Ivory 5
by Acustica Audio · Channel Strip · Mastering EQ and dynamics suite
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Ivory 5 is an Acustica Audio mastering suite with EQs, compressors, dynamic EQs and a two-band mastering limiter.
Its limiter is inspired by a British mastering dynamics processor; listed at €199 (about $226).
Best for: Mastering, Mix Bus. Genres: all genres.
Keywords: mastering, bus processing, transparent, low latency, full mix, analog-sounding, extreme, gentle, inspired by, mix bus, musical, zero-latency.
What it does
Ivory 5 is Acustica Audio's mastering suite of equalisers and dynamics, aimed at mastering and at shaping subgroups. The developer calls it "a transparent yet extremely musical processing suite".
- Two equalisers: for tonal shaping, with preamps re-tuned in version 5 to current standards.
- Two compressors: for bus and mastering dynamics.
- Two dynamic EQs: in mono and stereo versions, with a new SOA control added in version 5.
- MAL-2 limiter (new in 5): Acustica's take on a two-band peak limiter from a famous British manufacturer, not a 1:1 copy; it splits the signal at 2 kHz to limit lows and highs separately.
- Limiter modes: with HF bypassed it works as a single wide-band limiter; threshold and output levels are fixed, so the controls act as input gain. Standard and zero-latency versions are included.
- Beyond the master: the developer suggests MAL-2 also as a tone-shaping tool on individual tracks.
- Efficiency: version 5 reduced CPU use compared with earlier Ivory versions.
Gearnews reported that Ivory 5 launched in 2021. The sources did not mention a demo.
Source: Acustica Audio product page
When to use it
Ivory 5 suits engineers who want a full analog-flavoured mastering chain, EQ, compression, dynamic EQ and limiting, that stays mostly transparent. Compared with Ozone 12, it has no assistant, loudness targets or multiband imaging, but gives a sampled hardware tone that Ozone does not aim for. Against Neutron 5 it is a mastering and bus tool rather than a mixing assistant for single tracks. Its MAL-2 dual-band limiter is simpler and more coloured than Pro-L 2, with no style choices or loudness metering.
- Best for: transparent mastering EQ, gentle compression and dual-band peak limiting with a little analog character, on the master or subgroups.
- Genres: any.
- Look elsewhere if: you want a single, light limiter with loudness metering (Pro-L 2) or an assisted all-in-one mastering suite (Ozone 12).
Where to buy
- Acustica Audio: $225.96 (€199 converted to USD (ECB rate, 29 Sep 2026); price as listed on KVR)
Tutorials and reviews
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