The APU Loudness Compressor is a compressor/expander designed to support modern loudness types (LUFS, True Peak). The result is very transparent compression, making it particularly well suited for mastering and post-production workflows. The compressor is also capable of operating in a more traditional way, using RMS and Peak units of measurement, so you can have your cake and eat it too.
By default, the compressor operates using a “source range” and “target range” in place of threshold + ratio controls. You can also enable the traditional threshold + ratio controls if you prefer. A drop-down menu located at the top-right of the compressor’s dynamics section allows switching between these modes of operation and others, such as expander, limiter, etc.
With “learn” mode enabled, the compressor will automatically adjust the source or target range to match the source material. This can be a great way to get started with the compressor and can be used as a starting point for further fine-tuning.
Check it out to see if it fits into your workflow. If you have any questions or feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out using the “Contact the Developer” beacon on this website.
For more information on the motivations behind this compressor, see my LUFS blog post. For detailed information on the compressor’s features and examples of its use, visit the docs site.