manually delete other

Kratos 2 Maximizer file resources at, Folder:

C:\Users\[User Name]\Documents\Kuassa\Presets\Kratos2Maximizer\
Files:
C:\Users\[User Name]\Documents\Kuassa\Settings\Kratos2Maximizer.setting

Authorization

1. 1 window when you first start On evaluation mode, you will see this pop-upthe plugin.

2. To start the authorization process, click the [File] there, you will find a selection box titled [import License].

3. Locate the License File [Kratos2Maximizer.kuassa] after you purchase Kratos 2 Maximizer Plug-in(s) from our web store or downloaded from member area.
   Note that the License File contains your personal information used to authorize the plug-in.

4. After you locate the License File, a pop-up box confirming that you are successfully authorize your plug-in will show.

5. To check if you have completed the authorization process, just simply load the About Box by clicking the Kratos 2 Maximizer logo on the bottom left corner. If your authorization is successful, either your name or your e-mail address will be shown on the About Box. You will also notice that the generated noise/silence on the Evaluation Version is now gone.

Function

1. Kuassa “Castle” Logo: Click to show the About Box.
2. [File] button: The Menu button contains several functions; preset saving, license file authorization, and shortcuts to the user manual and Kuassa website.
3. Preset Selector: Select from available Presets, press left-right buttons or select from drop down menu.
4. A-B Compare: Compare two different settings of the EQ.
5. Copy A to B: Copy settings from the “A” state to “B” state
6. Power Button: Turns the Plug-in on or off.
7. Maximize: Adjusts the signal level to the limiter. The range is 0 – 20 db. Rotate the knob clockwise until you get the desired loudness level, in correlation with the other controls.
8. Texture: The character, or ‘Texture’, knob acts similar to look-ahead in other limiters, that’s why it’s measured in miliseconds (ms). It also causes latency, depends on the look-ahead time. ‘Texture’ behaves different to ‘usual’ look-ahead parameters. The longer the Texture setting, the response to the low frequency will be better (lower distortion/artifacts, and ounds tighter). Longer setting will also give more limiting reaction time and prevent more transients from being clipped.
9. Knee: Knee determines how smoothly compression/limiting is applied when the signal exceeds the threshold. When the knee is at zero the limiting kicks in instantly. Rotate clockwise for softer knee setting and Vice-versa.
10. Attack: The time taken for the limiter to start compressing or limiting the dynamic range. Available at 0-300ms.
11. Release: The time take for the signal back to normal again after limiting occurs. Available at 0-1000 ms.
12. In Adaptive mode, attack and release times are dynamic and depend on the source material and Texture, with the values set in 10 and 11, respectively, as the upper bound. In Normal mode, the Attack / Release times are static and equal to the values set in 10 and 11.
13. Dither Section: Adds very low level controlled noise to the material. Used to reduce distortion of low-amplitude signals when converting to lower resolution.
    • Normal = Classic linear dither
    • High Pass = Classic linear dither with high-pass filter applied
    • Equal = The dither follows equal-loudness contour (human hearing envelope)
    • 8 bit = Noise test, low-resolution audio, creative and/or non-conventional purposes
    • 16 bit = Universal standard for CD Audio
    • 24 bit = DVD/movie, pre-mastering, high-quality audio and/or storage purposes
14. Gain Reduction Meter: Displays the amount of gain reduction being applied to the audio input. When the meter falls below 0 dbFS, gain reduction, and thus limiting/maximizing, is occurring.
15. Oversampling: Increase the internal sampling frequency to reduce aliasing artefacts at the cost of higher CPU usage.
16. Ceiling: Sets the upper limit of the output signal. The range is 0 to -20 dbFS.

Preset Management

1. Presets for Kratos 2 Maximizer Plug-in(s) are located in the following folders*:

   • Mac:
     Users/[YourName]/Music/Kuassa/Presets/Kratos2Maximizer

   • Win: ~\Documents\Kuassa\Presets\Kratos2Maximizer
     All presets inside these folders will be recognized by the plugin as individual presets, you can also create a folder to group the preset(s). They will thus be shown on the Kratos 2 Maximizer Plug-in’s preset selector.

2. To save a preset, set your plugin to the desired parameter settings, then select:

   • “Save Preset”: Overwrites currently active preset.
   • “Save Preset As”: Saves current settings into a new preset file (*.kk2p for Kratos2Maximizer).

3. When you create a new preset using “Save Preset As…”, make sure that you have chosen the correct preset folder as aforementioned on point 1 above to make sure that it will be recognized automatically by Kratos 2 Maximizer plug-ins.

