AURORA10,000+ producers trust Aurora

A free dynamic EQ
that shows its work.

Aurora 1.5 with a Deresonate suggestion: seven bands previewed dashed on the curve, marked "Preview, not applied", and the Smart Ops panel waiting for Apply
Aurora 1.5 · rendered from the native plugin

Up to 24 bands on a live spectrum. Smart Ops previews every move on the curve before it touches your mix, and Revert never takes your own edits with it.

What's new in 1.6 →
  • VST3 · CLAP · AU · LV2
  • Windows · macOS · Linux
  • No account
  • No license key
Watch it

Aurora in 73 seconds.

The curve, Smart Ops and the dynamic engine in motion. Recorded with Aurora 1.4 — the screenshots on this page show 1.5. Sound on.

Plays from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) once you press play — until then nothing loads from YouTube.

New in 1.5

Aurora 1.5, step by step.

Rendered from the plugin itself, state by state. Pick a flow and step through it.

Smart Ops shows the move before it makes it.

Step 1 of 3

Learn listens while you play. The button counts the seconds heard; pauses don't count.

Smart Ops learning: the Learn button reads Stop · 2.8 s and the status says the spectrum is still changing.Smart Ops learning: the Learn button reads Stop · 2.8 s and the status says the spectrum is still changing.
Compare

Comparisons you can trust.

Louder always sounds better. Aurora takes that out of the decision.

The Aurora editor with Auto gain on at −0.6 dB, the A/B slots and undo in the header, Delta in the analyzer bar, and Listen and Bypass on the selected band.
  1. A/B, undo, redo

    Two settings side by side, copy one to the other, and step back and forth through every edit.

  2. Delta

    Hear only what the EQ changes: the output minus the latency-aligned original.

  3. Listen and Bypass per band

    Solo one band's region, or take one band out, without touching the rest.

  4. Auto gain

    Bypass, A/B and presets compare at equal loudness, so the better setting wins — not the louder one.

Also in Aurora

Precise where it counts.

  • The Dynamics page of band 2: Dynamic EQ on, a live gain change of −5.7 dB, threshold −30 dB, range −6 dB, ratio 4:1.

    Dynamic EQ

    Tame a resonant snare only on the hits: threshold, range, ratio and timing per band, with its live gain change in view.

  • Mid/side mode: the analyzer split into a mid and a violet side trace under the EQ curve.

    Mid/side

    Clean up the sides without touching a mono kick: the analyzer splits into mid and side, and any band can sit on either.

  • The Analyzer menu with Update speed and Frequency precision, open over the live spectrum.

    A precise analyzer

    See the low end in detail: frequency precision up to an 8192-point FFT, at the update speed you choose.

The full specification

Everything in the build

The curve

  • Up to 24 bands — add one with a double-click
  • 8 shapes: bell, shelves, cuts, notch, band-pass, all-pass
  • Cut slopes 6 → 96 dB/oct plus a vertical Brickwall
  • Drag to move, scroll for Q · live analyzer under the curve

Smart Ops

  • Match a reference, de-resonate, de-ess, auto high-/low-cut, unmask
  • Learn as long as you play — at least 2 seconds
  • Every suggestion previewed on the graph before it applies
  • Apply and Revert are one undo step each; your edits are kept

Dynamics & unmasking

  • Any band flips static → dynamic
  • Threshold, range, ratio · attack, hold, release · knee
  • Track or sidechain detector · Peak/RMS · global lookahead
  • De-Harsh — tames harshness spectrally, only when it bites

Compare

  • A/B slots with copy · undo and redo
  • Auto gain — comparisons at equal loudness
  • Delta — hear exactly what the EQ changes
  • Bypass and Listen per band

Instances & presets

  • Every Aurora in the project, in one window
  • Curves overlaid · compare side by side
  • 41 factory presets in nine folders
  • Analyzer up to an 8192-point FFT

Phase, stereo & character

  • Zero-latency · analog-matched Natural · Linear phase
  • Stereo, Mid-Side or Left-Right — analyzer splits to match
  • Per-band placement: stereo, L, R, M or S
  • Clean · Subtle · Warm analog character

Requirements

What it needs to run
Operating system
Windows 10/11 (x86_64) · macOS 11+ (Apple Silicon & Intel (universal)) · Linux · glibc 2.35+ (x86_64)
CPU
Modern 64-bit CPU — Apple Silicon, Intel or AMD
Memory
4 GB RAM minimum · 8 GB recommended
Plug-in host
64-bit DAW supporting one of the plugin formats offered for its platform
Formats
Windows: VST3 / CLAP · macOS: VST3 / AU / CLAP · Linux: VST3 / CLAP / LV2
Latency
Zero in Zero-latency / Natural · reported PDC in Linear
Sample rates
44.1–192 kHz
Disk
macOS: about 45 MB for all formats
Authorization
Free — no license key · works offline
The whole plugin

Everything. Nothing to pay.

