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 Thermal
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
Effect / Output
Thermal
8.3Great
Thermal is an interactive distortion plugin (effect) from Output for multi-stage distortion, filtering, and effects processing.
Score verdict
Which should you buy?
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
Specs compared
| Signal | RC-20 Retro Color | Thermal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | — | — |
| Dubspot Score | 8.6 | 8.3 |
| Formats | VST, AU, AAX | VST, VST3, AU, AAX |
| Type | Creative effect / character processing plugin | — |
| Effect modules | Noise, Wobble & Flutter, Distortion/Saturation, Degrade (bitcrusher), Reverb (Space), Volume Drops | — |
| Plugin formats | VST, 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) | — |
| 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.