Voxengo Elephant limiter plug-in: features and spec-based rating

Voxengo’s Elephant is a limiter for mastering with built-in linear-phase oversampling. It has several customizable limiter modes, EBU R128 and K-system meters, dither and DC offset removal.

A limiter raises the overall volume of a song while preventing clipping (distortion). You use it at the last stage of finishing a song.

In this article we compare Elephant with 13 limiter plug-ins and rate how well it serves its purpose on three criteria. The basis is official manufacturer information.

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Summary

Among the 13 limiter plug-ins, Elephant is rank A. The ranks run S, A, B and C, and A is second from the top. Averaging the scores for each criterion (out of 5, with the one criterion that matters most for the purpose counted double) gives 3.8.

Strengths

• Raising volume safely (5 points): it has what you need to prevent clipping and match the volume of streaming services.

Things to keep in mind

• Speed (2 points): you have to decide the settings yourself.

Who it suits: people who want to raise the finishing volume while keeping the sound clear.

Main features of Elephant

Limiting with little roughness or pumping

Elephant is a limiter whose distinguishing point is that it is less likely to produce roughness (fuzz) or pumping when you raise the volume. The manufacturer explains that its main feature is the transparency of the sound. You choose a mode and adjust it in detail.

Linear-phase oversampling

Built-in linear-phase oversampling lets it do true-peak limiting that reduces overshoot between samples (intersample overshoot). It can be used not only for stereo but also for 5.1 and 7.1 surround.

Meters and dither

It has headroom estimation and EBU R128 and K-system meters. You can see how the limiter is acting with a gain-reduction meter and a waveform graph. It also has dither with noise shaping and DC offset removal, which you can use just before exporting.

Where it is useful

• Building a volume for streaming while reducing overshoot
• Raising the volume with some room to spare while watching a K-system meter
• Holding down the peaks of a drum bus or a submix

Rating by criterion

Raising volume safely: 5 / 5

We check whether it has features that prevent clipping and match the loudness standards of streaming services.

Built-in linear-phase oversampling lets you aim for true-peak limiting. EBU R128 and K-system meters are also included.

Speed: 2 / 5

We check whether it has features that get you to a good setting quickly (automatic settings, easy-to-read meters and so on).

The controls are standard. There is no AI automatic setting.

If “speed” matters most to you, smart:limit and pure:limit (5 points) are a better fit.

Choice of sound character: 3 / 5

We check whether you can choose the character of the sound when raising the volume (keeping the punch, keeping it transparent and so on).

You can choose from several limiter modes that can be customized in depth.

How we score (Limiter plug-ins)

Criterion	Basis	5 pt	4 pt	3 pt	2 pt	1 pt
Raising volume safely	Features that prevent clipping and match the loudness standards of streaming services	True-peak limiting, loudness metering and oversampling are all included	Two of those	One of those	—	Not mentioned on the official page
Speed	How quickly you can reach a good setting	AI analyzes the song and sets everything automatically	—	Presets, or a function for comparing at matched loudness	Standard controls	—
Choice of sound character	The range of ways the limiter can act and shape the sound	Choose from eight or more algorithms	Besides a choice of styles, features that shape loudness feel or attack	A choice of styles	One type	—

Each criterion is scored from 1 to 5 on how well the product serves one goal: safely finishing a song at a volume suited to streaming. Scores follow the conditions in the table above, and the rank is based on an average in which "Raising volume safely" counts double. The basis is official manufacturer information. Sound quality and CPU load are not measured, so they are not scored; reviews from trade magazines are introduced in the articles for reference. 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.

Elephant system requirements and getting started

Operating system	Windows / Mac (64-bit)
Plug-in formats	Windows: VST, VST3, AAX / Mac: AU, VST3, AAX
Trial	Trial version available
OBS (streaming)	Works as it is (VST2 is listed)

Checked on the manufacturer’s official pages on October 17, 2026.

Compared with other limiter plug-ins

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

Read next

• pure:limit: features and rating (rank A)
• bx_limiter True Peak: features and rating (rank A)
• Pro-L 2: features and rating (rank S)
• smart:limit: features and rating (rank S)