Rating: ★★★★½ (half-star off only because Stereoize can be dangerous in inexperienced hands) Best for: Any producer, mixer, or mastering engineer who values mono compatibility.

Stereoize can cause phase issues if overused. Always check the built-in Correlation Meter (more on that below).

| Pros | Cons | |------|------| | Completely free | No multiband sidechain (you’d need Ozone Advanced) | | Intuitive GUI | Stereoize can sound phasy on transient-heavy sounds | | Low CPU usage | No built-in limiting (you can create infinite width, which may clip) | | Frequency-independent widening | Not ideal for complex surround formats (it’s stereo only) | | Works on macOS Apple Silicon natively | |

You can grab iZotope Ozone Imager 2 directly from the iZotope website. It typically requires creating a free account and using their Product Portal to authorize, but the plugin itself costs $0.