Effect / XLN Audio
RC-20 Retro Color
8.6Great
RC-20 Retro Color is an XLN Audio effect plugin that adds vintage-style texture and character to recordings, emulating warm analogue and lo-fi recording equipment.
Plugin comparison
RC-20 Retro Color vs Thenatan DIAL
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which effect to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
Thenatan DIAL is a radio-signal designer with seven stations, four radio models, and speaker rattle. $12 intro, $50 list, through October 2026.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | RC-20 Retro Color | Thenatan DIAL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | — | $12 intro / $50 |
| Dubspot Score | 8.6 | — |
| Formats | VST, AU, AAX | VST, VST3, AU |
| Type | Creative effect / character processing plugin | Radio-signal designer |
| Effect modules | Noise, Wobble & Flutter, Distortion/Saturation, Degrade (bitcrusher), Reverb (Space), Volume Drops | — |
| Plugin formats | VST, AU, AAX (64-bit) | — |
| Mac requirements | macOS 10.13 or later (64-bit) | — |
| Windows requirements | Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) | — |
| Magnitude control | Single slider to scale the intensity of all active effects at once | — |
| Price | — | $12 intro / $50 list |
| Store end | — | 16 October 2026 on Thenatan |
| Plugin Boutique | — | $12 from $50, 76% off until 15 October 2026 |
| Tuner | — | Seven stations, SEARCH, AM and FM |
| Radios | — | Warm Tube, Transistor, Shortwave, Cheap Speaker |
| Interference | — | Noise, Crackle, Morse, Drift, Dropout, Blend |
| Speaker | — | Rattle, two detuned wobbles |
| Presets | — | 64 across eight categories |
| Latency | — | Zero |
| Download | — | 61.0 MB on the Thenatan store |
| Activation | — | Serial number. No iLok |
| Windows | — | 7 or later, 64-bit. VST and VST3 |
| macOS | — | AU, VST, VST3, 64-bit. Native Apple Silicon |
| Not included | — | AAX / Pro Tools |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.