Luxora Audio has released Titan Tube Compressor, a free vari-mu compressor plugin for macOS and Windows.
Titan is described as a detailed software model of a high-end, $7,000-class vari-mu hardware compressor. As you’d expect from that topology, the focus is on relatively smooth, program-dependent compression and harmonic richness instead of aggressive gain control.
If you recognize the name Luxora Audio, it’s probably because we covered two of their previous freebies, the Lux Vocal Preamp and Lux Sub-Bass plugins, last year.
Titan follows a similar philosophy by blending analog-style coloration with a relatively straightforward workflow. If you like what Titan does, those two are also worth a look, and both are free.
Luxora’s free comp aims to recreate the behavior of a tube-based vari-mu circuit. That includes transformer saturation, valve gain characteristics, and magnetic coloration.
According to the developer, instead of simply clamping peaks, the compression structure reacts to transients, dynamically calculates gain reduction, and applies it with a smooth, elastic release curve.
The interface is pretty simple. You get the Gain, Threshold, Ratio, and Dry/Wet controls, along with a large central VU meter for monitoring gain reduction.
There are also three operating modes: Normal, HD, and Hyper.
Normal mode is the cleanest and most transparent of the three, with minimal added coloration. HD mode increases harmonic density and adds a bit more weight. Hyper mode goes further by delivering the strongest valve-style saturation and the most pronounced low-end and harmonic emphasis, at the cost of higher CPU usage.
I briefly tested this on drums and acoustic bass, and the different modes feel and behave quite differently. Hyper mode is the most extreme of the three and adds noticeable warmth and thickness when you push it harder.
Now, I’m not 100% sure about this, but based on how Titan sounds and responds, I suspect Luxora might be using an approach similar to dynamic convolution, like Acustica Audio’s dynamic impulse response technology.
In other words, instead of algorithmic modeling, it feels like the plugin could be capturing dynamic hardware responses and replaying them in software. That’s just my guess, though, and I can’t confirm it.
If you want to hear it for yourself, you can download Titan for free after logging into or creating a Luxora Audio user account.
Titan Tube Compressor is available in VST3 and AAX formats for Windows, and VST3, AAX, and AU formats for macOS.
Download: Titan Tube Compressor (FREE)
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Last Updated on February 12, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
