Exploring the 5 Best Adobe Audition Plugins (Free and Paid)

In the world of audio editing — much like the world of video editing — the tools you use these days are a crucial part of any process. 

Sure, there’s a lot to be said about audio and music theory, and the different types of ways in which audio can be used for different projects, but at the end of the day it will always take the right tools to get the job done. 

With its multitrack design setup and integration within the Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Audition has long been one of the best audio editing workstations (DAWs) for both amateurs and seasoned audio producers alike.

So, regardless of your skillset, let’s take a look at some of the best free and paid Adobe Audition plugins which you can use to take your audio editing process to the next level.

MCR Presets (Paid)

Our first selection comes from the recording artist and voice over talent Mike Russell and includes the most recent versions of his favorite presets for all variety of audio producers, voice artists, radio stations, DJs, and other audio and video mixers.

These presets are designed to help save time and improve the quality of your audio productions overall and are compatible with the latest versions of Adobe Audition and the Creative Cloud. For anyone who’s done a little bit of work in Audition already and looking to improve the quality of their tools above the level of the built-in stock feature, this is a great pack to improve clarity, listen-ability, and professionalism.

The main features for this pack include:

• 4 mono tracks for recording voice overs
• Male and female specific voice tracks (with different EQ and DeEsser)
• Announcer voice track
• 5 different recording modes
• Tons of different preset effects including “80s Voice”, “90s Voice”, “Chorus Flutter”, “Repeater Mode” and more…

Price: $247.19

Voxengo SPAN (Free)

A free real-time “fast Fourier transform” audio spectrum analyzer and VST plugin for professional sound and music producers, Voxengo’s SPAN is one of the best audio plugins out there for Adobe Audition and many other applications.

With SPAN you get a flexible “mode” system which you can use to set up your spectrum analyzer preferences to whatever your project needs. You can specify Fourier block size in your samples, change overlap percentages, and see everything on a nice visual slope.

With multi-channel analysis, SPAN can be set to display spectrums from two different channels or channel groups at the same time and can showcase a wide array of displays including level mastering statistics, headroom estimation, and true peak clipping.

All great tools for advanced audio editors not looking to break the bank with a full purchase right out of the gate. For reference, here are the main features:

• Fast Fourier transform spectrum analyzer
• Stereo, mid-side, surround spectrum analyzer
• Stereo correlation meter
• EBU R128, K-system meter
• RMS, true peak level, and clipping detector

Price: Free

Waves Vocal Rider (Paid)

One of the absolute best plugins out there for perfecting your vocal levels automatically, Waves Vocal Rider is a high-end tool that comes at a bargain price these days. As vocals are the focus of almost all popular music, audio, and sound design, the need for a consistent level that’s never buried in the mix is always important.

Manually automating levels can be quite tedious, and using heavy compression to even out vocals levels usually ends up color your vocal sound in a way which might not ring true. So Vocal Rider is a perfect tool for saving time and gaining automation which then preserves your vocals full fidelity.

You can use Vocal Rider for setting target levels and make changes quickly on the go, a great tool for streamlining your projects and getting your vocals to their best quality.

• Time-saver: No need for manual drawing of automation curves
• Ideal for vocals & voice in music, podcasts & video narration
• No need for over-compression that suffocates the voice
• Real-time operation adds no latency
• Suitable for both studio and live mixing
• Writes an automation track, so you can fine-tune levels easily

Price: $29.99

SonEQ (Free)

Now let’s move on to another free option with SonEQ, a basic and barebones equalizer plugin that doesn’t need any fancy frills or superfluous effects to provide quality equalizer controls. Taking parts from some legacy and vintage gear, SonEQ is about as solid and reliable of an equalizer as they come and a great addition to any workflow in Adobe Audition. 

For those just starting out it’s a great tool to take a flyer on and try out compared to any native equalizer controls as it offers some nice musical filters and a quality preamp stage for boosting your bass in any vocals or dialogue.

Here are the full spec features for SonEQ:

• 3 band Equalizer, Low, Mid, High
• 2 Musical Filters, High-Pass Low-Pass
• Preamp stage with bass booster
• 64-bit floating point precision
• Up to 192kHz sample rates supported

Price: Free

iZotope VocalSynth 2 (Paid)

Finally, wrapping up our list with another paid option, the iZotope VocalSynth 2 plugin is a great and immersive vocal experience that can evolve productions with its powerful effects and features.

As its name implies, this plugin is aimed at upping the quality of your vocals and dialogue and is an all-in-one stop for giving your audio the best mix possible in Adobe Audition or most other DAWs.

With five blendable vocal effects and seven stompbox-style effects, VocalSynth 2 is a great option for any seasoned audio editors looking to add more features and control to their workflow and are ready to bring some higher end options to the table.

Price: $199

And, as always, for more video and audio editing insights be sure to stay tuned to the Soundstripe blog — and also check us out on YouTube!