Audiority's Free Pyros Versio Brings Nine Distortion Algorithms to Noise Engineering Hardware

Audiority shipped a free firmware port of its Pyros distortion plugin to the Noise Engineering Versio platform this week, handing Versio owners a nine-algorithm stereo distortion engine without adding a single module to their rack. The release positions Pyros Versio as an immediate palette expansion for anyone already running Versio hardware: drop the firmware via USB, swap the panel overlay, and nine distinct distortion characters are live on hardware that already exists in the rack.

The algorithms span considerable range. Hyper-polic soft fold gives the module wavefolder-like behavior; inverse-root distortion, labeled "filfth," pushes into asymmetric harmonic territory; and Abuser mode lives up to its name as the most aggressive position on the dip switch. A bit-crush style "reduce crush" and a radio simulation round out the set, the latter layering lo-fi band-limiting and noise against the source material. Pre-distortion lowpass and post-distortion highpass filters bracket the gain stage, input biasing introduces asymmetric clipping, and bipolar feedback adds a destabilizing edge. Every parameter carries full CV access.

That last point separates Pyros Versio from its desktop cousin. The commercial Pyros plugin carries 25 algorithms; the hardware port offers nine, selected by dip switch rather than a GUI dropdown. What it trades in breadth it gains in modularity: sequences, LFOs, or envelope followers can drive the distortion character in real time.

Three scenarios put the module's range in focus. On a drum bus, Abuser mode with the pre-filter rolled back scorches transients without losing the kick's body, landing close to a hardware console saturator pushed hard. For stereo sources like an analog pad or a warm string machine, soft clip at moderate drive through the stereo I/O thickens the signal and adds controlled bite without collapsing the image. With radio mode engaged, the noise control raised, and bipolar feedback pushed toward instability, Pyros Versio crosses into self-generating texture territory: degraded signal processing for samplers, noise beds under drum machines, or a lo-fi smear across anything too clean.

Against Noise Engineering's own Ruina Versio, which stacks wavefolding, multiband saturation, phase shifting, and a Smoosh parameter that adds a declared 128dB of drive simultaneously, Pyros takes a different approach: one algorithm at a time, each one deeply voiced. Ruina stacks; Pyros selects. Both run free on the same hardware.

For prospective Versio buyers weighing whether the platform's growing third-party firmware library justifies the investment, Pyros Versio is a concrete data point. Audiority treated the port with enough seriousness to bring full CV routing and true stereo path integrity rather than a stripped-down demo. "From battered vintage grit to sharp modern aggression, Pyros Versio delivers a rich, musical distortion voice that can shape, smash, and completely reframe anything you feed it," the company noted at launch.

The commercial Pyros plugin remains separately available. The Versio firmware carries no price tag.