There is no paid tier, no unlock, no upsell inside AURORA. What you download is the shipping build with every feature switched on — the same file we use ourselves.

  • The full plugin — no trial limits, no feature gates
  • Smart Ops — match, de-resonate, de-ess & unmask
  • Windows · macOS · Linux · VST3 · CLAP · AU · LV2
  • Lifetime updates — no subscription, no account
What you're installing
  • No account
  • No installer bloat
  • Works offline · no activation · only checks 13x.audio for updates
  • SHA-256 checksum for every build
  • Notarized by Apple (macOS)
Windows warns about the download?

SmartScreen, Defender and the download checks in Chrome and Edge rate a file partly by its publisher's reputation. A small developer without a paid code-signing certificate and a long download history starts with none, so a new, unsigned plugin gets flagged even when nothing is wrong with the file. Our Windows builds aren't code-signed yet. It's a reputation warning, not a malware finding.

Check the file instead: in PowerShell, run certutil -hashfile <file> SHA256 and compare the result with the checksum listed above.

Install paths, keeping the file, the manual download: download help →

Questions? support@13x.audio

Tested in
  • FL Studio
  • Ableton Live
  • REAPER
  • Logic Pro
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What's new

Every version, in the open
  • 1.6.15 Oct 2026
    • Changing the slope of a Low Cut or High Cut no longer causes loud peaks
    • Other changes during playback are smooth now, too
    • Full screen opens in front of FL Studio's plug-in window
    Full release notes

    An urgent fix, thanks to a user who sent a screen recording. Please update.

    • Changing the slope of a Low Cut or High Cut no longer causes loud peaks. Switching the slope while your track played, for example from 24 to 30 dB/oct, could make Aurora's output jump to far above the level of your music for a moment. We measured peaks up to +25 dBFS from a signal at -12 dBFS, loud enough to hurt speakers and ears. Aurora 1.5 behaved the same way. Now the new slope fades in smoothly once it is ready, a fraction of a second after you pick it.
    • Other changes during playback are smooth now, too. The same kind of jump could happen, less strongly, when you:
    • changed a band's filter type or its stereo placement (Stereo, Left, Right, Mid, Side);
    • switched between Zero Latency or Natural Phase and Linear Phase;
    • changed a frequency in one big step, for example by typing a value, loading a preset or switching A/B;
    • changed the Character setting (Clean, Subtle, Warm), also through a preset or A/B.

    All of these now fade over to the new setting. Switching a band on or off fades too.

    • Full screen opens in front of FL Studio's plug-in window. On a Mac, the full-screen spectrum could open behind FL Studio's floating plug-in window. It now opens in front.
    • Safety net. If a broken value ever arrives from the host or appears inside Aurora, it is silenced instead of being passed on, and Aurora carries on playing normally.

    Good to know: Some changes take effect a moment after you make them, because Aurora lets the new setting settle before it fades it in. That is usually a few hundredths of a second, and up to about a second for a Brickwall cut at a very low frequency.

    Your sound doesn't change: with settings that stay as they are, Aurora 1.6.1 sounds exactly like 1.6.0. Projects and presets load unchanged.

    New to 1.6? See what's new: https://13x.audio/products/aurora/1.6

    macOS: universal VST3, AU and CLAP, Developer ID signed and Apple notarized. Windows: 64-bit VST3 and CLAP in a zip, with Install Aurora.cmd. Linux: x86_64 VST3, CLAP and LV2 in a .tar.gz with a per-user install script; glibc 2.35 or later.

  • 1.6.04 Oct 2026
    • New file names: "13x Aurora"
    • Themes
    • Full-screen spectrum
    Full release notes

    Fixes and features from your feedback. Thank you!

    Screenshots and short how-tos for every new feature: [What's new in 1.6](https://13x.audio/products/aurora/1.6).

