When HUM Audio Devices placed a fully analog look ahead delay line into a discrete circuit of the highest quality modern analog components, they created something truly special: a limiter that delivers loudness without brickwall deadness. The LAAL is a limiter with life: no other hardware can preserve and enhance your micro dynamics like it can. Thanks to Brainworx’s expertise, you can finally get this extraordinary sonic signature in the box.

Intelligent look-ahead limiting

LAAL stands for Look Ahead Analog Limiter. This is the detection circuit that makes its special sonic characteristics possible – a fully analog delay line (0.2 ms) ‘looks ahead’ with the dynamic transient function to respond intelligently to signal peaks before they occur. This results in responsive peak limiting without harshness or distortion. Achieve your RMS levels and loudness targets while preserving detail, air, and low-end punch. And use its smoother limiting curves and acres of headroom, to bring life to your mix.

The fall of the lifeless brick wall

Hum Audio Devices designed the LAAL to remain in the analog domain throughout the mastering process. All the magic happens in its unique and sophisticated detection and gain stage circuits. The limiter does not use any soft clipping or similar processes to artificially increase RMS levels. Whether you're mastering subtle acoustic music or slamming brick-wall levels in electronic or pop, it provides surgical precision, harmonic integrity, and stability.

A plugin only Brainworx could create

Brainworx has captured every aspect of this analog chain in the plugin. From the discreet signal pathway to its studio-grade transformers and ultra-precise detection circuitry. You can’t just hear the difference LAAL makes, you can see it too. The peaks of the waveforms from audio passed through the LAAL limiter are notably smoother and more harmonically rich than what can be achieved with other limiter plugins.

Expanded features

As a Brainworx-made plugin, the LAAL Limiter comes with all the expanded digital-exclusive features you’d expect from the makers of the iconic bx_masterdesk series. This includes TX Drive control, M/S processing and so much more. Most interesting of all, the plugin version can compensate for the delay in processing time required for the delay circuit, meaning that Look Ahead processing is more immediate in-plugin than in the original hardware.