Output Portal granular effect plug-in: features and spec-based rating

Output’s Portal is a granular effect that breaks a sound into tiny grains and rebuilds it. It can make a new ring while staying close to the shape of the original sound, and it has more than 250 presets (ready-made settings).

A creative effect plug-in moves a sound in time with the rhythm, or turns it into a completely different sound.

In this article we compare Portal with 9 creative effect plug-ins and rate how well it serves its purpose on three criteria. The basis is official manufacturer information.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, SoundBounty may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and sale information are as of the date we checked them and can change.

Summary

Among the 9 creative effect plug-ins, Portal is rank C. The ranks run S, A, B and C, and C is the lowest. Averaging the scores for the three criteria (out of 5) gives 2.3.

Strengths

• Number of effects (4 points): many kinds of effects are included.

Things to keep in mind

• Ways to create movement (2 points): there are few ways to create movement.
• Reacting to sound (1 points): it has no feature for moving to match another sound.

Who it suits: people who want to turn vocals and synths into new sounds while keeping their original mood.

Main features of Portal

Rebuild the incoming sound with granular synthesis

Portal is a granular effect that breaks the incoming sound into tiny grains (grains) and rearranges them. Any sound, such as a synth, drums, vocals or guitar, can be rebuilt into a different ring. The manufacturer explains that it was made to sound more musical and easier to use than earlier granular effects.

A round XY pad and 250+ presets

The round XY pad is connected to the granular parameters, and just moving it changes the sound a lot. You can choose a sound you can use right away from more than 250 presets. A numeric panel on the display also shows how things are currently set.

Controls for time and pitch

With Time Stretch and Pitch Shift you can experiment by changing the length and pitch of a sound. There are also a tempo-matched grain delay and a pitch wobble that follows a scale. Seven built-in effects and a master compressor and filter are also included.

Where it is useful

• Turning part of a vocal into grains to make a sparkling sound effect
• Rebuilding a guitar chord into an ambient ring
• Turning a drum loop into pitched grains that follow a scale

Rating by criterion

Number of effects: 4 / 5

We look at the number of kinds of effects included.

Besides granular processing, it has seven built-in effects and a master compressor and filter.

Ways to create movement: 2 / 5

We look at how many ways there are to move a sound over time (movement you draw yourself, randomization and so on).

It has a tempo-matched grain delay, a pitch wobble that follows a scale, and Humanize (wobble).

If “ways to create movement” matters most to you, Effectrix 2 (4 points) is a better fit.

Reacting to sound: 1 / 5

We look at whether the effect can be moved by the incoming sound or the sound of another track.

It has no feature that moves the effect to match the incoming sound.

If “reacting to sound” matters most to you, ShaperBox 3 (5 points) is a better fit.

How we score (Creative effect plug-ins)

Criterion	Basis	5 pt	4 pt	3 pt	2 pt	1 pt
Number of effects	Number of kinds of effects included	12 or more	8 or more	5 or more	2 or more	1
Ways to create movement	Which of drawable LFOs, a step sequencer, randomization and MIDI triggering it has	All four	Three	Two	One, or the kinds are not stated	None
Reacting to sound	Whether the effect can be moved by the incoming sound or another track (sidechain and so on)	Both an external sidechain and retriggering on the attack of the sound	Many parameters can be moved by the incoming sound	One feature that reacts to sound, such as an envelope follower	—	Not mentioned

Each criterion is scored from 1 to 5 on how well the product serves one goal: adding movement and change to loops, synths and vocals. Scores follow the conditions in the table above. "Reacting to sound" is a criterion that answers the common search for "sidechain". The basis is the manufacturer's product description on the Plugin Boutique product page. Sound quality has not been compared by ear, so it is not scored. Price is not part of the score. Features that cannot be confirmed from the manufacturer's or a retailer's description are scored as if absent. The "OBS (streaming)" column in the table shows whether the official page lists the VST2 format that the streaming software OBS Studio can use (○). OBS does not support the VST3 format. It is not part of the score.

Portal screens and images

Portal system requirements and getting started

Operating system	Windows 10 and 11 / Mac (Mac OS X 10.14 or later)
Plug-in formats	VST, VST3, AU, AAX (64-bit)
Other	Cannot be used in software that cannot load other companies’ plug-ins, such as Audacity
Trial	Free for 7 days (the Output One trial)
OBS (streaming)	Works as it is (VST2 is listed)

Checked on the manufacturer’s official pages on September 27, 2026. How to use plug-ins in the OBS streaming software is explained in How to use VST3 plug-ins in OBS.

Compared with other creative effect plug-ins

Click a heading to sort. On a phone, the table scrolls sideways.

Read next

• Crystallizer: features and rating (rank C)
• HalfTime: features and rating (rank C)
• Movement: features and rating (rank B)
• ShaperBox 3: features and rating (rank A)