Poseidon: Modern EQ Plugin Modeled After a Classic Console

Pulsar Audio says its modeling technology reproduces the behavior of the original device, including saturation from its circuit components and slight internal filtering. Because the plugin does not simulate the entire circuit, the developer notes it uses less CPU than a full circuit simulation.

The interaction between bands is the central feature. Raising the gain of one band can change the shape of others, producing asymmetrical bells and curves that would otherwise require several bands on a parametric EQ. Two saturation modes are available, with a Drive knob to set the amount. The first follows the analog circuitry of the original console, and the second is a Pulsar creation with a more modern, aggressive character. Two output transformer options add low-end harmonics.

The curve editor shows the overall frequency response and lets you edit each filter's properties without using the lower panel. Mid/Side processing can be set per band, so a band can act on the mono center, the side signal or the full stereo image. The curve display shows Mid and Side curves separately when bands use different modes.

Auto-Gain compensates for level changes caused by equalization, based on an analysis of the EQ curve, and the compensation does not change during playback. Gain Scale works as a multiplier for all band gains, which is useful for adjusting an EQ curve's intensity after it is set. The spectrum analyzer offers Fast, Slow and Infinite modes, and peak, RMS and overall gain meters are included. The interface is resizable and can snap to 100% or 150%.