Note: This product is supplied as a licence code. No box, no disc or similar. Please check the manufacturer’s website BEFORE purchasing for information on compatibility with your system, registration, download, etc. Registered software is non-returnable.
With Lion Master, Safari Audio delivers a modern mastering limiter plugin designed for control, clarity and musical loudness. Rather than simply clipping level peaks, Lion Master combines precise limiting, harmonic saturation, stereo width control and a flexible crossover section into a tool that can make the final mix not only louder, but also more coherent and powerful.
Lion Master is aimed at both mastering engineers and producers who wish to finalise their mixes themselves. The plugin can work very transparently and cleanly when it’s just a matter of peak control and headroom. However, it can also be deliberately pushed in a more characterful direction when more density, weight and harmonic richness are required. It is precisely this range that makes it particularly effective in everyday use.
At the heart of the system is a True Peak Limiter that precisely controls level peaks and, if desired, operates in true peak mode. This is particularly important for modern mastering workflows, where the signal must not only look good within the project but also remain stable during streaming, encoding and playback on various systems. This allows the final loudness to be shaped precisely without risking unnecessary distortion or dirty peaks.
Before the actual limiting stage, Lion Master offers a soft saturation stage that can add extra harmonics, density and musical weight to the signal. This is particularly helpful when a mix is technically clean but could do with a bit more body and final consolidation. Instead of simply becoming louder, this often makes the sound seem more mature and fuller.
A real highlight is the crossover selection, which can be set from 60 Hz to 13 kHz. This allows the plugin to respond dynamically to different frequency ranges and enables significantly finer tuning of the sound behaviour. This band-dependent gain and character control makes Lion Master particularly flexible, as not all energy in the mix needs to be treated equally.
With the integrated Width Control, you can influence the stereo image directly during the mastering process. This allows you to consciously shape the width of the mix without adding another plugin to the chain. This is particularly useful when a master needs to sound not only louder, but also more spatially balanced and controlled.
To ensure the signal remains defined and clear even with heavy processing, Lion Master offers oversampling. This reduces audible artefacts and helps maintain high-quality sound even at high levels and with active saturation. This is a particularly important consideration in mastering, as minor errors are especially noticeable here.
The Output Ceiling can be adjusted with a resolution of 0.1 dB. This allows the final signal to be adjusted very precisely to the desired target level. For modern release workflows, this is a practical feature, as it provides greater control over the final behaviour of the master.
A good mastering limiter doesn’t just make a mix louder. It also determines whether transients are preserved, whether the bass sounds controlled, how wide the mix is, and whether the loudness sounds musical or strained. This is precisely why Lion Master is particularly interesting, as it combines limiting, saturation, stereo control and frequency-dependent behaviour in a single, practical tool.
Formats
MacOS VST3 / AU / AAX
Windows 64-bit VST3 / AAX
Processor
2 GHz Intel Dual Core or AMD equivalent
RAM
at least 8 GB
16 GB recommended
Operating systems
macOS 10.15 or later
macOS 11 or later recommended
Windows 8 or later
Safaripedals Lion Master License Code