Cheap Hardware Stereo Compressor Shootout
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- Опубликовано: 5 ноя 2024
- Yo!
Got an analog FOH/monitor mixer rack on the works and I needed some compressor units into it, and just went to Muusikoiden.net and bought some. Then when I got all of them, wondered which one suits best for each application. So decided to do this test and release it to RUclips.
Compressors used on the video:
DBX 266XL
dbxpro.com/en/...
Alesis 3630
www.alesis.com...
Behringer MDX1400 Autocom Pro
www.behringer....
Quick word: This has the enhancer and the MDX1600 has a limiter instead, but I'm not using the Enhancer, and I do believe that the compressor circuit is pretty much the same on both models
ART SCL2
artproaudio.co...
Symetrix 425
www.symetrix.co...
Rest of the Signal Chain:
-Behringer U-phoria UMC1820 outputs
-Audient ASP800 line inputs
-Reaper as DAW
Final thoughts:
-DBX does shine on the Buss compression, since it is based on the same VCA design like the SSL buss comp thingy.
-I have no idea why the Alesis 3603 has so massive treble boost
-The Symetrix sounds very good on almost everything, and the added Limiter is a definitely an added bonus, and will probably use this on kick and Snare
-But I think the Behringer MDX1400 did the best here. It sounded and acted just like you would want on every single source. Which is sad guz I don't like the look of it and I as well as probably many of you have heard some stories of these breaking
For years I had a rack of 8 USA made DBX 1046 compressors wired up to a Midas Legend 3000 console to mimic the SSL workflow for 32 channels. I still use those DBX units for tracking and they work perfectly, although then I moved from a Midas to a ATI Paragon 2 which has Gate/Compressors on every channel. But if you want that SSL punch then a DBX comp is as close as you will get. Also if you want the 3630 to not have that scooped bright sound then open the unit and disable the expander gate, we use to do that to all of those units we used in my bands live rig back in the late 90s that didn't require the need for the gate. For some reason Alesis didn't put it on a switch to kill the gate but its easy to do and stops the 3630 from adding that scooped sound to the audio. Cheers!
incredibly usefull video!!
People shit on Behringer, but their stuff is incredible for the money. These compressors can be found on the used market for 50ish euros, so, even if it breaks, you can just go and buy another one. DBX was the second best.
And the mere fact Behringer makes instruments and musical tools available for people with small pockets, should be reason to applaude them.
Great Comp-arison, no pun intended 🙂
My opinion and how I'm probably gonna use these:
-DBX for vocals
-Alesis def for Kick Drum and Bass guitar! Compression charecter sounded really natural on those and that treble boost suits those 2 bass heavy instrument
-Behringer for master buss, since it sounded really nicely transparent in there
-ART prob for guitars or something
-And the Symetrix def for Snare and maybe the other channel for mono overhead or for a third vocal. The Limiter on this really makes snare drum go Boooom in a very cool way and it is a shame that I didn't get the chance to show it off here
I HATE the way the ART sounds compared to everything else. lol. I haven’t thought about why. I like the sound characteristic of the 3630 which I think would make for a great production tool. The Beringer surprised me the most.
I love that you put this together and hope that you continue to add more of these cheap units for comparison. I agree that it is strange that the Alesis adds so much treble. Overall I think I like the DBX best. I really like the snap on the snare with the Alesis but not loving the kick sound, it losses too much low end. Behringer is very transparent out of all of them.
Thanks for the feedback bro! Ye the DBX is just powerful workhorse, I would even say its the SM57 of the 1U stereo compressors. Does what it is supposed to do very well and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
How would you like to see the upcoming compressor videos if I get a change to continue this series? Is it enough if I compare the new ones just against the DBX 266 or would you like to have more references in 1 video? Is there a source example that you would like to see that wasn't here (guitar or pianos? I usually don't compress them guz they are pretty stable already, but if ya want, I can do it) And was there some source examples that were not interesting? Like was having all the different overhead and room and entire Drum Buss examples here interesting to you? Which ones I should cut out?
JS
Very interesting. Thanks for all the work !
This was really usefull, thanks a lot. I have the scl2 and the dbx, and i´m also using an Altair compressor (not really sure about the model), and they work excellent :D
This video is an awesome resource! Great work!
Excelente comparación; ganó Behringer y DBX o viceversa
425 sound best for me, Behringer and DBX sound good to, the Art was a bit flat and did not like the Alesis sound at all
Thanks for the comparison!
Question. I looking for these cheap 2 channel compressors for karaoke, music played from YT and just me on mic. For 2 channel compressors, can I (would make sense) to use 1 channel for compression of mic alone; then use the 2nd channel for bus compression?
It could work, but driving the 2 signals (Left&Right) coming from youtube into 1 compressor channel would sum them into mono, so you would lose the stereo-ability. So if you have a nice stereo setup going on with 2 seperate speakers and wanna preserve all of that stereo-goodness, then I would not recomend that.
In karaoke situations with studio-grade backing tracks that are compressed already, I'm not sure if you need any buss compression at all. Just compress the vocal mic and mix it in with the YT sound and it should sound good. And then you would have the 2nd channel ready for any friends when u wanna have a karaoke party :)
@@JuveriSetila Thanks for the suggestion! Yeah, the karaoke plays from YT to mixer to powered speakers.
I'll probably just compress the 2 mic channels. Maybe add BBE sonic maximizer to bring vocals together with audio.