Maxx

Maxx is a tiny and simple-to-use software application made for audio file mastering and limiting. It offers support for a two-band and nine-band processor, as well as audio tracks with the .wav, .ogg and .mp3 extensions.

Installing this software utility is a fast and simple job that shouldn't bring up any issues. Once it's launched, you are greeted by a seemingly outdated window with a neatly organized structure, representing Maxx's interface.

After opening an audio track, you can play and pause it, as well as tinker with the controls regarding the first pass, equalizer, mono, phase rotator, automatic gain control, multiband limiter, limiter, clipper, and output level.

Several factory presets are available, so you can quickly apply them to the sound files. Once all the necessary editing options are made, you can save the new audio track to file by indicating the output name and destination directory.

As far as program settings are concerned, you can change the parameters for the ASIO or Wave sound card (e.g. preferred buffer size, buffers, engine priority, bits per sample), select the processor (bypass, MBL2, MBL9), and fiddle with output encoder properties for each file type (e.g. sample type and rate, channel mode).

You can minimize the app to the system tray area to make it non-intrusive, ask it to automatically run at every Windows startup until further notice, switch its priority from normal to real-time, customize the UI colors, fonts, graph trace colors and meter colors, as well as restrict other users' access by protecting it with a password.

The tool worked smoothly throughout our evaluation, without triggering the OS to hang, crash or display error messages. It didn't hamper the overall performance of the computer, thanks to the fact that it needed low CPU and RAM to work properly.

On the other hand, the interface could use some improvements in the visual department. Although Maxx doesn't bring advanced features to the table, it provides amateurs with practical options for editing audio files.