HUM Audio Devices LAAL

The look-ahead limiter with life - in the box

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. 

Features

• Officially approved digital model of Analog Look Ahead circuit
• Maximise stereo imaging with pre-limiter Stereo Width functionality
• Preserve transients with Dynamic Transient mode
• Variable release time (stepped, from 2ms to 100ms)
• Plugin only feature - Control the amount of color with the TX-Drive connected to the Transformer button
• Detect Link L+R automatically limits the first signal that hits the threshold and applies it to the other channels
• M/S Processing for total Mid/Side control
• True Peak Limiting

System Requirements

• Display resolution: 1440 × 900px or 1280 × 960px or higher
• Memory: 2 GB RAM

Supported Plugin Formats

• AAX Native, AU, AAX AudioSuite, VST2, VST3

Supported Operating Systems

• macOS 15 down to macOS 12
• Windows 11 down to Windows 10

Mac

• Intel, or Apple Silicon

PC

• x64-compatible CPU