WideFire: Analog-Style Stereo Widening Saturator by United Plugins Free Download

WideFire works in two stages. It first applies analog-style saturation to the input. The harmonics created by that saturation are then detached from the signal, passed through a widening algorithm, and blended back with the original audio.

United Plugins says this approach aims to add width without the clarity loss and artifacts that can come with conventional wideners. The developer also states that the plugin keeps good mono compatibility, so a widened mix should still hold up when summed to mono.

Because the widening is applied to harmonics rather than to the full signal, WideFire is positioned as a tool for adding excitement and space to a source rather than simply spreading it across the stereo field.

The graphical interface is designed to resemble real hardware. The corner handle can be dragged to resize the window, so the plugin can be made smaller to save screen space or enlarged for easier control.

WideFire runs with internal 64-bit processing and is designed to handle any sampling rate, including 192 kHz and higher. Its bypass is designed to avoid clicks and noise when automating parameters, and it compensates for latency so the processed and bypassed signals stay in sync.

The plugin also includes sleep-on-silence behavior. When it detects that processing is unnecessary, it enters a sleep mode that uses very little CPU.