A good spectrum analyzer plug-in is essential for letting you know what is going on with your audio.

Use it as a reference. The same goes for all meters for that matter. Voxengo SPAN set to Stereo Mastering preset Orban Loudness Meter. Sometimes I get to the goal quite quickly without the use of meters. Orban is unique in the sense that it’s not actually a plug-in. Size 3 MB SN02-G is a no frills mono/stereo/mid-side needle VU meter VST plug-in. It features variable nominal reference level and an optional maximal value indicator (needle). It is optimized.

Even if you have a good monitoring system in your studio, a spectrum analyzer will help you identify potential problem areas in your mix.

Here, we run down some of the best spectrum analyzer VSTs available, giving you a range of potentially useful options.

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Top 7 Spectrum Analyzer VST Plugins

1. iZotope Insight

Demo & Price

iZotope’s aptly-named Insight gives you a broad overview of the spectral content of your audio while giving you the ability to get as detailed as you wish. It comes with plenty metering options to choose from, that can be customized as you fit, enabling you to use it for any type of session. Whether you simply want to check the spectral balance of your mix or you want to tweak the loudness or intelligibility of specific tracks.

Specs and useful features

Vst Plugin Audio Level Meters Converter

Insight lets you visualize audio streams in ways that probably only a few spectrum analyzer plugins can. Unlike other plug-ins that force you into a specific way of working, Insight lets you customize the user interface according to your preferences or the demands of the session.

With Insight, you can choose to display only the meters that you need for any given situation. The interface is resizable as well, so you can keep it fairly compact when your screen gets too crowded. If you want to have visual access to more information, you could simply maximize the interface to occupy the full screen.

Of course, you have a great degree of control over viewing the display as well. You can adjust partition sizes however you want, and each meter even comes with dedicated display settings.

User impressions

“Comprehensive” is one word that is commonly used to describe Insight. It gives users the flexibility to view data however they wish, with zooming, scaling, and even freezing options provided.

The option to choose between 2D and 3D spectrogram displays scored points among many users as well. For users that need the ability to change viewing modes for different projects, Insight stands apart from most other spectrum analyzer plug-ins.

Bottom-line

iZotope’s Insight could very well handle all your spectrum analysis needs and then some. If flexibility and accuracy are your primary concerns–as they should be when shopping for a spectrum analyzer–you can’t go wrong with Insight.

2. NuGen Visualizer

Demo & Price

NuGen’s Visualizer may not be a household name in the world of spectrum analyzer plug-ins, but that in no way indicates any shortcomings on its part. Just as capable as its more popular counterparts, it provides feature-packed tools for analyzing audio and enhancing workflow. Furthermore, Visualizer helps you recreate optimal mix settings and avoid frequently-repeated errors.

Specs and useful features

Visualizer provides a single-screen interface for viewing the frequency content of the audio material. The interface can be resized freely, taking up very little screen space or providing a comprehensive overview as needed. There are also many options to customize the display, and you could switch to any of several views simply by clicking a button.

But it’s what you can do within those views that matter the most. Visualizer has a useful comparison mode that let you view frequency content and other information from two audio channels in a few different ways. You have the option to view both audio tracks overlaid on top of each other, side-by-side, or in a differential display.

Other features–such as the stereo spectrogram, vectorscope, stereo bias meter, and peak hold control–give you a range of options by which to analyze your audio. You can even view frequencies by how they correlate to each other, making it easy for you to identify potential frequency overlaps.

User impressions

Users of Visualizer have found numerous applications for the plug-in, particularly during the mixdown and mastering stages of production. One common application is the examination of the differences that a mastering chain imparts on a mix. The plug-in makes it possible to identify frequency clashes quickly, and the ability to customize the display makes audio analysis both easy and efficient.

Bottom-line

NuGen Visualizer is a powerful and attractive-looking spectrum analyzer plug-in that can handle a multitude of audio-related tasks. It is a good deal more expensive than other plug-ins in its category, but the extra cost is justifiable given its versatility and range of features.

3. MeldaProduction MMultiAnalyzer

Demo & Price

MeldaProduction is known for its high-value plug-ins that provide professional features at a reasonable price point. MMultiAnalyzer upholds the company’s reputation admirably, with a host of features that make it possible to analyze audio and deal with any issues easily and accurately.

With a selection of audio analysis and enhancement features, MMultiAnalyzer enables you to analyze multiple tracks simultaneously. Simply patch in an instance of the plug-in in each track that you want to analyze, and they will detect each other automatically. All data will then be available to all instances of the plug-in.

Specs and useful features

MMultiAnalyzer is more than just a spectrum analyzer plug-in. It also has a built-in sonogram, and collision detection, loudness comparison, and stereo analysis features. Even with all these features, the plug-in never gets too complicated to use. Whether you use it as a multi-track sonogram, a collision detector, or a stereo analyzer, the MMultiAnalyzer workflow is fast and intuitive.

MMultiAnalyzer also comes with features that make it easy to identify specific frequencies. These include normalization, super-resolution, and de-harmonization features, all of which help you pinpoint problem areas in your audio.

User impressions

Like all MeldaProduction’s plug-ins, MMultiAnalyzer is customizable to a remarkable degree. The interface is freely resizable, and users have the option to display the controls as knobs, buttons, or sliders. Even with all the impressive technical features onboard, the plug-in’s customizability is what stands out the most among many users.

Of course, the aforementioned technical features are the main draw for professional users and serious hobbyists. The ‘smart’ metering is one of the most advanced of its kind, giving users the option to display frequency measurements in a variety of graphs and meters.

Bottom-line

MMultiAnalyzer is one of the most versatile spectrum analyzer plug-ins around. It is absolutely flawless in terms of accuracy, and the degree to which you could customize the interface is a definite plus. Even with so many capable spectrum analyzer plug-ins available, this one stands apart from the rest.

4. Blue Cat Audio Analysis Pack

Demo & Price

Blue Cat’s Audio Analysis Pack gives you pretty much everything you need to analyze and measure the frequency content of audio in one convenient package. The pack contains a dazzling array of useful plug-ins, all of which are available individually as well. Among these are two frequency analysis plug-ins, both of which provide performance equal to that of dedicated spectrum analyzers. Furthermore, these plug-ins let you can control other plug-ins–and even MIDI instruments–with the resulting measurements.

Specs and useful features

Because this is a review of spectrum analyzer plug-ins, we will focus on those specific types of plug-ins in the pack.

First up is FreqAnalyst Multi, which provides a variety of spectrum analysis features for multiple tracks. Ideally-suited for mixing and mastering, it provides a detailed view of the frequency and time of several tracks simultaneously, all from a single screen. A useful and versatile mixing tool, it will also find plenty of use as a frequency overlap detector.

The second smartphone plug-in is FreqAnalyst P