    • New file names: "13x Aurora". Our files no longer share their name with iZotope's Aurora reverb, so installing one can't replace the other. Projects and presets open unchanged. Updating? Afterwards, remove the old 13x Audio "Aurora" files. "Install Aurora.cmd" (Windows) and install.sh (Linux) do it safely, and never touch anyone else's files. On macOS, Aurora points you to the old file.
    • Themes. Graphite, Midnight, Ember or Studio Light, from the gear menu.
    • Full-screen spectrum. The analyzer and EQ curve fill your screen, fully editable.
    • A real Slope control on cuts. On Low Cut and High Cut bands, the band editor's Q is now Slope (6–96 dB/oct, Brickwall), in sync with the mouse wheel and undo/automation. Gain is dimmed on types that ignore it. The shelf buttons show the right shapes.
    • Menus stay put. On Windows with display scaling, menus and the Save preset dialog could open far from the plug-in and ignore clicks. They now open inside Aurora's window.
    • Sidechain on Linux. The LV2 version now offers its sidechain (Ardour), and an unconnected sidechain no longer crashes it. The manual shows the routing per DAW.
    • Dynamic EQ that acts from the first click. Switch it on while the track plays and the Threshold starts just under what the band hears. The Dynamics page shows the band's level against the Threshold and says when it doesn't reach it.
    • Dynamic in the right-click menu. Switch a band's dynamics right from its node.
    • De-harsh Delta. Hear only what De-harsh removes. Never saved, and it switches itself off when you close Aurora or stop playback.
    • Smart double-click. The graph creates a Low Cut, Low Shelf, Bell, High Shelf or High Cut depending on where you click. Shift + double-click always makes a Bell, and you can turn this off in the gear menu.
    • Manual with tutorials. Four step-by-step tutorials for the new features, plus sidechain routing per DAW (40 pages).

    Your sound doesn't change: 1.5.1 projects and presets load and play back identically.

    Manual install note: the files are now named 13x Aurora.vst3, 13x Aurora.component (macOS), 13x Aurora.clap and 13x-aurora.lv2 (Linux). If you copy them by hand, delete the old 13x Audio Aurora.vst3 / .component / .clap / .lv2. Ours are the ones whose bundle ID is audio.13x.aurora; leave iZotope's Aurora alone.

    macOS: universal VST3, AU and CLAP, Developer ID signed and Apple notarized. Windows: 64-bit VST3 and CLAP in a zip, with Install Aurora.cmd. Linux: x86_64 VST3, CLAP and LV2 in a .tar.gz with a per-user install script; glibc 2.35 or later.

  • 1.5.130 Sept 2026
    • Lock a node to one axis
    • Solo a band while you hold
    • Listen without clicks
    Full release notes

    Two workflow features from user feedback. Thank you!

    • Lock a node to one axis. Shift-drag a node to change only its frequency or only its gain; the other value stays exactly where it was.
    • Solo a band while you hold. Alt-press (Option on a Mac) or middle-press a node to hear just that band; let go and the mix is back. Drag while you hold to sweep. Prefer the 1.5 toggle? Gear menu > Band solo > Latching.
    • Listen without clicks. Listen now fades in and out, and the mix comes back exactly as it was, in Linear Phase too.
    • Fixes. Nodes no longer jump when you start a drag off-centre, and two quick Alt-clicks no longer delete a band.

    Your sound doesn't change: 1.5 projects and presets load and play back identically. Close your DAW, replace the old plugin files with the new ones, then rescan your plugins.

    macOS: universal VST3, AU and CLAP, Developer ID signed and Apple notarized. Windows: 64-bit VST3 and CLAP in a zip. Linux: x86_64 VST3, CLAP and LV2 in a .tar.gz with a per-user install script; glibc 2.35 or later.

Earlier versions (15)
  • 1.5.029 Sept 2026
    • Smart Ops, step by step
    • Learn as long as you play
    • Revert that keeps your work
    Full release notes

    Aurora 1.5 turns Smart Ops into a guided workflow you can always take back, brings every Aurora in your project into one window, and makes comparisons fair.

