Dist COLDFIRE — measured — Pro Audio Plugins

On the bench

48 kHz · 512-block · offline · same procedure for every plugin

Magnitude responsestepped sine, −12 dBFS

Output level vs. frequency.

It shapes your tone by up to ±6.5 dB on purpose — that built-in curve is part of its sound.

Distortion vs level1 kHz, THD / THD+N

─ THD ┄ THD+N. THD is the trustworthy figure; THD+N is method-floor-limited at low levels.

It adds heavy harmonic color (40% at full level) — strong, deliberate character.

Latency, reported

48 smp

Latency, measured

143 smp (+95 smp)

Onset

143 smp

Noise floor

below measurement floor

Linearity residual

-6.8 dB (1000 Hz, -12/-18 dBFS)

Processing cost

not measured

Its own background hiss is below what the bench can even measure, so it adds no noise you would hear.

How hard you push it changes what it does (a -7 dB gap between levels) — expected for a saturator, which reacts to input level.

It delays the audio by 143 samples (3.0 ms at 48 kHz) and reports that delay, so your DAW lines it back up.

What these measurements mean

read from the numbers above · character / coloring design

On the bench it behaves like a coloring tool, scoring 10.0/10 on how clean its signal path is; its tone-shaping and harmonics are reported as character, not graded as faults. It shapes your tone by up to ±6.5 dB on purpose — that built-in curve is part of its sound. It adds heavy harmonic color (40% at full level) — strong, deliberate character. Its own background hiss is below what the bench can even measure, so it adds no noise you would hear. How hard you push it changes what it does (a -7 dB gap between levels) — expected for a saturator, which reacts to input level. It delays the audio by 143 samples (3.0 ms at 48 kHz) and reports that delay, so your DAW lines it back up.

Measured score 10.0/10 — signal-path noise floor (the shaping and harmonics are the design's intent, shown as character, not graded). How scoring works.

What people report

sourced sentiment · in our words, not a bench measurement

8.8/10 published & press sentiment, 6 sources · a separate figure from the measured score

Consistently praised

Two independent engines and eleven distortion models, many with sub-modes, span everything from subtle tape warmth to brutal bit-crushing and wavefolding, making it a true all-in-one dirt box.
Flexible routing, pre/post filters, built-in dynamics, a feedback delay and a deep modulation section let one plug-in build evolving, rhythmic and finely detailed effects well beyond simple saturation.
Reviewers consistently praised the clear, well-organised interface and thoughtful workflow touches, plus a large and genuinely useful preset library to get started.
It stands up to the best modern distortion tools in direct comparison and is widely regarded as excellent value.

Common criticism

The analogue-circuit models aren't truly indistinguishable from real hardware, and some, such as the transistor and germanium types, turn harsh and digital at their highest drive settings.
The multiband dynamics section is fairly bare-bones, offering little more than small tweaks to a handful of presets.
With so many modes, modulators and options it can be a lot to absorb, and it's noticeably heavier on CPU than a typical distortion plug-in.

Sources — Sound on Sound ↗ MusicTech ↗ Gearnews ↗ CDM ↗ Synth Anatomy ↗ Engadget ↗

A review score is shown only when at least two independent sources — published reviews or genuine user discussion — return usable text. Launch or announcement coverage alone does not qualify, so some plugins read N/A here while still carrying a full measured score above.

How it sits in saturation

measured score + bench figures, then the sourced review score (separate, N/A if unscored) · alphabetical · not ranked

Plugin	Measured /10	Mag dev	Max THD	Latency	Noise	Review /10
Black Box HG-2	10.0	±1.5 dB	4.986%	32 smp	−182	8.9
Channel G Console	10.0	±0.1 dB	0.000%	0 smp	<floor	8.5
Decapitator	10.0	±5.4 dB	7.929%	63 smp	−163	8.9
Dist COLDFIRE	10.0	±6.5 dB	39.830%	143 smp	<floor	8.8
Dist OPAMP-21	10.0	—	—	0 smp	<floor	7.5
Dist TUBE-CULTURE	9.9	±3.8 dB	51.955%	112 smp	−154	N/A
Escalator	10.0	±0.2 dB	6.177%	0 smp	<floor	7.6
FireCharger	10.0	±2.1 dB	1.585%	8192 smp	<floor	8.0
Lurssen Mastering Console	10.0	±6.4 dB	1.705%	419 smp	−223	7.4
Quad Saturator	9.2	±0.1 dB	2.706%	4 smp	−117	N/A
Saturator X	10.0	±1.5 dB	26.227%	387 smp	−221	8.4
Super VHS	10.0	±3.9 dB	7.124%	1024 smp	<floor	7.9
TAIP	10.0	±2.5 dB	25.546%	63 smp	−165	8.4
Tape MELLO-FI	4.5	±65.8 dB	2.569%	248 smp	−70	7.6