Dragon Fader by AyaicWare is a LUFS leveler that automatically rides any audio signal to a target loudness in real time, keeping it smooth and stable.

Unlike many modern volume riders that rely on predictive artificial intelligence, Dragon Fader drives an internal fader with a traditional, highly transparent compressor/expander network. The signal reaches the target loudness without introducing harmonic distortion, phase issues or tonal changes to the source audio. Four modes are available: FREE, INT, WRITE and READ – in INT mode, Dragon Fader analyses the track’s source file in advance. A four-times oversampled true peak brickwall limiter catches the peaks, and seven level planes are shared by every instance.

Features

• Automatic gain adjustment to a target loudness from -50 to -10 LUFS (measured to BS.1770)
• Fader range from -20 to +30 dB
• Four modes: FREE, INT, WRITE and READ
• Four-times oversampled true peak brickwall limiter, ceiling from -3.0 to 0.0 dBTP
• Seven level planes shared by every instance, selectable via Quick Set
• Sidechain ducking and expansion with mono or stereo sidechain input
• AES-17 RMS and peak, integrated LUFS and loudness range readings for input and output
• 106 factory presets
• Resizable windows (25 to 150 % zoom) with themeable colours

Technical details

• Type: plug-in (LUFS leveler / automatic volume rider)
• Operating systems: macOS 12 or newer, Windows (64-bit)
• Plug-in formats: macOS: VST3, VST2, Audio Unit, AAX; Windows: VST3, VST2, AAX
• Channels: mono or stereo, mono or stereo sidechain input
• Latency: about 102 ms (4902 samples at 48 kHz), the same in every mode
• Licensing: iLok (USB key, computer or iLok Cloud)

System requirements

• macOS 12 or newer, universal binary (Apple Silicon and Intel)
• Windows, 64-bit
• DAW supporting VST3, VST2, Audio Unit (macOS only) or AAX
• Authorization: iLok (USB key, computer or iLok Cloud)

The licence is registered with the manufacturer at https://www.ayaicinc.com/downloads. You will receive your serial number and the download link by e-mail immediately after purchase.