    • Smart Ops, step by step. Operation, range, learn, review, apply: the panel numbers the steps and marks the one to act on. Every suggestion is previewed dashed on the graph before anything changes, and Apply is one undo step.
    • Learn as long as you play. Start learning, play the passage, then stop — or just stop playback. Pauses don't count, at least two seconds are needed, and the status says when the spectrum has settled. (1.4 always listened for exactly one second.)
    • Revert that keeps your work. Revert takes back only what Smart Ops changed and you haven't touched; a band you edited stays whole. Restore before Apply lists every change it would discard first.
    • Instances. Every Aurora in the project, in one window: edit another instance from here, lay its curve over yours, or compare all of them side by side. In FL Studio the VST3 and CLAP versions take the mixer track's name and colour.
    • Fair comparisons. A/B slots with copy, undo and redo, bypass per band, Delta to hear exactly what the EQ changes, and Auto gain so Bypass, A/B and presets compare at equal loudness.
    • Dynamics page. The selected band's live gain change — or why it can't act — next to its level and timing controls, the knee and the global lookahead with the latency it adds.
    • A precise analyzer. Update speed and frequency precision up to an 8192-point FFT, calm highs at the finest settings.
    • A clearer editor. FL Studio's band colours, one cue per band state, and 41 factory presets in nine folders.

    Existing projects, presets and automation load unchanged; new parameters are off by default, so older sessions sound the same. Close your DAW, replace the old plugin files with the new ones, then rescan your plugins.

    macOS: universal VST3, AU and CLAP, Developer ID signed and Apple notarized. Windows: 64-bit VST3 and CLAP in a zip. Linux: x86_64 VST3, CLAP and LV2 in a .tar.gz with a per-user install script; glibc 2.35 or later.

  • 1.4.016 Sept 2026
    • A clearer workspace
    • Learn finishes with Apply ready
    • Mac compatibility restored
    Full release notes

    Aurora 1.4 refines the workspace, restores the intended Mac compatibility and makes Smart Ops Learn follow the audio your host actually sends.

    • A clearer workspace. Refined typography, spacing and control hierarchy keep the spectrum and selected band easy to read. Reset a band or the full plugin from the editor, with explicit controls for clearing bands.
    • Learn finishes with Apply ready. Smart Ops analyses one second of real audio, shows when it is waiting for input, and completes automatically. Capture handles irregular and oversized blocks, ahead-of-time processing, sample-rate changes and stereo audio with a silent mid signal.
    • Mac compatibility restored. The universal build targets macOS 11 and later on Apple Silicon and Intel. Release checks verify the minimum OS, architectures, library dependencies and signatures before upload.
    • Linux editor stability. The Linux editor now uses software rendering to avoid the X11/OpenGL crash found during release validation. Audio processing and plugin controls are unchanged.
    • A more dependable host workflow. Includes fixes for editor lifecycle, analyzer concurrency and processing edge cases, with automated regression tests and plugin validation.
    • Windows and Linux catch up with 1.3.3. Includes remembered editor scale, precision gestures and the gentler Subtle/Warm character voicings previously released on macOS. Sessions using Subtle or Warm from 1.3.0 may sound different; Clean remains transparent.

    Existing projects, presets and automation load without migration. Parameter identifiers and ranges stay the same. Close your DAW, replace the old plugin files with the new ones, then rescan your plugins.

    macOS: universal VST3, AU and CLAP, Developer ID signed and Apple notarized. Windows: 64-bit VST3 and CLAP in a zip. Linux: x86_64 VST3, CLAP and LV2 in a .tar.gz with a per-user install script; glibc 2.35 or later.

  • 1.3.328 Jul 2026
    • Your editor size now sticks
    • Faster precision moves
    • More restrained Character modes
    Full release notes

    This release makes Aurora faster to work with and more dependable inside the host, while keeping the 1.3 matte interface and parameter map intact.

    • Your editor size now sticks. Aurora remembers its last scale across close/reopen and wrapper-tab changes, while still respecting sizes restored by the host.
    • Faster precision moves. Ctrl/Cmd + wheel gives five-times-finer control; Alt-click a band node toggles Listen; modifier-wheel gestures make Q, cut slope and cut-knee edits deliberate.
    • More restrained Character modes. Subtle adds quiet even/odd harmonics; Warm is now H2-focused with a much faster upper-harmonic taper. Clean remains transparent.
    • Safer editor lifecycle. Update checks cancel cleanly, background workers shut down in order, and repeated editor creation/removal is bounded and regression-tested.
    • Literal unity at the default. Zero-gain bells/shelves and the nominal 0 dB output centre now bypass floating-point residue; the full fresh Clean path nulls sample-for-sample.

    Existing projects, presets and automation load without migration. Subtle and Warm intentionally use the new, gentler voicings.

    macOS ships as a universal Apple Silicon + Intel build with VST3, AU and CLAP, signed and notarized by Apple.

