Dorrough Stereo

The Dorrough Stereo meter brings Waves' meticulous modeling of Dorrough Electronics' legendary hardware into your DAW with genuine precision. Rather than relying on slow-responding software meters that obscure audio behavior, this plugin captures the ballistic characteristics of Dorrough's analog design - the result of two decades of measurement science that prioritizes what human ears actually perceive.

What distinguishes this meter from standard peak indicators is its dual focus on transient detection and average levels. The fast-responding peak display catches the spikes that threaten clipping while simultaneously tracking the sustained energy that governs perceived loudness and listener response. This balanced approach proves invaluable during mixing, where peak levels may appear controlled while average energy remains problematic, or conversely, where aggressive compression has flattened perceived dynamics despite acceptable peaks.

The plugin offers genuine workflow flexibility. Its three meter modes - Left/Right, Sum/Difference, and Phase - reveal mixing problems that single-channel metering misses. The Sum/Difference mode particularly warrants attention, as it exposes the energy loss when a stereo mix collapses to mono, an essential consideration for streaming compatibility. The configurable peak hold modes and reference level adjustment accommodate both digital and analog-level working.

Dorrough Stereo serves mastering engineers, mix engineers, and broadcast technicians who treat metering as a diagnostic tool rather than decoration. In an era of increasingly accurate but often homogeneous meters, its patented ballistic behavior provides genuinely useful information about how mixes will translate. It won't replace critical listening, but it offers the precision that informed decisions require.