You are certainly correct in a lot of cases but this thread is basically about Sly and John so my replies are directed to them. IF (and we don't know) they are basic amateurs like you say and IF (and we don't know) they're using $30 mic's then why buy a $400 high end Ozone mastering program? Wouldn't you think that a great plugin like that deserves a mic in the same price range? Otherwise Ozone is totally wasted on a mediocre source track IF it's like you're describing.

I'm on the Keyboard Corner forum all the time and people will buy a $2,000+ keyboard and then ask what's the best amp for it. When we ask what's the budget they'll say something like $300. Are you kidding me? Three hundred bucks for a $2-3,000 high end keyboard? They need a good high quality sound system to make it sound good.

Same principle using Ozone with a cheapo mic or listening to your opus on a fifty buck pair of computer speakers.

Everything fits together as an integrated system and everybody knows the principle of the weakest link.

Bob

Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.