Arboretum Realizer

Best sound quality enhancement plug-in for Winamp ;)

Arboretum Realizer is a free real-time MP3 music enhancement plug-in for Winamp.It makes MP3s sound closer to CD quality, lets you hear better bass with your current speakers, improves the stereo image and lets you customize your internet music listening experience. Millions are using Nullsoft's Winamp to listen to music from the Internet, but MP3 files just don't sound as good as the original CD-quality recordings.People are often listening on inexpensive, low-quality speakers. We decided to use studio magic DSP technology originally designed for recording engineers to address these problems and improve the Internet listening experience.Realizer's three processing stages make the bass richer and deeper, add sparkle and vibrance to the high end and create a wider, more three dimensional stereo impression. Realizer does it all in real time, as the music plays. Unlike conventional equalizers and bass/treble controls, Realizer actually adds missing low end frequencies and synthesizes new harmonics, restoring much of what is lost to compression. Realizer combines Arboretum's proprietary Bass Maximizer, Harmonic Exciter and stereo enhancement algorithms - the same processes found in Arboretum's professional Hyperprism products - in a simple-to-use interface designed for personal music enjoyment. Realizer is completely user-configurable and includes a number of factory settings designed to bring the most out of each musical style. If you love this plug-in, you can purchase an improved version:Realizer Plus, for more details visit our site.Realizer is a trademark of Arboretum Systems.

Staff review

Handy dsp plugin to help add that missing flavor to your mp3 files...really adds some boom and warmth. Includes bass adjustment, exciter, sterio, and volume sliders. Comes with a few basic presets to help you on your way. You'll definitely notice a difference. It would be nice to be able to select presets from a list without having to scan thru them all to get the one you are after.

Comments

Significant difference !!! - I have tried various plugins here, and the best configuration is this puppy here combined with audioburst fx...works well for rock and metal music - October 22, 2008 by Shevin Rizal

Great! - I have a laptop and the standard soundcard software was included with an attempt at this, This is far better Thank you. P.S Doesn't sound too bad with earphones either. - April 28, 2005 by Mike Deveaux

its pretty banGered. - this is a pretty dodgy sorta plug-in. not bad if ur using really small and gutless desktop or laptop speakers, but as soon as u throw in anything with more than 50w rms and a full blown sub, there isnt much point in even looking at it. not a chance id keep using this one. - October 24, 2004 by banGer prawN

It does nothing but... - HURTING MY EARS..!!!!! - September 15, 2003 by m. fajri rahman

Am I hearing something different? - Im not sure why everyone on this page gave this 5 stars but to each his own I guess. Nothing impressive here but a poor attempt at another useless plug-in. If you are reading my review then I urge you to check out 'Enhancer 017'. - August 24, 2003 by Marc Rosario

Holy Cow - Amazing amazing. Works in real time, I use this one with Enhancer and am quite content with my setup :) You don't need any other plugins that Enhance and this one. Nice job! - June 8, 2003 by Marc Hex

The Hunt ENDS Here! - Before this plugin I had spent hours trying to bring extra quality to my music with other plugins. Don't waste hours on other products that don't pull their weight when you install them, just download this! It really makes music sound better, and doesn't use a lot of CPU in the process. This has to be THE best way to bring high quality music into your ears. - October 4, 2002 by jOsH peK

5 stars - This plugin really works. The bass boost is strong and natural, much better than using the built in Winamp equalizer. - September 20, 2002 by Pascal Getreuer

Get a better speakers - I like this plugin a lot...but be warned my friends..buy a better speaker system before you use this plug in...i blew my speakers off when i tried it.. =( well, give me a good excuse to get a brand new Altec-Lansing anyway =D - September 15, 2002 by Orgazmo Ray

5 STARS JUST AIN'T ENOUGH - This Arboretum Realizer, I TELL YOU, 5 STARS AIN'T ENOUGH FOR THIS COOL PROGRAM! I feel like I am in a dance court when listening to music files. Definitely the best realtime plugin for Winamp. FORGET ABOUT THE OTHERS! - August 20, 2002 by cigomen cigomen

Just to clarify things... - Nobody named "Princeton Georgeas" ever created this plug-in, but I do appreciate his going to the effort to re-post it here at Winamp. For the record, Realizer was created by Chris Weare (now at Microsoft), Aram Lindahl (now at Apple) and Jarret Cooper (now at Dolby) based on a hair-brained scheme cooked up by myself and boy wonder Kush Arora. Things kind of fell into disarray when we all left Arboretum for plush dot-com gigs, and for some reason Realizer dropped off the Winamp site. But it's still a great sounding plug-in, and was the first of its kind. Served as the inspiration for DFX, WOW Thing and many other imitators, and proved our point that DSP could really help MP3 and streamed audio. Should have been patented, but it's too late now. Enjoy! - July 5, 2002 by Todd Souvignier

Well, it's about friggin' time! - Why has this superb plug-in taken so long to appear on Winamp's home page? I have been extolling the wonders of this plug-in for over a year and a half now, and I've noticed in the reviews that so have others. Until now it was only available through Arboretum's website. Long, long, overdue.... But, anyways, to the point, the author is just being modest, or ignorant, when he says that this software is only useful for low-quality mp3 files. Take it from someone with about 20 gigs of classical music recorded in high VBR LAME: this plug-in is useful for any mp3. Just be careful not to overdo it. Rock music, in particular, tends to already be mixed very loud, so that too much processing can cause distortion. You'll have to turn the bass on the plug-in and on the winamp equalizer all the way down. Also, I should mention that when you turn the bass all the way down on the plug-in, it all but disappears, but gets loud again the next time winamp is opened--that is why you need the e.q. bass bottomed out(a bug in the program, I think). This plug-in definitely creates some heavy mid and low end. But if used with DFX (does the same thing on high end) and some good normalization software like Rocksteady or Wide & Dynamix, you can achieve the best sound possible with winamp, or with mp3. Guaranteed. - June 1, 2002 by Aaron Gasaway