4. To add new additional preset banks, create a new folder by clicking “New Folder” button and rename it. Sub-folders are also recognized to manage presets into groups, useful to manage additional preset bank, or grouping presets based by their use.

FUNCTION

1. Bypass Slider: Turns the EQ on, off, or bypass
2. Preset Selector: Select from available Presets, press left-right buttons or select from drop down menu.
3. Maximize: Adjusts the signal level to the limiter. The range is 0 – 20 db. Rotate the knob clockwise until you get the desired loudness level, in correlation with the other controls.
4. Texture: The character, or ‘Texture’, knob acts similar to look-ahead in other limiters, that’s why it’s measured in miliseconds (ms). It also causes latency, depends on the look-ahead time. ‘Texture’ behaves different to ‘usual’ look-ahead parameters. The longer the Texture setting, the response to the low frequency will be better (lower distortion/artifacts, and ounds tighter). Longer setting will also give more limiting reaction time and prevent more transients from being clipped.
5. Knee: Knee determines how smoothly compression/limiting is applied when the signal exceeds the threshold. When the knee is at zero the limiting kicks in instantly.
6. Rotate clockwise for softer knee setting and Vice-versa. Attack: The time taken for the limiter to start compressing or limiting the dynamic range. Available at 0-300ms.
7. Release: The time take for the signal back to normal again after limiting occurs. Available at 0-1000 ms.
8. In Adaptive mode, attack and release times are dynamic and depend on the source material and Texture, with the values set in 10 and 11, respectively, as the upper bound. In Normal mode, the Attack / Release times are static and equal to the values set in 10 and 11.
9. Dither Section: Adds very low level controlled noise to the material. Used to reduce distortion of low-amplitude signals when converting to lower resolution.
   • Normal = Classic linear dither
   • High Pass = Classic linear dither with high-pass filter applied
   • Equal = The dither follows equal-loudness contour (human hearing envelope)
   • 8 bit = Noise test, low-resolution audio, creative and/or non-conventional purposes
   • 16 bit = Universal standard for CD Audio
   • 24 bit = DVD/movie, pre-mastering, high-quality audio and/or storage purposes
10. Gain Reduction Meter: Displays the amount of gain reduction being applied to the audio input. When the meter falls below 0 dbFS, gain reduction, and thus limiting/maximizing, is occurring.
11. Oversampling: Increase the internal sampling frequency to reduce aliasing artefacts at the cost of higher CPU usage.
12. Ceiling: Sets the upper limit of the output signal. The range is 0 to -20 dbFS.

CV INPUTS

• CV Input Socket:
  Receives incoming CV message for controlling each of Kratos 2 Maximizer’s CV control enabled parameters from another device’s CV output.

• CV Input Trim:
  Turn counter-clockwise for each corresponding input to trim or reduce the intensity of incoming CV message.

Audio input and output sockets :
Please note that Kratos 2 Maximizer is an FX, and should always be added as FX device instead of instrument.

MIDI CC PARAMETER LIST (Propellerhead reason)

• [128] = maximize
• [129] = texture
• [130] = knee
• [131] = attackType
• [132] = attack
• [133] = releaseType
• [134] = release
• [135] = ceiling
• [136] = ditherOn
• [137] = ditherType
• [138] = ditherBitDepth

Kuassa KRATOS 2 MAXIMIZER Created by:

• Muhammad Abduh
• Abshar Platisza
• Muhammad Yusreza Irsyan
• Intan Zariska Daniyanti
• Iman Firman Amarullah
• Juan Prahamma Hartjamt
• Dimitar Nalbantov
• Arie Ardiansyah
• Raden Pratama Kusuma
• Adhitya Sulistia Wibisana
• Bramantyo Ibrahim
• Cil Satriawan
• Grahadea Kusuf
• Iqbal Ansyori
• Rathomi Trinugraha
• Bayu Ardianto
• Sundawan Sukmaya

Presets and Audio Demos by:

Dimitar Nalbantov (http://www.nalbantov.com)

KUASSA TEKNIKA, PT
Jl. Dipati Ukur No. 71A Bandung 40132 West Java, INDONESIA https://www.kuassa.com

• General inquiry: info@kuassa.com
• Technical support : support@kuassa.com

A Product of KUASSA. Bandung, West Java. Indonesia © 2010-2022 PT Kuassa Teknika
Kuassa and Kratos 2 Maximizer are trademarks of PT Kuassa Teknika, Indonesia.
All other commercial symbols, product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
All rights reserved.

References

• The domain name nalbantov.com is for sale | Dan.com
• Best Guitar Amp Simulator, Audio VST Plugins and Rack Extension

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