Quote Originally Posted by audioinjection
i dont think good mastering can be done with plugins imo

if i had the decent hardware, i would do it myself
there is a lot of hype and misinformation about, but the non-linearities introduced by good hardware really do make it sound better. our ears work in a similar way to our eyes, in that something moving against a background is easier to detect than something that doesn't move. the very slight movement in the sound that is introduced by hardware makes the sounds come alive, so to speak, without having to actually be louder.

of course, if the noise introduced by the hardware is too great, it will spoil the effect. hence the outrageous prices for good hardware compressors and eqs.