High End Compressors vs. Low End Compressors

AnAverageJoe · 2nd April 2007

How Can I tell the difference between a high end compressor and a low end compressor? ex. sound or character of the compressor... What should I look or listen for in both high end and low end compressors?

Kiwiburger · 2nd April 2007

Bad noise floor. Harsh sound. Lack of headroom. Lack of control (too slow, too fast), loss of bandwidth.

Basically, compression/limiting can easily damage a sound. The better they are, the less they appear to be working.

A lot is subjective and open to artistic interpretation. There are some compressors that impart a sound, even in bypass mode, that some people like. T

Give yourself a chance to play around with some high end stuff - it becomes clearer very quickly. If you just mess around with cheap stuff, you may never realise what you are missing.

paulneedles · 2nd April 2007

the difference between a £2000 compressor and a £200 compressor is largely in the fairy dust they sprinkle on them to make you feel inadequate if you can't afford them. You don't need all those buttons and flashing lights and original 70s VU meters - all you need is some control over your levels and a bit of sonic character. While there are a lot of bad-sounding compressors in the low-end section, there are also these guys if you don't mind buying second-hand:

Dbx 160x
Aphex Compellor/dominator
Art Pro VLA
Joemeek SC2/2.2

These units get used on big records all the time. Yet they can all be picked up for around £300 or less on ebay.

Stitch333 · 2nd April 2007

low end compressor = 'YEC' capacitors and 'glowbrite' tubes made in taiwan

mltamisin · 2nd April 2007

Add the FMR RNC to that list.

AnAverageJoe · 2nd April 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by mltamisin

Add the FMR RNC to that list.

Yea, About that! I've heard that it was a good compressor for the money, infact I heard it was better than the 266Xl... I would get the RNC but it's not rack mountable

Confusionator · 2nd April 2007

The RNC screws up my high end. Are you telling me that the high end ones do that, too? I don't think so--not in my experience!

drmmrboy · 2nd April 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnAverageJoe

I would get the RNC but it's not rack mountable

thumbsup

tdoranpalmer · 2nd April 2007

Check the specs and see if they are close to these. If they are it is a high end Compressor or at least a good quality. But as one post stated, "The better they are, the less they appear to be working"

A gain-reduction element, positioned immediately after the input transformer.
Controlled by the sidechain amplifier, which should also contain a two time control circuit – one for fixed and one for variable Attack/Release.

A two time-controller that can either be used separately or combined. This circuit should contain semiconductor OP-amps for the entire control.

A gain-reduction element followed by a tube-based push-pull amplifier with variable gain up to 30 dB.

A dedicated Bus selector (Off, Bus 1, Bus 2) for whenever you want to link several compressors together.

Input and output transformers that have a static-screen between the primary and secondary wirings.

Both Input and Output are balanced as well as fully floating.

Compressor
Input: Ratio: 2:1 to 10:1

Threshold: off to -40 dBu

Attack: 0,5 ms to 300 ms

Release: 0,05 s to 10 s

Additionally the quality of the parts will play a part in the price.

I would also state, that if you can't hear the difference in quality, you probably don't need it.

LAVLAB · 2nd April 2007

i don't have exp. with high end comps. but have had great results with dbx 166 + 266thumbsup .
i also have an alesis 3630 -it works better as a distortion effect

Pohaku · 2nd April 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnAverageJoe

Yea, About that! I've heard that it was a good compressor for the money, infact I heard it was better than the 266Xl... I would get the RNC but it's not rack mountable

IMHO, about anything would be better than a 266 (well then there is the Alesis 3630). I have one. It lives in my guitar rack which is the only place it appears usable. The RNC is a MUCH better compressor than the 266. As mentioned above, the DBX 160 (in its various permutations) and the Aphex Compellor are both very usable low cost comps. You can get a rack shelf or a rack mount face plate for the RNC that holds two of them. Besides, you ought to get two of them anyway since they are stereo but not dual mono.

devonw · 3rd April 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnAverageJoe

I would get the RNC but it's not rack mountable

Buy two and get the funk logic rack plate or just one and get the same plate and just leave it blank!

2nd April 2007	#1
AnAverageJoe Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Florida, New Jersey Posts: 882 Thread Starter	High End Compressors vs. Low End Compressors How Can I tell the difference between a high end compressor and a low end compressor? ex. sound or character of the compressor... What should I look or listen for in both high end and low end compressors? __________________ - Joe

2nd April 2007	#2
Kiwiburger Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 4,075	Bad noise floor. Harsh sound. Lack of headroom. Lack of control (too slow, too fast), loss of bandwidth. Basically, compression/limiting can easily damage a sound. The better they are, the less they appear to be working. A lot is subjective and open to artistic interpretation. There are some compressors that impart a sound, even in bypass mode, that some people like. T Give yourself a chance to play around with some high end stuff - it becomes clearer very quickly. If you just mess around with cheap stuff, you may never realise what you are missing. __________________ My carbon footprint is bigger than yours.

2nd April 2007	#9
tdoranpalmer Gear nut Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: US Posts: 78	Check the specs and see if they are close to these. If they are it is a high end Compressor or at least a good quality. But as one post stated, "The better they are, the less they appear to be working" A gain-reduction element, positioned immediately after the input transformer. Controlled by the sidechain amplifier, which should also contain a two time control circuit – one for fixed and one for variable Attack/Release. A two time-controller that can either be used separately or combined. This circuit should contain semiconductor OP-amps for the entire control. A gain-reduction element followed by a tube-based push-pull amplifier with variable gain up to 30 dB. A dedicated Bus selector (Off, Bus 1, Bus 2) for whenever you want to link several compressors together. Input and output transformers that have a static-screen between the primary and secondary wirings. Both Input and Output are balanced as well as fully floating. Compressor Input: Ratio: 2:1 to 10:1 Threshold: off to -40 dBu Attack: 0,5 ms to 300 ms Release: 0,05 s to 10 s Additionally the quality of the parts will play a part in the price. I would also state, that if you can't hear the difference in quality, you probably don't need it. __________________ If at first you DO Succeed, try not to look astonished! Doran Palmer Audient-RME-SSL-TubeTech - Sales

2nd April 2007	#10
LAVLAB Gear maniac Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 153	i don't have exp. with high end comps. but have had great results with dbx 166 + 266thumbsup . i also have an alesis 3630 -it works better as a distortion effect __________________ LAVLAB IS HERE! www.soundclick.com/LavLab www.youtube.com/HostileSlothRecords www.HostileSlothRecords.blogspot.com

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2nd April 2007	#3
paulneedles Gear maniac Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 175	the difference between a £2000 compressor and a £200 compressor is largely in the fairy dust they sprinkle on them to make you feel inadequate if you can't afford them. You don't need all those buttons and flashing lights and original 70s VU meters - all you need is some control over your levels and a bit of sonic character. While there are a lot of bad-sounding compressors in the low-end section, there are also these guys if you don't mind buying second-hand: Dbx 160x Aphex Compellor/dominator Art Pro VLA Joemeek SC2/2.2 These units get used on big records all the time. Yet they can all be picked up for around £300 or less on ebay.

2nd April 2007	#4
Stitch333 Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Phila, PA/Upstate MA Posts: 3,432	low end compressor = 'YEC' capacitors and 'glowbrite' tubes made in taiwan

2nd April 2007	#5
mltamisin Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Athens, GA Posts: 1,172	Add the FMR RNC to that list.

2nd April 2007	#7
Confusionator Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 591 1 Review written	The RNC screws up my high end. Are you telling me that the high end ones do that, too? I don't think so--not in my experience!

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