  • 1.3.016 Jul 2026
    • Matte, card-on-stage look
    • One control line
    • Sharper type, calmer analyzer
    Full release notes

    The interface has been rebuilt from the ground up since 1.0 — this build brings Windows fully up to date with the current design:

    • Matte, card-on-stage look. A floating matte-black surface on a pure-black stage, teal as the single state accent, eight muted pigment band colours with the signature translucent per-band fills.
    • One control line. All knobs live on a single row with an EQ · DYN · DE-HARSH page selector — enabling Dyn jumps straight to the DYN page and gain reduction reads live next to the selector. The window is dramatically more compact.
    • Sharper type, calmer analyzer. True CSS-pixel typography with real Medium/SemiBold weights, gentle display smoothing on the spectrum, a quieter pre-EQ ghost and a glowing master curve.

    No changes to sound, parameters or sessions — existing projects load unchanged; hosts show the new window size on next open.

    Ships as a plain zip: unzip, then drop Aurora.vst3 into your VST3 folder (Aurora.clap into CLAP). No installer, no SmartScreen warning.

  • 1.2.216 Jul 2026
    • No window-in-a-window
    • One control line
    • Enabling Dyn jumps straight to the DYN page; gain reduction reads live next to the selector.
    Full release notes

    Layout refinements to the matte rebuild, straight from user feedback:

    • No window-in-a-window. The frame and outer padding are gone — the matte surface *is* the plugin, and the display runs truly edge to edge.
    • One control line. All knobs live on a single row with an EQ · DYN · DE-HARSH page selector — the dead space below the controls is gone and the window is dramatically more compact.
    • Enabling Dyn jumps straight to the DYN page; gain reduction reads live next to the selector.

    No changes to sound, parameters or sessions — existing projects load unchanged. The window is more compact; hosts will show the new size on next open.

  • 1.2.116 Jul 2026
    • The matte rebuild: a pure-black stage, no gradients or glows
    • Pigment bands that show exactly what each band does to the spectrum
    • One teal accent, for state only
    Full release notes

    This is the interface Aurora was meant to have — implemented 1:1 from our final design master, replacing yesterday's interim look:

    • Matte black. A pure-black stage, a solid near-black window, film-grain quiet. No gradients, no glows.
    • Pigment bands. Eight muted band colours, and every band now paints a translucent fill of exactly what it does to the spectrum — the whole EQ is readable at a glance.
    • One accent. Teal marks state — active Spectrum, Dyn engaged, gain reduction — and nothing else.
    • Flat, precise nodes with dark numerals, a white outline on the selected band, and a monochrome analyzer that stays out of the way.

    Kept from 1.2.0: the band-delete Restore chip, centre-detent bipolar knobs (Gain/Output/Range), the documented gestures, and the readability contrast floor.

    No changes to sound, parameters or sessions — existing projects load unchanged.

  • 1.2.016 Jul 2026
    • Real input/output meters
    • Band-delete safety net
    • Centre-detent knobs
    Full release notes

    One interface, rebuilt 1:1 from our original design master. The three-theme experiment is over — Aurora now ships a single, definitive look: the glass-bead band nodes, the glowing response curve, the gradient wordmark, the full aurora stage. Every 1.1 feature (per-band dynamics, De-Harsh, Smart Ops, Listen, placement) redrawn in that language.

    New — and honest:

    • Real input/output meters. Peak bars per channel with a shared dB ruler (−36…+6), an emphasized 0 dBFS tick, peak-hold and a clip indicator — fed by the actual audio path, not an animation.
    • Band-delete safety net. Double-click removes a band; a Restore chip brings it back, parameters intact. The gesture is now documented right on the display.
    • Centre-detent knobs. Bipolar controls (Gain, Output, Range) fill from 12 o'clock — +0.0 dB finally *looks* like zero.
    • Readability pass. All small labels lifted above the accessibility contrast floor.

    No changes to sound, parameters or sessions — existing projects load unchanged. Note: the plugin window proportions changed with the redesign; hosts will show the new size on next open.

  • 1.1.116 Jul 2026
    • Three UI themes: Pro (the new default), Black and the original Aurora look
    • No changes to sound, parameters or sessions
    Full release notes

    Three UI themes — "Pro" is the new default.

