Plugin comparison
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which effect to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
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Contenders
RC-20 Retro Color v2 adds an Echo module, Varispeed and moveable modules to XLN Audio's vintage texture effect. $99 intro price at Plugin Boutique.
Effect / Output
Thermal is an interactive distortion plugin (effect) from Output for multi-stage distortion, filtering, and effects processing.
Score verdict
On the Dubspot Score, RC-20 Retro Color comes out ahead (8.6). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget — read both reviews before deciding.
Technical matrix
| Signal | RC-20 Retro Color | Thermal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $99 intro to 12 Jan 2027 (list $129) | — |
| Dubspot Score | 8.6 | 8.3 |
| Formats | VST3, AU, AAX | VST, VST3, AU, AAX |
| Type | Creative effect / character processing plugin | — |
| Effect modules | Noise, Wobble, Distort, Digital, Space, Loss, plus the new Echo module | — |
| Plugin formats | VST3, AU, AAX (64-bit) | 32 and 64 bit VST, VST3, AU, and AAX |
| Mac requirements | macOS 10.13 or later (64-bit) | — |
| Windows requirements | Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) | — |
| Upgrade from v1 | $19 at Plugin Boutique until 12 Jan 2027 (list $39) | — |
| Trial | 10 days, full version | — |
| Magnitude control | Single slider to scale the intensity of all active effects at once | — |
| macOS | — | OS X 10.9 or higher |
| Windows | — | Windows 7 or higher |
| Memory | — | 8GB minimum, 16GB+ recommended |
| Disk space | — | At least 300 MB free |
| Activations | — | Up to 4 computers simultaneously per license |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.