    • Pro (default): flat and restrained — no glows, no gradient washes, a calm steel analyzer tone, crisper buttons. Colour only means something: band identity and state.
    • Black (new): strictly monochrome on pure-black chrome — white spectrum, white controls; only the band markers on the graph keep their colours.
    • Aurora: the original glow look, unchanged.

    Switch anytime: More from 13x → Theme (bottom-left of the plugin). Your choice is remembered across sessions and applies to all open instances.

    No changes to sound, parameters or sessions — existing projects load unchanged.

  • 1.1.016 Jul 2026
    • Three UI themes: Pro (the new default), Black and the original Aurora look
    • No changes to sound, parameters or sessions
    Full release notes

    Three UI themes — "Pro" is the new default.

    • Pro (default): a flat, restrained look — no background glows, no gradient washes, a single calm analyzer tone, crisper buttons. Colour now only means something: band identity and state.
    • Black (new): pure-black chrome with the full colour language — the blue→orange spectrum sweep and coloured bands on black.
    • Aurora: the original glow look, unchanged.

    Switch anytime: More from 13x → Theme (bottom-left of the plugin). Your choice is remembered across sessions and applies to all open instances.

    No changes to sound, parameters or sessions — existing projects load unchanged.

  • 1.0.114 Jul 2026
    • Up to 24 bands on a live spectrum — 8 shapes, cut slopes to 96 dB/oct + Brickwall
    • Per-band Dynamic EQ — it moves only when the frequency does
    • Smart Ops — match a reference, de-resonate, de-ess and unmask in one click
    Full release notes

    AURORA 1.0 — Windows (VST3 + CLAP)

    The 1.0 public launch. A free, studio-grade dynamic parametric EQ — no license key, no account, works offline.

    • Up to 24 bands on a live spectrum — 8 shapes, cut slopes to 96 dB/oct + Brickwall
    • Per-band Dynamic EQ — it moves only when the frequency does
    • Smart Ops — match a reference, de-resonate, de-ess and unmask in one click
    • Zero-latency, analog-matched Natural, and true Linear phase modes
    • Stereo / Mid-Side / Left-Right — the analyzer splits to match
    • Cross-track unmasking, spectral De-Harsh, pre/post analyzer
    • 9 factory presets, full state recall, Clean / Subtle / Warm colour

    Ships as a plain zip: unzip, then drop Aurora.vst3 into your VST3 folder (Aurora.clap into CLAP). No installer, no SmartScreen warning.

  • 1.0.014 Jul 2026
    • First public release: a free 24-band dynamic EQ with dynamics and an external sidechain on every band
    • Three phase modes, De-Harsh, Mid/Side and L/R per band, and Smart Ops
    • macOS: universal, signed and notarized
    Full release notes

    Aurora 1.0.0 — first public release.

    A free 24-band dynamic EQ: every filter shape to 96 dB/oct + brickwall, dynamic EQ on every band with external sidechain, three phase modes (zero-latency, decramped Natural, true linear phase), spectral De-Harsh, Mid/Side & L/R per band, and one-click Smart Ops (Match, De-Ess, Auto-Pocket, Deresonate, Mono-Safety).

    macOS: universal (Apple Silicon + Intel), signed and notarized. Ships as VST3, AU (Logic), and CLAP — copy the bundle your DAW uses, no installer.

  • 0.2.210 Jul 2026Preview · Windows
    • Free dynamic parametric EQ - no license key, no account, works offline
    • Direct-manipulation curve, per-band dynamic EQ, Smart Ops assistant, three phase modes (Zero / Natural /…
    • Ships as a plain zip: unzip, then drop Aurora.vst3 into your VST3 folder (Aurora.clap into CLAP).
    Full release notes

    AURORA 0.2.2 - Windows (VST3 + CLAP)

    • Free dynamic parametric EQ - no license key, no account, works offline
    • Direct-manipulation curve, per-band dynamic EQ, Smart Ops assistant, three phase modes (Zero / Natural / Linear), spectral De-Harsh
    • Ships as a plain zip: unzip, then drop Aurora.vst3 into your VST3 folder (Aurora.clap into CLAP). No installer, no SmartScreen warning.
  • 0.2.110 Jul 2026Preview · Windows
    • Free dynamic parametric EQ - no license key, no account, works offline
    • Direct-manipulation curve, per-band dynamic EQ, Smart Ops assistant, three phase modes (Zero / Natural /…
    • Ships as a plain zip: unzip, then drop Aurora.vst3 into your VST3 folder (Aurora.clap into CLAP).
    Full release notes

    AURORA 0.2.1 - Windows (VST3 + CLAP + Standalone)

    • Free dynamic parametric EQ - no license key, no account, works offline
    • Direct-manipulation curve, per-band dynamic EQ, Smart Ops assistant, three phase modes (Zero / Natural / Linear), spectral De-Harsh
    • Ships as a plain zip: unzip, then drop Aurora.vst3 into your VST3 folder (Aurora.clap into CLAP). No installer, no SmartScreen warning.
    • Includes an optional Standalone app (Aurora.exe)
  • 0.2.09 Jul 2026Preview · Windows
    • Dynamic parametric EQ (VST3 + CLAP), free, no license key
    • Direct-manipulation curve, spectral dynamics, three phase modes (Zero / Natural / Linear)
    • Wider 1600x980 UI, full 10 Hz-30 kHz analyzer, cursor freq/note readout
    Full release notes

    AURORA 0.2.0 - Windows release.

    • Dynamic parametric EQ (VST3 + CLAP), free, no license key
    • Direct-manipulation curve, spectral dynamics, three phase modes (Zero / Natural / Linear)
    • Wider 1600x980 UI, full 10 Hz-30 kHz analyzer, cursor freq/note readout
    • 9 factory presets (adds Telephone + Radio band-limited)
    • Launch-hardening: morph-state round-trip fix, correct De-Harsh offline latency, non-automatable lookahead, NaN firewall, footer version string
  • 0.1.05 Jul 2026Preview · Windows
    • Dynamic parametric EQ (VST3 + CLAP)
    • Direct-manipulation curve, spectral dynamics, three phase modes
    • Free, no license key
    Full release notes

    AURORA 0.1.0 - first public Windows release.

    • Dynamic parametric EQ (VST3 + CLAP)
    • Direct-manipulation curve, spectral dynamics, three phase modes
    • Free, no license key

Questions

Is AURORA really free?

Yes — the full plugin, no license key, no account, no trial limit and no feature gates. It is not a lite edition of a paid product and there is nothing to unlock inside it.

Will it run in my DAW?

Windows: VST3 / CLAP — Windows 10/11; x86_64 · macOS: VST3 / AU / CLAP — macOS 11+; Apple Silicon & Intel (universal) · Linux: VST3 / CLAP / LV2 — Linux · glibc 2.35+; x86_64

What does Smart Ops actually do?

It matches a reference curve, hunts and tames resonances, de-esses, brackets with high and low cuts, and unmasks one track against another. You pick the job, let it listen while you play, and see the suggestion dashed on the curve before it applies. It writes real bands, so every move stays fully editable — and Revert takes back only what it changed.

Does it add latency?

None in zero-latency mode or in the analog-matched Natural mode. True linear-phase mode reports its delay compensation to the host, so everything in your session stays in sync.

What's the catch?

There isn't one on AURORA. It exists so you can judge whether 13x builds serious software before anyone asks you for money — the paid products come later, and this one stays free either way.

Is AURORA a good free alternative to FabFilter Pro-Q?

It covers much of the same ground — a live spectrum, up to 24 dynamic bands, mid/side and linear phase — plus the Smart Ops assistant, for free. Pro-Q is the more mature product today; AURORA runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, which is one platform more.

Which genres is it for?

All of them. AURORA is a mixing and mastering EQ: vocals, drums, guitars, orchestral stems, a hip-hop 2-bus or a techno master all get the same 24 bands, dynamics and Smart Ops.

Do I need an account to download it?

No. The download button is a direct link. There is an optional email path if you'd rather have the link sent to a studio machine, and an optional release-news sign-up — both are opt-in, neither is required.

Will it keep working if 13x disappears?

Yes. There is no license server and no activation. AURORA works offline — it only checks 13x.audio for updates — and will keep opening your sessions whatever happens to us.

How do I know the download is safe?

The macOS build is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, and every build passes pluginval at strictness 10 before it is published. Each build's SHA-256 is listed in the download panel under Checksums — hash the file you received and compare. On Windows, Chrome and Edge may show a new-publisher reputation warning; AURORA is not yet code-signed there, and the checksum is how you verify it regardless.

Stop searching.
Start mixing.

Download AURORA and decide in five minutes whether it belongs in your chain. Nothing to cancel if it doesn't.

  • VST3 · CLAP · AU · LV2
  • Windows · macOS · Linux
  • No account
  • No license key

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